He attended grammar school at St. Thomas Aquinas from 1930 to 1938.  He completed four years of secondary education at Loyola High.  He then went on to Loyola College graduating in 1944.

Father Martin entered St. Mary's seminary in Baltimore, Maryland in 1944, where he studied philosophy and theology.  At the age of 24 years old, Father Joseph C. Martin was ordained a priest on May 22, 1948 for the Archdiocese of Baltimore.  His first assignment was to St. Joseph's College, a prep seminary serving the Archdiocese of San Francisco.  In 1951, Father Martin completed the rigorous training required to become a Sulpician.  His next assignment was back to St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland which was a Suplician Seminary.

On June 15, 1958, Father Martin entered Guest House in Lake Orion, Michigan a treatment facility for the clergy. There, Father with the help and guidance of Austin Ripley and Dr. Walter Green, began his own journey to recovery.  After his experience at Guest House, Father's life changed dramatically.  He has gone on to touch the lives of millions of recovering alcoholics and addicts, through his unique ability to educate on the disease of alcoholism.

Father Joseph C. Martin passed away peacefully on March 9, 2009 at the Abraham home in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Hundreds of family members, friends, and colleagues joined at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption in Baltimore on March 13, 2009 to bid farewell to Father Martin. Father David Carey delivered the homily and referred to Father Martin as a "wounded healer" and cited his personal weakness, addiction, as what enabled him to establish an even broader ministry of individuals, of all faiths, linked by their common struggle with alcoholism and addiction. Dozens of newspapers and other national media outlets paid tribute to Father Martin and credited Father for helping millions of individuals better understand and recover from addiction.

• Worked as a lecturer and educator in the Division of Alcohol Control for the state of Maryland
• Has worked as a free lance consultant on alcoholism since the fall of 1973
• Graduate of Rutgers Summer School of Alcohol Studies in 1971
• Has lectured and provided consultancy services for the Army, Navy, and Air Force through out the United States and abroad.
• Participated as a faculty member and guest lecturer at many institutes of Alcohol Studies. 
• Lectured for State Government alcohol programs and for various rehabilitation centers in all 50 states.
• He made the film Chalk Talk on Alcohol for the US Navy in February 1972. It has become the principal educational vehicle on alcoholism for most branches of the Federal Government and is also used in industry, as well as medical facilities, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and substance abuse programs. He has made many other films on various aspects of the disease and recovery.
• He is the author of several publications including; Chalk Talks on Alcohol published by Harper & Row in 1982.
• Recipient of the Andrew White medal 1986 from Loyola College, Baltimore, given annually to men and women of Maryland who have contributed to the general welfare of the Citizenry of the State.
• Receipt of the 1988 Rutgers Summer School of Alcohol Studies Distinguished Service Award.
• Participated in the International Conference on Drug and Alcohol sponsored by the Vatican in 1991.
• Recipient of the Norman Vincent Peale Award in 1992.
• In 1972, Father Martin and Mrs. Mae Abraham started Kelly Productions, Inc; a teaching organization dedicated to educating alcoholics and drug addicts, as well as their families and friends.
• In 1983, Father 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.