In the year 316, in the city of Sabaria (today's Hungary), a boy was born named Martin!

His father was an officer in the Roman army!

His mother was a simple woman!

The family wasn't Christian! They were pagans!

But little Martin had something special in his heart...

From childhood, he was kind! Generous! Good!

He liked to help the poor!

And something in him desired to know God!

The Boy Who Wanted to Be Christian

When Martin was 10 years old, something special happened!

He heard about Jesus!

About a God who loved everyone! Who died on the cross!

Who resurrected! Who forgave sins!

Martin's heart filled with joy!

"I want to follow Jesus!" he decided.

"I want to be Christian!"

Martin went to a Christian church!

"I want to be baptized!" he asked the priest.

"I want to be a disciple of Jesus!"

The priest was happy! But he said:

"You need your parents' permission!"

"And you need to study and prepare first!"

Martin was sad! His parents weren't Christian!

They wouldn't allow it!

Soldier Against His Will

When Martin was 15 years old, his father forced him to join the army!

(In those times, soldiers' sons had to be soldiers too!)

Martin didn't want to! He wanted to serve God, not Rome!

But he had no choice!

He was recruited! He became a soldier!

They put armor on him! Gave him a sword! A horse!

Martin became a Roman cavalry soldier!

But Martin was different from other soldiers!

They were rough! Violent! Drunkards!

Martin was gentle! Kind! Pure!

They mocked the weak!

Martin helped them!

They stole from the poor!

Martin gave to the poor!

Everyone noticed: "This soldier is different!"

The Terrible Winter

Martin was sent to the region of Amiens in Gaul (today's France)!

It was winter! And what a winter!

Snow falling! Cutting wind! Terrible cold!

People suffered! Especially the poor!

Many didn't have warm clothes!

Many died from cold in the streets!

It was sad! Desperate!

The Encounter at the Gate

One day, Martin was riding near the city gate!

He was 18 years old!

He wore his red military cloak to protect from the cold!

It was a special cloak! An officer's! Beautiful and warm!

Suddenly, he saw something that broke his heart...

The Beggar in the Cold

Near the gate, sitting on the frozen ground, was a beggar!

Old! Ragged! Shivering from cold!

He had no adequate clothes!

Only torn rags that barely covered his body!

His skin was blue from cold!

He stretched out his hand asking for help!

But people passed! Nobody stopped!

Nobody cared!

Martin stopped his horse!

He looked at the beggar!

Then he looked at himself!

"I have a warm cloak! And he's freezing!"

"I must help him!"

But Martin had already given all his money to other poor people!

He had nothing left to give!

He only had... his cloak!

The Extraordinary Gesture

Martin had an idea!

He dismounted from his horse!

He took off his military cloak!

He took his sword!

And cut the cloak in half!

Half he gave to the beggar!

"Take this! This will warm you!"

The other half, he wore!

The other soldiers laughed!

"Look at Martin! How ridiculous!"

"With half a cloak! He looks silly!"

"Why didn't you give the whole cloak, if you were going to give?"

But Martin didn't care!

He knew: the cloak belonged to the Roman army!

Only half was his! The other half he couldn't give!

So he gave what was his!

And the beggar was happy! Now he had something to keep warm!

The Marvelous Dream

That night, Martin slept!

And he had an extraordinary dream!

He saw Heaven! Full of angels! Full of light!

And in the middle of Heaven was Jesus Christ!

Jesus was shining! Glorious! King of kings!

But do you know what Jesus was wearing?

The half cloak that Martin had given!

Jesus looked at the angels and said:

"Look! Martin, who isn't even baptized yet, clothed me with this cloak!"

Martin understood!

The beggar was Jesus!

Jesus had disguised himself as a beggar!

To test Martin!

To see if he would help!

And Martin passed the test!

The Baptism

Martin woke from the dream moved!

"I must be baptized! I must become a true Christian!"

He was 18 years old! No longer a child!

He didn't need his parents' permission anymore!

Martin sought out a bishop!

He did the catechumenate! He studied! He learned!

And he was baptized!

He officially became a Christian!

What joy!

Leaving the Army

Martin continued in the army for a few more years!

But his heart wasn't there!

