Saint of the Day - Martin of Tours (November 11th)
Channel: House of Prayers for Everyone (HOPE)
Date: 10/11/2023

Every November 11, the Catholic Church honors Saint Martin of Tours, who left the Roman army to become a “Soldier of Christ” and later become the Bishop of Tours.

Early Life

Martin was born in the year 316 in Savaria in the Diocese of Pannonia (now Szombathely, Hungary). His father was a tribune in the Roman military and by the he retired, was given land at Ticinum (now Pavia), in northern Italy, where Martin grew up.

At 10, he attended the Christian church against the wishes of his parents and became a catechumen. Since he was the son of a veteran officer, Martin was required to join the cavalry at 15. 

By 18, he was stationed in Gaul where he is likely became part of the elite bodyguard of the Emperor which accompanied him on his travels around the Empire. Martin served under the Roman emperor Constantine II and afterward under Julian.

Soldier of Christ

While stationed in Gaul, he met a beggar. He impulsively cut his military cloak in half to share with the man. That night, Martin dreamed of Jesus wearing half of the cloak he had given away. He heard Jesus say to the angels, "Martin, who is still but a catechumen, clothed me with this robe."

This contributed to him switching allegiance before a battle in the Gallic provinces, "I am the soldier of Christ: it is not lawful for me to fight."

Charged with cowardice, he volunteered to go unarmed in front of the invading troops; however, the invaders asked for peace, thus, the battle never occurred, and Martin was released from military service.

Monk and Hermit

Martin declared his vocation and became a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers' Christian orthodoxy. When Hilary was forced into exile, Martin returned to Italy. According to tradition, he converted an Alpine brigand and even confronted the Devil himself while on his way to Italy.

He visited his home and was able to convert his mother and other people except his father. Due to differences in belief, he was forced to leave Illyricum. He was also confronted by the Archbishop of Milan, who expelled him from the city. 

Martin decided to seek shelter on the island called Gallinaria where he lived the solitary life of a hermit. Legend tells that being on the verge of death for having eaten a poisonous herb, Martin prayed and was miraculously cured.

With the return of Hilary to his See in 361, Martin joined him and established a hermitage nearby, which soon attracted converts and followers. Martin traveled and preached through western Gaul.

Bishop of Tours

In 371, Martin was named bishop of Tours, although reluctantly. As bishop, he ordered the destruction of pagan temples, altars, and sculptures. In one instance, the pagans agreed to fall their sacred pine tree if Martin would stand directly in its path. He did so, and it miraculously missed him.

Martin also introduced a rudimentary parish system. Once a year, the bishop visited each of his parishes. He continued to set up monastic communities and extended the bounds of his episcopate from Touraine to such distant points as Chartres, Paris, Autun, and Vienne.

Martin was so dedicated to the freeing of prisoners that when authorities, even emperors, heard he was coming, they refused to see him because they knew he would request mercy for someone and they would be unable to refuse.

Saving the Priscillianists

The churches in Gaul and Spain were disturbed by the Priscillianists, an ascetic sect named after its leader, Priscillian, who was elected bishop of Avila. Ithacius of Ossonoba appealed to emperor Gratian, who issued a rescript against Priscillian and his followers.

Although he opposed this sect, Martin traveled to the Imperial court of Trier to remove them from the secular jurisdiction of the emperor and Bishop Ithacius's idea of putting heretics to death. At first, Martin prevailed to spare the life of Priscillian, but after he left, the emperor yielded to Ithacius and ordered Priscillian and his followers to be beheaded. 

Death

Martin died in Candes-Saint-Martin, Gaul (in central France) in 397. Residents of Tours carried Martin's body to a waiting boat on the river Loire and ferried his body on the river to Tours, where a huge throng of people waited on the river banks to meet and pay their last respects to Martin's body.

One chronicle states that “2,000 monks, and nearly as many white-robed virgins, walked in the procession” accompanying the body from the river to a small grove outside of Tours, where Martin was buried.

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Images attributed to the following:
- By El Greco - 1. The Yorck Project (2002) 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei (DVD-ROM), distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. ISBN: 3936122202.2. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., online collection, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
- By Workshop of Derick Baegert, Wikimedia Commons
- By Simone Martini - The Yorck Project (2002) 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei (DVD-ROM), distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. ISBN: 3936122202., Wikimedia Commons