Introduction
This blog post features five missionary saints to the New World: St. Martin de Porres and St. Turibius de Mogrovejo in Lima, Peru; St. Peter Claver in Colombia; St. Marguerite Bourgeoys in Montreal, Canada; and St. John Neumann in the United States of America.
St. Martin de Porres
Canonized by Pope John XXIII in 1962, St. Martin de Porres was a humble black Dominican lay brother born in Lima, Peru, on November 9, 1579. He was the illegitimate son of John de Porres, a Spanish knight, and Anna Velasquez, a freed black slave from Panama.
At fifteen years of age, Martin became a Dominican tertiary, and then nine years later, he took the vows of a Dominican lay brother at the Convent of the Rosary. After his vows, Martin embarked on an incredible mission of charity to the poor in Lima, Peru. Thousands thronged to him for spiritual counseling and prayer. Miracles, visions, and penitential practices were attributed to him. He is reputed to have been gifted with many supernatural gifts: bilocation and aerial flights. Stories also abound that he was so kind even to rats. When Martin de Porres died at Rosary Convent on November 3, 1639, the people already acclaimed him a saint. His formal canonization, however, took place centuries later. He is known as the patron saint of interracial justice.
St. Turibius of Mogrovejo
St. Turibius was the first archbishop of Lima, Peru. Born at Mayorga in Spain, he died in Peru on March 23, 1605, and was canonized in 1726. Turibius was a lay professor of law at the University of Salamanca. It was quite unusual at the time that he was appointed first a principal judge of the Court of the Inquisition at Granada, and then named archbishop of Lima. Despite his objections, and the fact that he was a layman, he was ordained and consecrated, and sent to Peru in 1581.
St. Turibius was also called the "Bishop on Horseback". It is estimated that he baptized five hundred thousand and confirmed eight hundred thousand people. His twenty-five years as archbishop were full of many accomplishments: numerous churches built, religious houses founded, schools, hospitals, and roads built during his administration. In 1591, he also founded the first seminary in the New World.
After many years of unremitting missionary work, St. Turibius fell ill at Pacasmayo. When he knew he would soon die, he wrote his will, gave his personal belongings to his servants, and the rest of his property he distributed to the poor. He died at the age of sixty-eight.
St. Peter Claver, SJ
Peter Claver was born at Verdu in Catalonia, Spain, in 1580. After studying in Barcelona, he took his vows as a Jesuit in 1600 at Tarragona. After being sent to the Jesuit College in Parma at Majorca, he began to doubt his vocation. However, the saintly old hall-porter of the College, St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, gave him wise counsel and helped him overcome his nervousness at being a priest. St. Alphonsus spoke to him of the need for missionaries in the New World.
In 1610, St. Peter Claver was sent to Cartagena, a seaport in what is now Colombia. Ordained a priest in 1616, he began a thirty-three year heroic career of caring for the spiritual life of the black slaves. These slaves suffered incredible cruelties and indignation from the profitable slave trade that exploited them. But Peter Claver would distract those who exploited them, made them stand back, as he bustled among the slaves with fruit, bandages, medicine, and brandy. He would do this for many years: waiting for the slave-ships to come into port, attend to the needs of the slaves, baptize the dying, and wash and feed the sick.
By 1650, St. Peter Claver had become old. There was a plague that ravaged Havana and the nearby areas. Peter and the other Jesuits helped many who were struck down. Unfortunately, Peter also caught the disease. Though he recovered, he was weakened by the effects of the illness. After four years of physical deterioriation, Peter Claver died on September 8, 1654, the feast of Mary's birth, in Cartagena. He was canonized in 1888 and named the official patron of those who bring the Gospel to the black race.
St. Marguerite Bourgeoys
St. Marguerite Bourgeoys was canonized in October 31, 1982 by Pope John Paul II. She was the foundress of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal. Born in 1620 in the Champagne district of France, Marguerite was first a member of a congregation of women who taught poor children in Troyes. However, one day, at a direct invitation of the governor, she migrated to Montreal, Canada on June 20, 1653. After arriving in Montreal, she founded a few houses and a fort to guard the colonists against the Iroquois Indians. Her work led to the establishment of a school system that eventually extended to the whole country. She also organized a group of women who taught in the colony and formed it into the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1653.
There is a story that tells how St. Marguerite passed away. On the night of December 31, 1699, the sisters of her congregation were called to pray at the deathbed of a young mistress of novices. Marguerite was said to have uttered a prayer: "Lord, why not take me instead of this poor sister who can still do great things for you?" That night, St. Marguerite became critically ill with a high fever. Twelve days later, she died. The young mistress of novices, who was on the verge of death, however survived.
St. John Neumann
St. John Neumann was born in Bohemia, the Czech Republic, in 1811. He earnestly desired to dedicate himself to the missions in America, and so was sent to the United States while still a seminarian. It was in New York in the year 1836 where he was ordained a priest. He worked for four years among the German immigrants in the area near Buffalo. In 1840, he entered the Redemptorist Congregation and became a travelling preacher. He was also appointed Bishop of Philadelphia - establishing new seminaries, churches, and schools. Each year, he visited the parishes and mission stations of his diocese, expressing well his pastoral concern for the spiritual welfare of his people.
St. John Neumann is the first North American male saint. He ministered to the sick, was kind to the poor, became a friend to sinners, and known to symbolize well the love for the poor mentioned in the Beatitudes. At first, after examining his candidacy for sainthood, his cause was put on hold in 1912. Many doubted his "heroic virtue": he was "too ordinary" to be a saint. But in 1921 Pope Benedict XV and a board of cardinals listened again to the pleas for his elevation to sainthood. And a story tells that before this meeting of the pope and the cardinals, the main opponent to Neumann's candidacy to sainthood collapsed and died in a barber's chair.
This case of St. John Neumann set a precedent for the future judgment of possible saints. Pope Benedict XV said: "Even the most simple works, performed with constant perfection in the midst of inevitable difficulties, spell heroism in any servant of God."
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