Every November 11, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Saint Martin of Tours (4th century), the Roman soldier converted to Christianity who became a bishop, and who was immortalized in the memory of the Church for one of his acts of charity.
Saint Martin of Tours is the patron saint of churches, associations, initiatives and various places around the world.
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‘Soldier of Christ’
Martin was born in Pannonia (now Hungary) around the year 316. He was the son of pagan parents. His father was a soldier and, following family tradition, he joined the Roman imperial guard at the age of 15. While in the army, he converted to Christianity and was admitted as a catechumen.
Martin thus ceased to be ‘the emperor’s soldier’, to ‘defend another Lord’ and ‘extend’ his Kingdom on earth. Something undoubtedly better, far above the usual desires for glory and honor that govern this world.
“I have fought the good fight” (2 Tim 4, 7)
Although some make fun of the ‘war’ language – undoubtedly metaphorical – that is used to explain certain aspects of Christian life, or see in it the supposed traps of warmongering, which they believe is inherent to religion, Christianity goes in another direction: the Kingdom of God is not of this world (see: Jn 18, 33-37). And the Kingdom of God rests on divine justice and mercy and not on human whim. For this reason, in Tradition and Scripture – “The life of man on earth is warfare” (Jb 7,1-4.6-7) – analogies or similes abound between the battlefield, military discipline and combat. reality that must be fought against sin and evil, starting with one’s own interior, with one’s own heart.
The ‘soldier’ is not per se someone lacking judgment, empathy or humanity, a kind of murderer protected by the power of some. The soldier’s reason for being is to defend a noble cause, with a level of commitment that can put one’s own life at stake, in order to do good for others. That is the essence of the ‘soldier’, or, in any case, that should always be it. The crown of the good soldier is victory over evil. Victory! sing the sky for Martín.
Patron of the Pope’s Guard
Martin’s connection with a military career led Catholic tradition to choose him as patron of the Swiss Guard, the so-called “Pope’s army”, which once fulfilled conventional functions – typical of military campaigns -, defending the States in past centuries. Vatican, but today it only guards the Vatican City and those who reside or transit through its small territory.
Charity “with cloak and dagger”: Martin and the beggar
Around the year 337, when Martin met the Roman army in Amiens, in northern France, he saw a beggar lying next to the city gate, shivering from the cold. The noble soldier, seeing him in these conditions, sword in hand, divided his cloak in two: one half he kept out of respect for whoever granted it to him – the Empire he served – while the other he used to cover the almost frozen body of the beggar, giving him the shelter and coat he needed.
The gesture left those who witnessed it astonished, since Roman officers, as a rule, should never show compassion or pity for anyone, especially towards the weak.
Days after what he did, Martin had a dream in which Christ appeared saying to the angels: “Martin, while still a catechumen, has covered me with this dress.”
Christ himself thus confirmed to the saint that “Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even to the least of these, you did it to me” (Mt 25, 40). That gesture of love for one’s neighbor, of selflessness, of courage and of justice, has remained eternal. Art, in oil paintings and frescoes, has represented him countless times, as can be easily seen if the iconography of the saint is reviewed, although special mention deserves the impressive painting that El Greco (1541-1614) made depicting Saint Martin on his horse, cutting his cloak to give to a naked man.
Monk, priest and pastor
Once Martin resigned from the military, he joined the disciples of Saint Hilary of Poitiers and adopted the ascetic way of life and constant prayer. Unfortunately, Hilario had to go into exile and leave Poitiers, so Martin also decided to leave the city and settle in Milan. There he reunited with his mother, whom he converted to Christianity. Unfortunately he would not have the same luck with his father.
When Hilario returns to Poitiers, Martin decides to go meet him. Returning to the French city, he dedicated himself to promoting the construction of a monastery in Ligugé – the first to be built in Europe. There he lived as a monk for a decade under the spiritual direction of Hilario, his spiritual preceptor. This would prepare him for the diaconate and the priesthood. After receiving the priestly order, Martin was elected bishop of the city of Tours.
The episode with Prisciliano
As bishop, Martin dedicated himself to evangelization and combating pagan influence within the Church, especially that produced by Gnosticism. In this purpose he had to face the Hispano-Roman bishop Priscillian (inspirer of the heretical doctrine of an ascetic nature known as Priscillianism, close to Manichaeism).
Martin was permanently in dispute with Priscillian in the doctrinal field, but even with that, he did not hesitate to show his open rejection of the imprisonment and death sentence of Priscillian, ordered by Magnus Maximus, Roman emperor, as a result of the political pressures exerted by Idacio. , bishop of Mérida.
Martin interceded for Priscillian before the emperor, but he did not listen to him and leaned in favor of Idacio. Martín, struck by these sad events, would break all ties with the bishop of Mérida until the epilogue of their lives, when they were reconciled.
Latest pastoral actions
Bishop Martín founded a community called “Greater Convention” (major monastery), also known as Marmoutier (France).
Furthermore, in his zeal to evangelize, he dedicated the last 25 years of his life to traveling through the regions of Touraine, Chartres, Paris, Autun, Sens and Vienne. Death found him in Candes (current Candes-Saint-Martin) in the year 397.
To pray at the “chapel”
After his death, the half-cape that he had once given to that beggar was found and placed in an urn, and a small sanctuary was built to preserve it, one that would also serve as a place of worship.
It is believed that the use of the term “chapel” to designate a small temple comes from the story of San Martín. As in Latin “half a layer” it is said “chapel”, people used to say: “Let’s pray where the chapel is”, alluding to the saint’s sanctuary. The custom evolved into the shorter and more colloquial use of the expression “let’s go to the chapel.”
In this way, the word “chapel”, through its vulgarization, began to denote any building or small space dedicated exclusively to prayer or liturgy. It was thus, with this meaning, that the term would be incorporated into many languages, including Spanish.
Patronages in Europe and America (the Argentine case)
Saint Martin is the patron saint of countries such as France and Hungary. It is also true of important cities such as the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. There is a beautiful story surrounding this last patronage.
Custom obliged the Spanish conquerors (16th century) to consecrate all the cities they founded to some saint. The “City of the Holy Trinity and Port of Santa María de los Buenos Aires” could not have been the exception. So, the founders decided to shuffle names and draw lots. The ballots were made marked with the names of the candidates, and it was determined that the city would be placed under the protection of the saint who was drawn.
Once the draw was carried out, the following name could be read on the ballot drawn: “San Martín de Tours”. Some were happy, while others were dissatisfied because it was a “French saint.” So they decided to repeat the process two more times, and the next two times the name of the saint of Tours came up again.
The founders raised no further objections and accepted the result as divine will. San Martín de Tours had been definitively elected patron of the capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, today the Argentine Republic.
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If you want to know more about the life of San Martín de Tours, we suggest this article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/San_Mart%C3%ADn_de_Tours.
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