Parish Information

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Location & Contact Information

History

Vision and Mission Statement

Patron Saint

HISTORY

St. Martin de Porres Catholic Faith Community began in August 1970 when Cardinal Timothy Manning established a new parish in Yorba Linda. At that time the population of the city of Yorba Linda, which was incorporated in 1967, had grown to over 10,000. St. Joseph Catholic Church in nearby Placentia had served the Catholic residents of Yorba Linda, which was still considered part of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The Yorba Linda Boulevard site chosen for the parish buildings was a vacant field in a dry farming area known by local inhabitants as the "barley" or "hay" fields.

With a nucleus of only 200 families from St. Joseph's, the parish was launched in late 1970 with the construction of a rectory and multipurpose building. With the sky as a roof in this partially completed building, the first Mass was celebrated at St. Martin de Porres on Easter Sunday 1971 and followed by a dedication of the completed structure in May 1972 by Cardinal Manning.

As the parish grew to over 2,000 families and the city population swelled to 29,000, the dream of a new parish church became a reality with the first Mass on August 15, 1982. Bishop William Johnson presided at the solemn dedication on September 16, 1982. This faith community continued to grow rapidly, not only in the number of parishioners, but also in the number of staff, diverse ministries and organizations it provided.

Today, St. Martin de Porres has an abundant variety of parish ministries and organizations that work together to challenge, impact and empower everyone in the community to live the Good News of Jesus Christ. We strive to be an evangelizing faith community that invites all its members to become fully alive in their Catholic faith through Community, Catechesis, Celebration and Outreach. We welcome and support all persons, whether adults, youth or children, to the ongoing commitment of sharing the responsibility of building the Kingdom of God.

VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT

We, the people of St. Martin de Porres Catholic Faith Community, baptized into Jesus Christ, formed by word and sacrament, and empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit, seek to be a visible sign of God's Love.

PATRON SAINT: SAINT MARTIN DE PORRES

Our mission is to build God's Kingdom by:

	Calling forth one another's unique gifts through openness to the Holy Spirit.
	Using our gifts for the common good.
	Welcoming all and caring for those in need.
	Teaching our faith to others.
	Promoting healing through presence, sharing of burdens, and unconditional love.

Illustration by:
Dave Glaudini

Martin de Porres was the unwanted child of a Spanish grandee and a freed African slave. He was born in Lima, Peru. He raised himself, for the most part, and became an apprentice to a barber-surgeon. At fifteen he began his long relationship with the Dominican Order and later took his vows as a brother.

His painful childhood taught him compassion and generosity. As a Dominican he doctored Lima's sick. While surgery was primitive in his day, he had a vast knowledge of herbal medicines. In addition to his free services as a doctor, he distributed thousands of dollars worth of food and clothing to the poor each week. He founded an orphanage for abandoned children and staffed it with the best teachers, nurses and guardians he could hire. On the hills near Lima, he planted fruit orchards for the poor. He is also remembered for his love of animals.

Many of his fellow religious took Martin as their spiritual director, but he continued to refer to himself as a "poor slave". He was a good friend of another Dominican saint of Peru, Rose of Lima. Pope John XXIII remarked at Martin's canonization on May 6, 1962, that Martin excused the faults of others and forgave the bitterest injuries. He tried with all his might to redeem the guilty; lovingly comforting the sick and providing food, clothing and medicine for the poor.