Martin was distinguished by his virtue, learning, and talent. He was ordained by
Felix,
Bishop of Nantes, who also made him
archdeacon 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. 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. 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 tree, which appears on the
arms of the commune of
Vertou. His feast day is 24 October. ==References==