His father, who was an important officer in the army of the Roman Empire, gave him the name Martin in honor of Mars, the god of war. He moved to Pavia with his family and at the age of fifteen, as he was the son of an officer, had to join the same army and was therefore sent to Gaul.
When Martin was still a soldier, he had a vision that would become the most narrated episode of his life. He was at the doors of the city of Amiens with his soldiers when he encountered a half-naked beggar. On impulse, he cut is military cloak in half and gave a piece to the beggar. He then heard Jesus say to his angels: “Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptized; he has clothed me.” When Martin woke up, his cloak was one again intact. This miraculous cloak has been preserved as a relic and became part of the collection of relics owned by the Merovingian kings of the Franks. The dream had such a profound impact on Martin that he was baptized the next day and became Christian.
(Su SAN MARTINO di TOURS, Sito Vangelo del Giorno, [link consultato il 23 febbraio 2018], unpublished translation by pfsgm)