Faithfully Woven: Sister Martin de Porres Coleman, SNDdeN

Our archives are alive with the fascinating stories of our Sisters who established our presence in California. Read how Sister Martin de Porres Coleman, SNDdeN brought music and hope to a community in San Francisco.

Sister Martin de Porres Coleman, SNDdeN was born in El Dorado, Arkansas, and grew up in the Methodist Church, which was a segregated Church. Her musical talent was recognized early, and she was taught to share her gifts through ministry.

After her family moved to Alameda, California, she met the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and began attending Notre Dame Academy where she further developed musical talents in piano and in voice. She was offered a music scholarship to the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California, and entered the novitiate after her freshman year. She later earned a bachelor’s in music, specializing in voice.

In 1970, Sister Martin was invited by two Redemptorists to join them at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, in mission to the Community in Hunters Point, which was the poor Black community of San Francisco.

“Most of the people had been ‘pushed out’ of the center of the City many years before, and most were unable to afford to live elsewhere,” she recalls. “We formed a ministry team and served the people in their many needs.”

Sister Martin formed a youth Gospel choir, where teens learned about Black Church history, music, leadership, service and responsibility. An adult Gospel Choir was also formed, and both choirs helped to prepare the Liturgy for the Sunday Mass. Some aspects of both choirs endure today, as Sister Martin’s influence continues to be felt and lived in California.