Joseph Charles Martin (October 12, 1924 – March 9, 2009) was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, recovered

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

and renowned

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

on the issues of

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

and

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use of ...

Background

Martin attended St. Thomas Aquinas elementary school from 1930 to 1938, then completed four years of secondary education at Loyola high school. He then went on to Loyola College and graduated in 1944. Martin entered

St. Mary's Seminary St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Catholic seminary located within the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the United States after the Revolution and has been run since its founding by the ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in 1944, where he studied

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. On May 22, 1948, at the age of 24, Joseph C. Martin was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

as a priest for the

Archdiocese of Baltimore The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of Mar ...

. Martin's first assignment was to St. Joseph's College, a preparatory seminary serving the

Archdiocese of San Francisco The Archdiocese of San Francisco (Latin language, Latin: ''Archdiœcesis Sancti Francisci''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Archidiócesis de San Francisco'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the north ...

. In 1951, Martin completed the rigorous training required to become a

Sulpician The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (french: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice), abbreviated PSS also known as the Sulpicians is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, ...

. His next assignment was at the Sulpician Seminary St. Charles College in

Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 41,567 at the 2010 census. The community lies to the west of Baltimore along the city's border. Catonsville contains the majority of th ...

. During this time, Martin began drinking excessively and his behaviour became more and more erratic. Despite repeated warnings, he was unable to get his drinking under control. Finally, the Archdiocese was forced to take action and sent Martin for intervention and treatment.

Treatment at Guest House

On June 15, 1958, Martin entered

Guest House A guest house (also guesthouse) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), guest houses are a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the exclusive use o ...

Lake Orion, Michigan Lake Orion ( ) is a village in the northern outskirts of Metro Detroit in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" can refer to either the village or the much larger Orion Township, of wh ...

, a treatment facility for the clergy that was founded and operated by Austin Ripley, a syndicated

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...

. While drinking Austin Ripley came across a copy of the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'', and he discovered an article featuring

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...

. The article described how this young organization helped alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety. It also talked about their “'' Big Book''” which had been in print for some time. As a result of this article, Austin Ripley began his journey of recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous, devoting a good deal of the ensuing year in conversations with

Bill W. William Griffith Wilson (November 26, 1895 – January 24, 1971), also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). AA is an international mutual aid fellowship with about two million members worldwide b ...

and

Dr. Bob Robert Holbrook Smith (August 8, 1879 – November 16, 1950), also known as Dr. Bob, was an American physician and surgeon who founded Alcoholics Anonymous with Bill Wilson (more commonly known as Bill W.). Family and early life Smith was ...

, the founders of AA. Martin met Austin Ripley on the first day of his stay at Guest House. He also was introduced to Dr. Walter Green, another recovering alcoholic. Dr. Green was the first to talk to Martin about the manner in which drugs and alcohol cause the emotions to over-rule the intellect. Martin deeply admired Austin Ripley, and was so impressed with Dr. Green's lectures that he saved his notes from his conversations with them for over 14 years. They became the basis of his famous “Chalk Talks,” a series of lectures that have been heard by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Martin always credited both men for teaching him everything he knows about alcoholism.

Career after treatment

After Martin achieved sobriety and learned all he could from Austin Ripley and Dr. Green, he embarked on a campaign of spreading his message of experience and hope. He attended and completed the

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

Summer School of Alcohol Studies during the summer of 1971. He then worked as a lecturer and educator in the Division of Alcoholism Control for the State of Maryland and as a freelance consultant on alcoholism, a position he held from the fall of 1973 until his death. In 1972, Martin first put his lecture '' Chalk Talk on Alcohol'' on film for the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

. He and Mrs. Mae Abraham started Kelly Productions, Inc. to produce and distribute this and other lectures on various media. "''Chalk Talk''" would eventually become his signature lecture and would be widely utilized in most branches of the US Federal Government (especially the armed services), business and industry presentations, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and many state alcohol programs. He has made many other films, tapes, CDs and DVDs on various aspects of the disease of addiction and recovery from it. He is the author of several publications including “No Laughing Matter,” published by Harper & Row in 1982. In 1983 Martin and Mrs. Mae Abraham founded Father Martin’s Ashley, a non-profit center dedicated to the treatment of the chemically addicted, located in

Havre de Grace, Maryland Havre de Grace (), abbreviated HdG, is a city in Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland. It is situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay. It is named after the port city of Le Havre, France, which ...

. Martin also continued to work within the church and participated in the International Conference on Drugs and Alcohol sponsored by the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

in 1991. Martin died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

at his home in

, on March 9, 2009. His burial Mass took place at the

Baltimore Basilica The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also called the Baltimore Basilica, was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States, and was among the first major religious buildings construc ...

on Friday, March 13, 2009, at 10:00am.

Selected works

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References

External links