The Roman soldier who became a monk and bishop, famed for sharing his cloak with a beggar — one of the most beloved saints of the West and patron of France.
Life
Martin of Tours (316–397), a Roman soldier, underwent conversion — the famous story tells of him cutting his military cloak in two to clothe a freezing beggar, then dreaming of Christ wearing it. He left the army, became a monk, founded one of the earliest Western monasteries, and was made bishop of Tours by popular acclaim. A tireless evangelizer of rural Gaul and an opponent of executing heretics, he became one of the most venerated saints of medieval Europe and the patron of France.