Saint Martin of Tours

St. Martin and the Beggar by El Greco
1597-99, oil on canvas

Today the Church keeps memory of Saint Martin of Tours, a memorial which happens to coincide today with Veteran's Day here in the U.S. That's very fitting, given that Saint Martin is one of the patron saints of soldiers.

Martin was born in 316 in what is now Hungary. He was the son of pagans, his father being a Roman soldier and centurion. Martin was raised in Italy and followed in his father's footsteps by joining the military. He developed an interest in Christianity and became a catechumen in his teens, eventually being baptized at age 18.

Probably the most famous story about Martin involves one particular encounter with a beggar. He was riding his horse one day in Gaul (modern France), when he encountered the beggar. Since Martin had nothing to give the man but the clothes on his back, he cut his officer's cloak apart and gave him half. Later on Martin had a vision in which Christ appeared to him wearing the half of the cloak that he'd given to the beggar.

Martin soon left the military and became a spiritual student of Saint Hilary of Poitiers. He initially went to the Ligugé region of France to become a hermit. However, it was only a few years before his holiness began attracting other monks. Eventually Martin joined with them to found the Benedictine abbey of Ligugé. He became known for his preaching and evangelizing throughout the countryside.

When the Bishop of Tours died in 371, Martin was the immediate choice to replace him. However, Martin declined, citing his unworthiness to assume the office. But his soon-to-be flock was craftier than he was. :) A wealthy citizen of Tours claimed that his wife was ill and asked for Martin to come minister to her. When Martin arrived in the city, he was declared Bishop by popular acclamation. He was consecrated a bishop on July 4, 372.

After his episcopal ordination, Martin moved to a hermit's cell near the city Tours. Other monks joined him there, and a new house, Marmoutier, was soon formed. But Martin rarely traveled far from his monastery, only to make visits to his diocese and to his flock.

Martin of Tours died on November 8, 397 at Tours, France, of natural causes. He requested that he be buried in the Cemetery of the Poor, which he was on November 11, 397. Given that Martin lived in such an early period in the life of the Church, the exact date for his canonization isn't known. It's likely that it was by popular acclaim. Martin of Tours was the first non-martyr to be venerated as a saint. Saint Martin is still an extremely popular and well-known saint in Europe.