Benedict the Moor

Saint Benedict of Palermo OFM
Stained glass of Saint Benedict the Moor, inside of the Capela do Divino Espírito Santo, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Religious and confessor
Born	1526 San Fratello, Messina, Sicily, Crown of Aragon
Died	4 April 1589(1589-04-04) (aged 62–63) Palermo, Sicily, Crown of Aragon
Venerated in	Catholic Church (Sicily and the Franciscan Order) Lutheranism
Beatified	1734 by Pope Benedict XIV
Canonized	24 May 1807 by Pope Pius VII
Major shrine	Convent of Santa Maria di Gesù al Capo, Palermo, Italy
Feast	4 April (3 April in the Franciscan Order)
Patronage	African missions; African Americans; black missions; black people; Palermo; San Fratello; Acquedolci; Sicily

Benedict the Moor OFM (Italian: Benedetto il Moro; 1526 – 4 April 1589) was a Sicilian Franciscan friar. Born of enslaved Africans in San Fratello, he was freed at birth and became known for his charity.

As a young man he joined a Franciscan-affiliated hermit group, of which he became the leader. In 1564 he was sent to the Franciscan friary in Palermo, where he continued good works. He died in 1589 and was canonized as a Catholic saint by Pope Pius VII in 1807.