St. Martin de Porres
1579 – 1639
Patron of people of mixed race, barbers and hairdressers, public health workers, social justice
St. Martin de Porres (1579–1639) was born in Lima, Peru, the son of a Spanish nobleman and Ana Velázquez, a freed Black woman. His father did not acknowledge him for years, and Martin grew up poor and looked down on for his mixed race. As a boy he trained with a barber-surgeon, learning to cut hair, set bones and treat wounds.