[3] Picked out for ecclesiastical advancement by Archbishop Joseph de Montfalcon du Cengle, he was then transferred to the great seminary at Moûtiers where he studied for two years.

In 1793, on behalf of the professors at the college, Antoine Martinet appeared before the new municipal authorities to refuse to deliver the "civil sermon" which was, he said, contrary to conscience.

[5] On 1 March 1793 Antoine Martinet accompanied the archbishop to Turin in Piedmont, the part of the duchy on the south side of The Alps, which was not at this stage occupied by French forces.

Whether through grief at the human and social impact of recent events, as some sources assert, or through a combination of illness and exhaustion, he died at some point between 20 and 22 September 1793.

He now succeeded in obtaining from the church authorities the title of pro-vicar general, along with appropriate powers and duties, which once the route through the mountains reopened in 1794, enabled him to return home to the Tarentaise Valley at the head of a small group of missionary priests, able to take on pastoral and practical tasks traditionally undertaken by the church, that had in large measure been left undone since the French invasion of 1792.

These activities were naturally opposed by the occupation forces which were becoming progressively more organised, but Martinet was nevertheless able to build up and then to structure a missionary network of dedicated individuals, headed up by himself.

During daylight hours he had to remain concealed, but he would emerge after dark in order to visit the sick, administer the sacraments and celebrate the holy mysteries.

[3] Every day the danger from the occupying forces became more pressing, and after a few months Martinet was persuaded by friends to abandon his mission in order to eliminate the risks not just to himself, but also to every individual which whom he came into contact.

He now retreated back over the mountains to Turin while continuing to provide advice and recommendations to the less high-profile activist churchmen remaining in occupied Savoy.

[3] As time - and the war - wore on he also attended increasingly to his own education, following courses at the university, emerging eventually with a degree in canon law.

[1] It was only towards the end of 1812, as the cream of the French army met with its Moscow nemesis, that Antoine Martinet felt able to return once more across the Alps to Savoy.

[3][4] There had been no Archbishop of Tarentaise since the death of Joseph de Montfalcon in 1793, and it might have been concluded, from the alternative administrative boundaries and structures created during and after the annexation by France, that the diocese was defunct.

[b][4] By this time cyclical factors were softening the impact of post-war austerity, and Antoine Martinet's eleven year incumbency as archbishop is remembered for being exceptionally active.

Martinet's burial took place on 8 May 1839 in the presence of the municipal councillors and officers, of the clergy, and of a large crowd that stretched out along the route to the chapel.