Sant
Marçal and his church
Legend has it that St Martial (an unfortunate Anglicism) was one of the seventy-two
Disciples of Christ and performed miracles such as raising a dead man to life by
touching him with a rod given to him by St Peter. In addition, it is said that
he was present at the raising of Lazarus and at the Last Supper and other key
events in the New Testament.
In reality, all that is known of him is that he was a third century Bishop of Limoges,
one of the seven bishops sent from Rome. He appears to have been accompanied by two priests, Alpinianus and Austriclinienus. He converted the inhabitants of Limoges to Christianity and an abbey and important library flourished around his tomb there