MARTIN, Auguste Marie, R. C. bishop, born in Brittany, France, about 1820; died in Natchitoches, Louisiana, 29 September, 1875. He came to the United States in 1841, some time after his ordination, and was a member of the household of Bishop Blanc, of New Orleans, in the following year, at the same time acting as chaplain to the Ursuline convent. He was pastor of St. Martin's church, Attakapas (now Martinsville) from 1843 till 1845, when he was transferred to St. James's parish. In 1847 he was made pastor of St. Joseph's church, East Baton Rouge, together with the outlying missions of Plains and Manchac. He was consecrated on 30 November, 1853, bishop of the newly created diocese of Natchitoches, which comprised the part of Louisiana that lies north of the thirty-first parallel of latitude. This district contained at the time a Roman Catholic population of over 25,000, but only four priests and seven churches. Bishop Martin founded convents and academies, which he placed under the care of the Sisters of Mercy and the Daughters of the Cross, and during his administration the number of churches and chapels increased to more than sixty.