An Olive Growing Saint
Gianfranco Vargas Flores EVOO consultant and teacher tell us that on November 3rd of every year, we mourn the death of the first Saint of the Catholic Church who was mestizo. San Martín de Porres or Porras Velázquez was born in Lima, Peru on Sunday, December 9, 1579. He was the son of Juan de Porres, who was Spanish and Ana Velázquez, a Panamanian.
Throughout the years of his service, he was able to unite the three groups that made up viceregal Lima. This was not an easy task as a variety of conflicts existed between these groups at that time. Martín de Porras had love and respect for every group and would heal them the same, no matter their ethnic origin or culture (whether they were indigenous, black or Spanish). This was, and continues to be a great example of unity in the direst of circumstances in such a fractured society.
Saint Rose of Lima was a contemporary of Martín de Porres, and he was even a friend of San Juan Macías. In 1962, he was canonized more than 300 years after his death. In fact, in the last mass given in the Vatican by Pope Francis, Saint Martin de Porres was celebrated and referenced to by the Argentinian pontiff.
His remains can be found in the Basilica of Santo Domingo in Lima. Today, he is considered to be one of the patron saints of the charitable organization Caritas.
Martín de Porres was able to distinguish himself as a Saint through all but the typical ways. He wasn’t a preacher, a martyr or a theologian. He was actually able to stand out due to his activities as an olive farmer and an initiator of olive growing in what we now call today the Olivar de San Isidro Forest, which had been referred to previously as Hacienda de Rosario. This land was part of a donation to the Order of preachers back in 1539, and is located on a part of the royal or Incan Road leading to a temple dedicated to the Inca god Pachacamac.
It was in 1637 that San Martín planted some olive trees along the road. He was quoted to have said that, “We will cut stakes (from olive trees) so that from the royal road to the mill we can make an olive grove (…) And they will say that God forgives whoever planted this olive grove.”
So you know it isn’t a mere myth, the age of the trees have been accurately dated by the Polytechnic University of Madrid. They did this by using a state-of-the-art technology called Santander.
Although San Martín is long gone and is no longer with us, these trees are still standing strong and have allowed for his memory to live on.