ABSTRACT
At Mass each morning at the Saint Martín de Porres church in a black neighborhood on Dixwell Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut, Doña Cristina Fuentes prayed for the salvation of each Puerto Rican in the city. After Mass she remained seated, praying to the Virgin Mary for strength to confront her own personal problems. Then she would turn to the wooden statue of San Martín de Porres, her numero uno saint, to ask for guidance in coping with the problems. Strength and guidance were both necessary.
