Our church history dates back to 1848; back to the first Log Catholic Church building erected in Morgan County, IN. In October 1848, Nail and Bridget Mallon deeded one acre of land located near the intersection of (now named) Catholic Cemetery and Low Gap roads for a Catholic Church and Cemetery. The 1st church, which served the community of Irish immigrants known as “Little Ireland”, was named St. Columban. Rev. Daniel Maloney helped establish the new parish and served the small local group of Martinsville Catholics from 1848–1855, commuting from his home parish in Columbus, IN. At some point in time after 1868 the original church deteriorated and a limestone cross was erected in 1936 to mark the site. The 1st Catholic Cemetery remains to this day and is well maintained.
In 1868 the parish relocated 6 miles north into the city of Martinsville. Our parish’s 2nd church building, located at the intersection of Pike and Wayne Streets in Martinsville, was originally a Baptist church and school before it was purchased for the Catholic Church at a price of $700 by Nicholas Gillig, brother of then pastor Father John P. Gillig, whose residence was in Greensburg, IN. This church was dedicated December 27, 1868 at which time the name was changed from St. Columban to St. Martin of Tours. In 1888, under the direction of Father Angelus Bill, O.F.M., of Sacred Heart Parish in Indianapolis, the wood frame church at Pike and Wayne was razed and the cornerstone was laid for a new brick church. Until construction of the new church was completed, parishioners met for Mass in the YMCA Hall located over the post office. In 1892 a frame addition was built onto the rear of the church to serve as a sacristy and as a place for the visiting priest to stay overnight. In 1934 St. Martin of Tours received its first resident Pastor, Rev. Urban Sonderman. Fr. Sonderman was succeeded by Rev. Francis Kull in 1935, who served the parish as pastor until 1945. Prior to 1934, Catholics in Martinsville were served by visiting priests who traveled from Shelbyville, Bloomington, Columbus, Indianapolis and Greensburg.
Father Charles Sexton was installed as pastor in 1945, serving for 38 years until his retirement in 1983. He came to a parish of only 68 members; by the time of his retirement St. Martin had grown to 950 members. In 1955 the parish numbered about 500 people, so a second Mass was added on Sunday to meet the demand. The church at Pike and Wayne Streets, however, held only 110 people, so some had to stand outside and watch through the church windows.
The continued growth of our Catholic community prompted Father Sexton to purchase 39 acres on Harrison Street, at the price of $20,000. And so it was that the first Mass in our 3rd and present church building was celebrated on Christmas Day, 1962. A second Catholic Cemetery was started behind the church building. Under Father Sexton, our Religious Education Program grew and in 1981 Sexton Hall was constructed, with classrooms and a parish hall that could be divided for additional classroom space. In 1983 Father Sexton retired at the age of 70.
Father James Higgins of Bloomington followed Father Sexton as our pastor on July 5, 1983, serving the people of St. Martin for 10 years, until his death on August 27, 1993. During his pastorate, St. Martin grew in size to about 1200 members, becoming the largest church in Martinsville at that time.
Father Mark Gottemoeller became our pastor in November 1993, and served almost 12 years. In a growing parish, lack of classroom space soon became an issue again. We had so many students that classes for all grades could not be scheduled at the same time. A new Religious Ed building was constructed in 1999 and subsequently named Goettemoeller Education Center. Father Mark served as pastor of St. Martin until June 2005.
Father John Hall became our pastor in July 2005. He guided and served our parish for 11 years, until June 2016. The Archdioceses of Indianapolis assigned us 2 different Associate priests over the next few years; Fr. David Marcotte and Fr. Jegan Peter.
Father Steve Giannini was welcomed to our parish in August 2020 as our new Pastor. Fr. Steve is also the Pastor of Saints Francis & Clare of Assisi Parish in Greenwood, IN. Father Anthony Armbruster became our Parochial Vicar July 2024. He also serves Saints Francis & Clare of Assisi as their Vicar.