He wanted to serve God! Not Rome!

When he was 22 years old, a battle was approaching!

The emperor gathered the troops!

Martin presented himself and said:

"Emperor, until now I have served you! Now I want to serve Christ!"

"I am a soldier of Christ! I can no longer fight!"

The emperor was furious!

"You're a coward! You're afraid to fight!"

Martin replied: "Tomorrow, I'll go to the front of the battle! Unarmed!"

"Only with the sign of the cross! If I'm a coward, let them kill me!"

"But I won't kill anyone! Because I'm a Christian!"

What courage! To face an army without weapons!

Only trusting in God!

But the next day... the enemy asked for peace!

There was no battle!

And Martin was released from the army!

Disciple of Saint Hilary

Martin traveled to Poitiers!

There he met Saint Hilary, a holy bishop!

Hilary taught Martin!

Martin learned about God! About the Bible! About the faith!

He became Hilary's disciple!

Later he was ordained a deacon, then a priest!

Martin wanted to live as a monk!

Simple! Poor! Dedicated to God!

The Hermit

Martin founded a monastery in Ligugé!

It was the first monastery in Gaul!

There, he lived in poverty! Prayer! Fasting!

Many miracles happened!

Martin healed the sick!

He cast out demons!

He raised three people from the dead!

(Yes, three!)

His fame as a saint spread throughout Gaul!

Bishop of Tours

In 371, the bishop of the city of Tours died!

The people wanted Martin as the new bishop!

"Martin is a saint! He should be our bishop!"

But Martin didn't want to!

"I'm not worthy! I want to stay in the monastery!"

The people used a trick! They sent word:

"A person is sick! They need you!"

Martin went! He always helped the sick!

But when he arrived in Tours... the people surrounded him!

"You are our bishop!"

The Poor Bishop

Martin was bishop for 26 years!

But he was a different bishop!

Other bishops lived in palaces!

Martin lived in a hut!

Other bishops wore rich clothes!

Martin wore simple clothes!

Other bishops had servants!

Martin served the poor!

Martin traveled throughout his diocese!

On foot! Or by donkey!

He visited villages! He preached! He baptized!

He destroyed pagan temples! He planted churches!

He founded many parishes!

He healed the sick! He cast out demons!

He was a missionary bishop! Active! Zealous!

Everyone loved him!

November 8, 397: Death

Martin was 81 years old!

He was visiting a parish in Candes!

There, he became sick! Very sick!

He knew he was going to die!

His disciples cried!

"Don't leave us, Father!"

Martin prayed: "Lord, if I am still necessary, I don't refuse the work!"

"But if You want to take me, may Your will be done!"

Martin died on November 8, 397!

Lying on ashes! Like a poor man!

His last words were prayers!

Everyone cried! The holy bishop had departed!

His body was taken to Tours!

Thousands of people came to the funeral!

They buried him with honor!

Over his tomb they built a great basilica!

The Cult and Veneration

Saint Martin became one of the most popular saints in Europe!

Thousands of churches were dedicated to him!

In France! In Germany! In Italy! Everywhere!

Kings honored him! The poor invoked him!

His feast is November 11!

(It used to be November 8, the day of his death, but changed to 11, the day of his funeral)

The Cloak of Saint Martin

You know that cloak Martin divided?

It became a sacred relic!

The kings of France guarded it!

They took it into battles for protection!

The place where they kept the cloak was called "capella" (little cloak)!

That's why today we call small churches "chapels"!

And the priests who care for them "chaplains"!

All because of Saint Martin's cloak!

Patron of Many Causes

Saint Martin is patron of:

- Soldiers (he was a soldier!)

- The poor (he served the poor!)

- Beggars (he clothed the beggar!)

- Tailors (he cut the cloak!)

- Knights (he rode on horseback!)

- France (he evangelized Gaul!)

- Many cities (Tours, Buenos Aires, and others!)

His feast: November 11!

Saint Martin's Summer

In Europe, there's an interesting phenomenon!

In early November, near Saint Martin's day, the weather gets warmer!

A few warm days in the middle of autumn!

They call this "Saint Martin's Summer"!

It's as if God warms the world to celebrate the saint who warmed the beggar!

Beautiful, isn't it?