Because of his alleged involvement in the Tian'anmen Mortar Plot, he was sentenced to life imprisonment by China in 1951 and expelled from the country in 1954.
Then he studied at the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum Saint Apollinare and received a diploma in sacred theology in July 1911.
He then taught theology at the diocesan seminary of Belluno, but was recalled to the army as an officer in 1915, where he joined the Arditi in 1917.
During the war, he won three Silver Medals of Military Valor, and was made a knight of the Order of Leopold (Belgium).
Martina eventually decided to abandon the mission and move to Beijing, where he established a minor seminary.