The people of Andrelândia, Brazil, and the friars of the Provincial Custody of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. in Brazil, continue to honor the memory of Friar Martin de Porres Maria WARD, OFM Conv., (1918-1999).
On the last Sunday of each month, a special Mass is celebrated at 3:00 p.m., at the Conventual Franciscan hermitage known as the Casa da Perfeita Alegria, located at the former São Francisco Seminary in Andrelândia, Brazil.
After the 3:00 p.m. Mass, there is a procession to the tomb of Friar Martin while reciting a prayer to invoke his intercession. The procession is followed by the sprinkling of holy water and the blessing of the faithful and any religious articles they may have brought.
One of Friar Martin’s confreres described him and his relationship to the faithful as follows: “Friar Martin de Porres Maria WARD, OFM Conv., was someone who stood out. Not only because of his faded gray habit and the skullcap he wore, but mostly because of what he did as a consecrated religious and as a Franciscan. He always sought to imitate the Poor, Humble and Obedient Christ, following the example of our founder St. Francis of Assisi. As an ordained minister, he stood out in the way he faithfully exercised his priestly ministry, particularly the way he administered the sacrament of the Eucharist and the sacrament of Reconciliation.
A distinct aspect of his fame of holiness was his concern for the poor, whom he went forth to meet, seeking to alleviate their suffering, both spiritually and materially. Friar Martin lived a great part of his life in Andrelândia, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, and had a great influence on Christian education there as a teacher of English, Latin, Greek and religion at local schools and colleges. In the last years of his life, he was a teacher and spiritual director for our Conventual Franciscan seminarians.
The friars and the faithful who lived with and around him unanimously saw him as a ‘person of God.’ Many were drawn to him, not only by his words, but also because of his actions―the way he lived his Franciscan-ministerial vocation, and his dedication to the People of God.
Today, the faithful continue to recognize his fame of holiness, even after his death. The friars did not know at first that the faithful had been continuously visiting and praying at Friar Martin’s gravesite. Even after the seminary closed and the friars departed Andrelândia, the lay faithful continued to keep the memory of Friar Martin alive.
Ever since the friars’ recent return to Andrelândia, they have been celebrating a special Mass on the last Sunday of each month, which is followed by a procession to Friar Martin’s grave. The faithful from the city and the surrounding areas have been attending these events in ever increasing numbers.”
A room has been set up in the friary in Andrelândia where Friar Martin lived. It displays a number of simple items that were part of Friar Martin’s daily life: his bed, nightstand, chair, washbasin, white alb, and his faded gray habit.
After his death, the Parish of Nossa Senhora do Porto da Eterna Salvação commemorated Friar Martin with a plaque in Portuguese which reads:
Peace and All Good!
Friar Martin always offered this prayer to his friends and the people with whom he spoke.
My God and My All!
This exclamation always flowed naturally from his lips at the solemn moment following the consecration, as he visualized by faith, the Bread and Wine transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of the Lord.
Peace and All Good to you Friar Martin
To the happy Friar Martin who, like Mary, believed,
May you rest in peace!
To Friar Martin, who greatly loved the people of Andrelândia and was loved by them with equal intensity, we offer our respect and eternal gratitude.
Nossa Senhora do Porto da Eterna Salvação Parish
Friar Domingos and Parishioners
To see a video of the monthly commemorative celebration, click here:
https://1drv.ms/v/s!AiGFmpk0RqSDhbApaPEeDq_dixfmVw?e=hONuhA
Friar Julian ZAMBANINI, Vice-Postulator
