Fittingly, Catholics celebrate the feast day of St. Martin of Tours on the same day as Americans observe Veterans Day.

St. Martin of Tours was a soldier before he changed profession to serve the church as a monk and bishop revered by many as a beloved early Christian European saint. With that, the National Catholic Register tweeted, asking for his intercession for those who have served.

“St. Martin of Tours, intercede for all veterans! #Godblessveterans,” the National Catholic Register said in the tweet. 

St. Martin of Tours was an early Christian saint who was born in the 4th century in the modern region of Hungary, according to Catholic.org. He and his family moved to Italy where his father served in the military. Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire when Martin was just a boy, and Martin took to it despite his family being pagan. 

Martin was a soldier like his father, joining the Roman cavalry serving in Gaul, Milan and Treves. But a transformative event occurred, which Catholic.org recounts. Martin met a beggar who was cold. Martin removed his cloak and cut it in half to help the beggar stay warm. Martin reported having a vision that night in which Christ said to him: “Martin, a mere catechumen has clothed me.” 

The vision turned Martin from the military and he became a “conscientious objector,” says Catholic.org. He went to Tours, where he studied under Hilary of Poitiers, a saint and doctor of the Church. He regularly brought religion into his family, successfully converting his mother to Christianity, though it is not known if he was able to convert his father. 

Martin challenged the Arian heresy that denied Christ’s divinity. Eventually, he established a monastery that later housed the Benedictines, and he went on to become the Bishop of Tours. Martin is said to have cast out downs and performed miracles while converting thousands in Italy and France. He is the patron saint of the poor, soldiers, conscientious objectors, tailors, and winemakers. 

Catholic News Agency reports that Martin foresaw his death in 397. Knowing the end was near, he prayed, “Lord, if I am still necessary to thy people, I refuse no labour. Thy holy will be done. Allow me, my brethren, to look rather towards heaven than upon the earth, that my soul may be directed to take its flight to the Lord to whom it is going.” 

Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 called Martin a model for Christians to emulate, saying “that all Christians may be like St Martin, generous witnesses of the Gospel of love and tireless builders of jointly responsible sharing” would be a good thing.