Saint Martin of Vertou (527–601) was a hermit and abbot, founder of Vertou Abbey, and the evangelist of the region around

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

Francia The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks, Frankish Merovingian dynasty, Merovingi ...

. He is sometimes known as the Apostle of the Herbauges.

Life

Martin was distinguished by his virtue, learning, and talent.Monks of Ramsgate. “Martin of Vertou”. ''Book of Saints'', 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 25 November 2014
/ref> He was ordained by

Saint Felix Felix is a masculine given name that originates from the Latin word (genitive ), meaning "happy" or "lucky". The feminine forms are Felicia or Felicity (given name), Felicity. The name was popularized by early Christian saints and Roman empero ...

Bishop of Nantes The Diocese of Nantes (; ; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Nantes, France. The diocese consists of the department of Loire-Atlantique. It has existed since the 4th century. It is now suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rennes, ...

, who also made him

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

of the church of Nantes and charged him with converting the inhabitants of the town and the surrounding area to Christianity. In about 577, he withdrew into solitude in an area of wasteland on the right bank of the

Sèvre Nantaise The Sèvre Nantaise () is a river in the Pays de la Loire regions in western France. It is a left-bank tributary of the Loire. Its total length is . Its source is in the Deux-Sèvres department, near Secondigny. It flows from south to north thr ...

. Gradually, as people were drawn to him by his sanctity, he built a church and enlarged his hermitage, which became Vertou Abbey. He also founded other religious communities, including Durieu Abbey, where he died in 601 at the age of seventy-four.The foundation of the abbey of Saint-Jouin de Marnes is also often attributed to him, but it was apparently an older foundation which had been abandoned, and which in 843 the monks of Vertou occupied when they were displaced by the invasions of the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

. There is a legend that he planted his pilgrim's staff in the middle of the abbey courtyard at Vertou and that it took root, growing into a

yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus '' Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew ('' Taxus ...

tree, which appears on the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of the commune of

Vertou Vertou (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is located on the river Sèvre Nantaise, and was a historical town of Brittany. Today, Vertou is a component of the Nantes Métropole and is the fifth-largest ...

. His feast day is 24 October.

References

Sources

Catholic.org (Saints and Angels): Martin of Vertou

Medieval Breton saints 7th-century Christian saints 527 births 601 deaths 6th-century Breton people {{france-saint-stub