News Release
November 5, 1999
CARDINAL BEVILACQUA TO CELEBRATE MASS
HONORING ST. MARTIN DE PORRES
37TH ANNUAL MASS FOR THE PATRON SAINT OF INTERRACIAL JUSTICE
Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia, will celebrate the 37th annual Mass in honor of St. Martin de Porres, the first person of color to be canonized in the Western Hemisphere.
7:30 p.m.
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia
St. Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in the 16th century, the son of a Spanish nobleman and a Black woman of Panama who was a freed slave. He became a Dominican brother and devoted his life to caring for the poor and the sick. In 1962, Pope John XXIII made Martin de Porres the first Black saint of the new world. He has been called the Saint of Interracial Brotherhood.
The homily will be delivered by the Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory, Bishop of Belleville, Illinois. Bishop Gregory is one of 13 African American Bishops currently serving in the United States.
Contact
John Miller
Broadcast and Media Specialist
215-587-3747