CrucisSt. Martin of Tours
St. Martin of Tours was born around 316 at Savaria in Pannonia (modern Hungary), the son of a pagan Roman officer, and died on 8 November 397 at Candes in Gaul (modern France). Enrolled in the Roman army as a young man, he was already a catechumen when, one bitter winter at the gates of Amiens, he cut his military cloak in two with his sword to clothe a shivering beggar; that night he saw Christ in a dream wearing the half-cloak, and soon after he was baptized and left the army, unwilling to shed blood.
Becoming a disciple of St. Hilary of Poitiers, he founded at Ligugé what is often called the first monastery in Gaul, and later the great community of Marmoutier. Made bishop of Tours by popular acclaim, he combined the monk's austerity with tireless zeal for the Gospel, traveling through the countryside to convert the pagan population and overturn their shrines. One of the first non-martyrs to be venerated as a saint, he became one of the most beloved saints of the West and a patron of France and of soldiers; his feast, Martinmas, is kept on 11 November.
Selected quotes
“Lord, if your people still need me, I do not refuse the work; your will be done.”
“Proclaim Christ where he is unknown, and let your charity make the Gospel believable.”
“What you give to the beggar in the cold, you give to Christ, who wears the garment of the poor.”