Saint Martin of Tours (Latin: Martinus), (born 316 or 317; died November 11, 397) was a native of Sabaria, Pannonia. The Religious Studies Program at Saint Martin's University explores various religious traditions, values and practices, and their impact on humanity. The Story and History of Saint Martin The story and history of Saint Martin. St. Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru on December 9, 1579. Martin was named after Mars, the god of war, meaning `the brave, the courageous'. His father was a senior officer in the Roman army. Saint Martin is a tropical island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 186 miles (300 km) east of Puerto Rico.The island is divided roughly in half between France and the Netherlands Antilles; it is the smallest inhabited territory divided between two nations.The southern, Dutch half is known as Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles. Martin was the illegitimate son to a Spanish gentlemen and a freed slave from Panama, of African or possibly Native American descent. Saint Martin, Dutch Sint Maarten, French Saint-Martin, island, lying at the northern end of the Leeward group of the Lesser Antilles in the northeastern Caribbean Sea.The island extends about 12 miles (19 km) from north to south and about the same distance from east to west, including a narrow looping sand spit that extends westward from the hilly main part of the island. Committed to academic and professional excellence, Saint Martin's University provides affordable, Benedictine higher education in a traditional private university setting with a focus on student-faculty collaboration.