Who WAS Saint Martin?

Almost eight hundred years ago, in December of 1216, the birth of a new religious order also took place. Father Dominic de Guzman, a Spanish priest, petitioned Pope Honorius II successfully for a new religious order, which would come to be called the Order of Preachers. To celebrate this anniversary and Black History Month, there is an exhibit in the library honoring a black Peruvian Dominican who became a saint: Saint Martin de Porres. Who was Saint Martin?

Martin de Porres Velázquez, O.P. (December 9, 1579 – November 3, 1639), was a lay brother of the Dominican Order who 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, barbers, innkeepers, public health workers, and all those seeking racial harmony.

Born in the city of Lima, he was the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman, Don Juan de Porres, and Ana Velázquez, a freed slave from Panama. He had a sister named Juana, born two years later in 1581 and after the birth of his sister, the father abandoned the family. Ana Velázquez supported her children by taking in laundry. He grew up in poverty and, when his mother could not support him, Martin was confided to a primary school for two years, and then placed with a barber/surgeon to learn the medical arts. He spent hours of the night in prayer, a practice which increased as he grew older.

By law in Peru, descendants of Africans and Indians were barred from becoming full members of religious orders. The only route open to Martin was to ask the Dominicans of Holy Rosary Priory in Lima to accept him as a “donado”, a volunteer who performed menial tasks in the monastery in return for the privilege of wearing the habit and living with the religious community. At the age of 15 he asked for admission to the Dominican Convent of the Rosary in Lima and was received first as a servant boy, and as his duties grew he was promoted to almoner.

Martin continued to practice his old trades of barbering and healing and was said to have performed many miraculous cures. He also took on kitchen work, laundry, and cleaning. After eight years at Holy Rosary, the prior Juan de Lorenzana, decided to turn a blind eye to the law and permit Martin to take his vows as a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. Holy Rosary was home to 300 men, not all of whom were as open-minded as De Lorenzana; one of the novices called Martin a “mulatto dog,” while one of the priests mocked him for being illegitimate and descended from slaves. He never became a priest. It is said that when his convent was in debt, he implored them: “I am only a poor mulatto, sell me.”

When Martin was 34, after he had been given the religious habit of a lay brother, he was assigned to the infirmary, where he was placed in charge and would remain in service until his death at the age of 59. He was known for his care of the sick. His superiors saw in him the virtues necessary to exercise unfailing patience in this difficult role. It was not long before miracles were attributed to him. Martin also cared for the sick outside his convent, often bringing them healing with only a simple glass of water. He ministered without distinction to Spanish nobles and to slaves recently brought from Africa.

Martin did not eat meat. He begged for alms to procure necessities the convent could not provide.  In normal times, Martin succeeded with his alms to feed 160 poor persons every day, and distributed a remarkable sum of money every week to the indigent. Side by side with his daily work in the kitchen, laundry and infirmary, Martin’s life is said to have reflected extraordinary gifts: ecstasies that lifted him into the air, light filling the room where he prayed, bilocation, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures and a remarkable rapport with animals.  He founded a residence for orphans and abandoned children in the city of Lima.

Martin de Porres is often depicted as a young mulatto friar wearing the old habit of the Dominican lay brother, a black scapular and capuce, along with a broom, since he considered all work to be sacred no matter how menial. He is sometimes shown with a dog, a cat and a mouse eating in peace from the same dish. The statue of him in front of Martin Hall was sculpted by a Dominican Friar, Father Thomas McGlynn, who taught briefly at Providence College.

You need a book.  ONE SPECIFIC BOOK for your paper.  It’s not at PC or in HELIN and you have a couple of weeks before the paper’s due.  You don’t want to buy it on Amazon, so WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Try in INTERLIBRARY LOAN.  Articles come within a couple of days and books usually with a week.  Here’s how:

Go to the library homepage

Scroll down to GET IT

Click on “Interlibrary Loan Books” or “Interlibrary Loan Articles”

This takes you to the ILL form to fill out

Put in as much info as you can

Put in your name and barcode # from your PC ID

Click on “Submit”

THAT’S IT, CONGRATULATIONS!!!  You will receive an email when your book arrives or you will get the article as a pdf in your email.

Wow, that was easy.  If you have a question or problem, call me:

Carol,  ill@providence.edu or 865-1994

It’s not in the HELIN catalog.  It’s not at Brown.  But I really really really need that book.  OR that article.

Did you know that you can get books and articles from all over the

FOR FREE?

Go to the library homepage and under “Get it” click on “Interlibrary Loan books” or “Interlibrary Loan articles” and VOILA!

These are the forms for requesting a book or an article that is not in the HELIN or BROWN catalog.

DON’T FORGET TO PUT YOUR NAME AND BARCODE AT THE BOTTOM AND CLICK “SUBMIT”

THEN…

How long does it take?

Articles usually come in within a couple of days.  Books take at least a week or more.

How long can I keep it?

Books usually for a month and then another month renewal.  Articles are yours to keep.

How will I know when it comes in?

You will get an email if it’s a book.  Articles will be sent directly to you as a pdf.

Well, how cool is that?

One of our favorite databases is VICTORIAN POPULAR CULTURE

Basic themes are

but we’re going to concentrate on Spiritualism, in honor of Halloween.  Spiritualism was an obsession during the Victorian period, particularly in England.

SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY was the hot new thing and how-to books, pamphlets and journals concentrated on this subject, many of which are available on this site.

There are also wonderful, hilarious POSTERS, such as

You can see the posters as a slide show.

There are also VIDEOS of silent films that go back as far as 1894 and the AUDIO selections are old Music Hall songs.

Don’t forget to check out the sideshow freaks…  you might get an idea for a costume.

Happy Halloween.

Learning Express, an online resource accessed through AskRI.org, is a one-stop shop for practice tests, exercises, skill-building courses, eBooks, and other information to enhance school, work or life proficiencies.

In the Jobs & Careers section, there are practice tests for a number of occupations, including electrical, plumbing, cosmetology and more. For example, someone interested in a career at T. F. Green or another airport can find Air Traffic Controller information, which includes preparation books and tests. Other jobs and career tests include those for Commercial Driver’s License, Emergency Medical Services, Nursing, Firefighters, Law Enforcement, as well as the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery for those interested in joining the military.

There is also lots of general career help:

Many of the Jobs & Careers selections available also offer Career Guidance eBooks designed to provide detailed information about the job category as well as strategies for standing out during the application process.

So, go for it!  After all, you’re on your way to

that dream job and rewarding career.