Martin, one of the patron saints of France, was born about 330 at Sabaria, the modern Szombathely in Hungary. His early years were spent in Pavia in Italy. After a term of service in the Roman army, he traveled around Europe and finally settled in Poitiers, whose bishop, Hilary, he had come to admire.

According to an old legend, while Martin was still a catechumen, he was approached by a poor man, who asked for alms in the name of Christ. Martin, drawing his sword, cut off part of his military cloak and gave it to the beggar. On the following night, Jesus appeared to Martin, clothed in half a cloak, and said to the saints and angels surrounding him, “Martin, a simple catechumen, covered me with this garment.”

Martin was baptized, but believed that his commitment as a Christian required him to leave the army, saying famously: “I am a soldier of Christ. I cannot fight.” Martin pursued the vocation of a hermit for some years until, to his dismay, he was elected as Bishop of Tours in 372. He agreed to serve only if he were allowed to continue his strict, ascetic way of life. His monastery of Marmoutier, near Tours, had a great influence on the development of Celtic monasticism in Britain, where Ninian, among others, promoted Martin’s ascetic and missionary ideals.

Martin was unpopular with many of his episcopal colleagues, both because of his manner of life and because of his strong opposition to their violent repression of heresy. Martin believed that heretics should be persuaded by sound preaching and by the testimony of holy lives rather than by force. He was a diligent missionary to the pagans in the countryside near his hermitage and was always a staunch defender of the poor and the marginalized.

Martin died on November 8th, 397, but he has long been commemorated on November 11th, the date of his burial. His shrine at Tours became a popular site for pilgrimages and a secure sanctuary for those seeking protection and justice.