Basilica of St. Martin

The Story

The Basilica of St. Martin in Tours, France, rises over the tomb of one of the most beloved saints of Western Christianity. St. Martin of Tours (c. 316–397) was a Roman soldier who, according to the famous account, cut his military cloak in two at the gates of Amiens to clothe a shivering beggar — and that night, tradition holds, saw Christ wearing the half he had given away. After his baptism Martin left the army, became a disciple of St. Hilary of Poitiers, and founded at Ligugé what is regarded as the first monastery in Gaul, followed later by the great abbey of Marmoutier near Tours. Acclaimed Bishop of Tours in 371, he remained a monk at heart while tirelessly evangelizing the countryside. He died at Candes in 397 and was buried at Tours, where his tomb quickly became one of the foremost pilgrimage destinations of medieval Europe; the road through Tours to Compostela is still called the Via Turonensis. Successive churches rose over the tomb, from the basilica of St. Perpetuus in the fifth century to a vast Romanesque basilica in the Middle Ages. That church was devastated in the Wars of Religion and finally demolished after the French Revolution, leaving only two towers — the Tour Charlemagne and the Tour de l'Horloge — standing above the streets of Tours. The tomb itself was rediscovered in 1860, rekindling devotion, and a new neo-Byzantine basilica designed by Victor Laloux was built over it between 1886 and 1924. In its crypt, pilgrims still pray at the tomb of the apostle of Gaul, one of the first non-martyrs to be venerated as a saint, whose feast on November 11 has shaped European culture for sixteen centuries.

Church Recognition

The present church is a minor basilica built over the rediscovered tomb of St. Martin; Martin of Tours is honored on the General Roman Calendar on November 11 and was among the first non-martyrs venerated as a saint by the universal Church.

Catholic Teaching

Devotion at St. Martin's tomb reflects the Church's veneration of the saints and their relics (CCC 1674; 956–957), while his charity toward the beggar embodies Christ's words, 'whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me' (Mt 25:40).

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Practical

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Pilgrims pray at the tomb of St. Martin in the basilica's crypt and can see the medieval Tour Charlemagne nearby; celebrations peak around the saint's feast on November 11, and the basilica is a waypoint on the Via Turonensis route toward Santiago de Compostela.

Go Deeper

See the basilica's official website at https://www.basiliquesaintmartin.com, the classic Life of St. Martin by Sulpicius Severus, and CCC 1674 on the veneration of relics and shrines.