Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. will be the main celebrant and homilist at the annual Archdiocese of Philadelphia's Saint Martin de Porres Mass.

Sunday, November 6, 2011
2:00 p.m. (Musical Prelude)
2:30 p.m. (Mass)
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103

The Saint Martin de Porres Mass is the largest annual gathering of Black Catholics in the Archdiocese. At this Mass, the Black Catholic community will greet Archbishop Chaput for the first time.

The appeal of Saint Martin de Porres is universal. Called an apostle of charity; patron of social justice; father of the sick and the poor; wonder worker of Peru; and helper in hopeless cases, he is a powerful intercessor to those in need.

Saint Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. The illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a black freewoman from Panama, he faced poverty and hardship through out his life. He devoted himself to caring for the poor and sick. After much struggle, he was allowed to become a Dominican brother. Pope John XXIII canonized Martin de Porres in 1962, making him the first saint of color in the Americas.

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Editor's Note: For more information call the Office for Black Catholics at 215-587-3541.

Contact
Jhoselyn Martinez
Communications Specialist
215-587-3747