St. Martin de Porres Parish to venerate patron's relic

Friday, Oct. 31, 2014

TAYLORSVILLE — Saint Martin de Porres Parish will host its annual feast day to honor its patron saint with two Masses celebrated by Dominican Father Denis Reilly on Nov. 3. 

Fr. Reilly is the associate pastor at Saint John the Baptist Parish in Draper.

Following the Masses, participants will have the opportunity to venerate a relic of Saint Martin de Porres, a Dominican brother born in Lima, Peru in 1579. 

“We venerate the relics of saints to adore them and to show our love for them,” said Father Jan Bednarz, pastor. “People will also be able to offer prayers for St. Martin de Porres and to have him intercede for their prayers to Our Lord,” he said, adding that the parish has a small chapel with a statue of St. Martin de Porres where people can pray and light candles.

Through this Mass and devotion, St. Martin de Porres “can teach us to love the Eucharist, the cross and the poor; those were his messages,” said Fr. Bednarz. “He was like Saint Francis of Assisi: He loved Jesus, animals and the poor; he served and he did manual labor. He was a humble man and taught humility. He cured many people spiritually and physically, both body and soul.” 

The relic indicates St. Martin de Porres died in “eternity with Christ,” Fr. Bednarz said. 

St. Martin was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of mixed-race people and all those seeking interracial harmony.

The relic became a part of St. Martin de Porres Parish through the efforts of Bishop William Weigand, said Fr. Bednarz. “Before he was bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, he worked as a missionary priest in Peru. When he returned to Salt Lake City and became bishop, he had this relic and he also had in mind to start a church for the Black community in Taylorsville. St. Martin de Porres is a saint for all people.”

St. Martin de Porres was established as a parish in 1982; Masses were first held in the chapel at Memorial Estates on Redwood Road, according to The

Salt of the Earth by Bernice Maher Mooney.