Martin de Porres Ward

Servant of God

Martin Maria de Porres Ward

Orders
OrdinationJune 4, 1955
by William Scully
Personal details
Born
Matthias DeWitte Ward

(1918-03-20)March 20, 1918
Charlestown, Massachusetts,
United States
DiedJune 22, 1999(1999-06-22) (aged 81)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
BuriedAndrelândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil
ParentsWilliam Henry Ward & Clara Irby
Alma materSt. Anthony-on-Hudson Seminary

Martin Maria de Porres Ward, O.F.M. Conv. (born Matthias DeWitte Ward; March 20, 1918 – June 22, 1999) was an African-American Catholic priest and Franciscan friar who served as a missionary in Brazil for more than forty years.[1][2] He was the first African American to join the Conventual Friars Minor.

Ward has been proposed as a candidate for canonization by the Diocese of São João del Rei.[3][4][5] In recognition of this, he now has the title Servant of God.

  1. ^ Tinner-Williams, Nate (May 23, 2022). "The native of Boston could be one of the first African American saints". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  2. ^ "Rio Custody – Canonical Visitation of Minister Provincial | Our Lady of the Angels Province". www.olaprovince.org. Archived from the original on 2022-08-05. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  3. ^ Tinner-Williams, Nate (2022-07-27). "African-American Catholic priest who served in Brazil could soon be on road to sainthood". Black Catholic Messenger. Archived from the original on 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  4. ^ "Rio Custody – Canonical Visitation of Minister Provincial". www.olaprovince.org. 2021-08-17. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  5. ^ "Franciscanos - Província São Maximilliano Maria Kolbe - 20 anos da memória de Frei Martinho: quando o Evangelho encontra no testemunho a essência da vocação franciscana". www.franciscano.org.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-05-23.