Community of Saint Martin
The Community of Saint Martin is a public association of clerics according to pontifical law, gathering Roman Catholic priests and deacons. It was founded in 1976 by Father Jean-François Guérin, a priest from the Archdiocese of Tours (France), under the protection of Cardinal Giuseppe Siri, Archbishop of Genoa (Italy). In 2023, the Community included 175 priests and deacons and more than 100 seminarians. Priests of the Community work in parishes, schools, nursing homes, chaplaincies, or sanctuaries in 30 dioceses in France, Germany, Cuba and Italy. The priests and deacons of the Community are sent in groups of at least three to live and pray together in a spiritual and practical brotherhood. History Between 1965 and 1976, Guérin was active in Paris. He was chaplain of the Basilica of Sacré Cœur in Montmartre, and he had an important apostolate with the youth as many had chosen him as their spiritual director. While many of these youths chose to enter a religious order, often in the Benedictine and Carmelite traditions, some felt that their call was to become secular priests in the same way that Guérin was. This meant living their priesthood in community with others and pursuing his liturgical spirit rooted