Saint Martn de Porres (December 9, 1579 November 3, 1639) was a Dominican cooperator brother who was beatified in the year 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He was the Patron Saint of mixed-race people and all those seeking interracial harmony. He was noted for work on behalf of the poor, establishing an orphanage and a 's hospital. He maintained an austere lifestyle, which included fasting and abstaining from meat. Among the many miracles attributed to him were those of levitation, bilocation, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures and an ability to communicate with animals.