Black Saint of the Americas
The Life and Afterlife of Martín de Porres

This is the first scholarly study of the life of the black Peruvian saint, Martín de Porres (1579–1639).

Celia Cussen (Author)

9781107034372, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 October 2014

312 pages, 16 b/w illus.
23.1 x 15 x 2.8 cm, 0.57 kg

'Cussen offers valuable insight into the role of saints and holy models in colonial Peru: varying depictions of Martín reveal changing cultural and social values while affirming the healer's ongoing relevance in his followers' daily lives. Cussen's research will be of additional significance to readers interested in racial diversity and African presence in seventeenth-century Lima; colonial Catholicism and popular piety, including relationships between saints and devotees; and the politics of canonization. Furthermore, Cussen affirms the ability of past holy figures to speak to current concerns as she details the portrayals of Martín leading to his canonization in 1962.' Teresa Hancock-Palmer, The Catholic Historical Review

In May 1962, as the struggle for civil rights heated up in the United States and leaders of the Catholic Church prepared to meet for Vatican Council II, Pope John XXIII named the first black saint of the Americas, the Peruvian Martín de Porres (1579–1639), and designated him the patron of racial justice. The son of a Spanish father and a former slavewoman from Panamá, Martín served a lifetime as the barber and nurse at the great Dominican monastery in Lima. This book draws on visual representations of Martín and the testimony of his contemporaries to produce the first biography of this pious and industrious black man from the cosmopolitan capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru. The book vividly chronicles the evolving interpretations of his legend and his miracles, and traces the centuries-long campaign to formally proclaim Martín de Porres a hero of universal Catholicism.

Introduction
Part I. The Life: 1. Race and family
2. The convent and the colonial world
3. Healing and faith
4. Death and the heavenly transit
Part II. The Afterlife: 5. Creating a Vida from a life
6. The miracles
7. Images in black and white
8. Sainthood
Conclusion
Appendixes
Bibliography
Endnotes.

Subject Areas: Religion: general [HRA], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], History of the Americas [HBJK]