Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, will celebrate the 47th annual Mass in thanksgiving for the canonization of Saint Martin de Porres, the patron Saint of Universal Brotherhood.

2:00 p.m. Prelude of Praise
2:30 p.m. Mass
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia

This year, there will also be a recognition of the Centennial of the Founding of the knights of Peter Claver and the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Martin de Porres Foundation.

Saint Martin de Porres was born in Peru in the 16th century to a Spanish nobleman and a woman of Panama who was freed a slave. He became a Dominican brother and devoted his life to caring for the poor and sick. Pope John XXIII canonized Martin de Porres in 1962, making him the first saint of color in the western hemisphere.

All are invited to the Mass coordinated by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Office for Black Catholics.

For more information, please call the Office for Black Catholics, 215-587-3634.

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Contact
Meredith Wilson
Communications Specialist
215-587-3747