Martin of Vertou

Holy Venerable Martin of Vertou (sometimes called Mark) was born in 527 and reposed in 601, aged seventy-⁠four. He was a hermit and abbot, founder of Vertou Abbey and the evangelizer of the region around Nantes in Gaul, called the apostle of the Herbauges. He is a saint of the undivided Church.

He was distinguished by virtue, learning and gifts. Bishop Felix of Nantes ordained him, made him archdeacon of the church of Nantes and charged him with converting the inhabitants of the town and its surroundings. Around 577 he withdrew to a wasteland on the right bank of the river Sèvre Nantaise. As people were drawn to him by his holiness, he built a church and enlarged his hermitage, which became Vertou Abbey. He also founded other communities, among them Saint-⁠Jouin-⁠de-⁠Marnes and Durieu Abbey, where he reposed. A legend says that his pilgrim's staff, planted in the courtyard of Vertou, took root and became a yew tree, which appears on the arms of the town of Vertou.

He is commemorated on 24 October, the liturgical date in the Orthodox calendar (the same day number on the old and new calendars).