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 & Mission:
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.