THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS The Patron Saint of Reformed Alcoholics, Riders and Quartermasters Feast Day: November 11
"Lord, if your people still have need of my services, I will not avoid the toil."
Known as 'Martin the Merciful', the patron of those who against poverty and alcoholism, beggars, hotel-keepers, innkeepers, the Archdiocese of Bratislava, the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, and the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps, was born in 316 or 336 in the Diocese of Pannonia (now Szombathely, Hungary).
At the age of 10 he attended the Christian church against the wishes of his parents and became a catechumen. Christianity had been made a legal religion (in 313) in the Roman Empire. It had many more adherents in the Eastern Empire, whence it had sprung, and was concentrated in cities, brought along the trade routes by converted Jews and Greeks (the term 'pagan' means 'non-combatant').
Christianity was far from accepted among the higher echelons of society; among members of the army the worship of Mithras would have been stronger. Although the conversion of the Emperor Constantine and the subsequent programme of church-building gave a greater impetus to the spread of the religion, it was still a minority faith.
According to his biographer, Sulpicius Severus, he served in the military for only another two years, though it has been argued that these two years, 'are in fact not nearly enough to bring the account to the time when he would leave, that is, during his encounter with Caesar Julian (the one who has gone down in history as Julian the Apostate) Martin would have been 45 years old when Julian acceded to the throne, and at the usual end of a military contract.'
Being the son of a Roman officer (tribune), he was forced to enter the army at 15, and was required to join a cavalry. At the age of 18 (around 334 or 354), he was stationed at Ambianensium civitas or Samarobriva in Gaul (now Amiens, France).
While he was stationed at Gaul when Martin was 23, he saw at the gate a beggar almost frozen to death. Immediately, he cut his military cloak into two pieces with his sword, and gave one to the poor man. That night, Martin saw Jesus Christ in his sleep, dressed in that half cloak. Thereafter, he wanted to leave the army to serve God alone. But the Barbarians were about to attack, and Julian interpreted it as an act of cowardice.
Martin replied: 'I am prepared to stand in the battle-line unarmed and to advance alone against the enemy in the name of Christ.'
Martin declared his vocation, and made his way to the city of Caesarodunum (now Tours), where he became a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers' Christian orthodoxy. He opposed the Arianism of the Imperial Court. When Hilary was forced into exile from Pictavium (now Poitiers), Martin returned to Italy.
According to Sulpicius, he converted an Alpine brigand on the way, and confronted the Devil himself. Having heard in a dream a summons to revisit his home, Martin crossed the Alps, and from Milan went over to Pannonia. There he converted his mother and some other persons; his father he could not win over.
The following day, the Barbarians miraculously asked for an armistice. Thus, Martin was allowed to leave the army and to receive baptism. Having preached the Gospel to his family, Martin became a monk at Ligugé in France.
Martin was elected as bishop of Tours in 371, proving himself an excellent pastor. He founded monasteries, educated the clergy, and gave particular attention to the conversion of the rural population. He is also credited with destroying many pagan temples and sacred trees. He spent the last days of his life with his hands raised to heaven.
To those who suggested he got some relief by lying on his other side, he answered: 'Allow me to look toward heaven rather than the earth.'
Then, he saw the devil standing near and cried: 'You, bloodthirsty brute, will not have me for your prey!'
With these words, Martin gave up his spirit on November 8, 397 in Candes, Gaul (modern-day France) at the age of 60 or 81. Martin of Tours was proclaimed patron of Italian volunteering by the Italian bishops in the spring of 2021.
