Hello and welcome to Saint Stories for Kids, a weekly podcast full of fun stories and

facts about the holy men and women that have come before us. I'm your host

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Today we'll be telling the story of St. Martin DePours, whose feast is celebrated on November 3rd.

Martin DuPours was born on December 9th, 1579 in Lima, Peru.

He and his younger sister were the illegitimate children of Spanish noblemen,

Don Juan DuPours, and a freed slave from Panama named Anna Velazquez.

His father abandoned his family after the birth of his younger sister Wanna, and his mother

had to work as a laundry woman to support her two young children.

His mother tried her best but when it became increasingly hard to pay her bills

Martin was set to school for two years and then apprenticed under a barber

slash surgeon so he could learn to be a doctor.

That was the skill he used for the rest of his life.

After joining the Dominican brothers he worked in the infirmary from the age of 34 until his death.

His path in the religious life was not an easy one.

Under Peruvian law, descendants of Africans and Native Americans were banned from becoming

full members of religious orders.

So Martin had to join the Dominican Order first as a servant boy and work for many years in that capacity

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