Brother Martin

Extract

To those who live abroad, the problem of the American Negro may seem vague and distant, for missionary fields in China and Japan are much better publicized than those in the Southern United States. But the soul of an American Negro is just as important as any other soul, and it is a certain fact that the elevation of an American Negro to the dignity of Sainthood would do much to further the cause of the Church among the coloured people of the world.

For this reason, the cause of Blessed Martin de Porres, the famous South American Negro, has become a favourite topic in the Catholic Press of the United States. The Dominican publication, The Torch, published in New York City, has recently inaugurated a movement known as the Blessed Martin Guild, which co-ordinates all efforts toward canonization made by Martin’s friends. In its work, the Guild is constantly actuated by the thought of the thirteen million American Negroes who have yet to receive the light of faith, and to whom a Saint of their own race would be an undoubted inspiration. It is with this same purpose, therefore, that the present article is submitted to the readers of Blackfriars—that they may realize to some extent the vast apostolate awaiting the humble Dominican laybrother.