In the more than 30 years since it accepted its first patient, more than 30,000 people have been treated, including celebrities from the world of Hollywood, sports and politics.
While retiring from active management in 2003, Father Martin, who had celebrated 50 years of sobriety, continued lecturing patients until late last year.
Michael K. Deaver, former White House chief of staff during the Reagan administration, had been a patient and later served on Ashley's board for a decade.
"When I came to Ashley, I had been with presidents, kings, popes and prime ministers, but Father Martin was the most powerful person I had ever met," Mr. Deaver said. "You see, Father has the power to change people, to make them better, to make them whole again."
A Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 10 a.m. Friday at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Cathedral and Mulberry streets.
Father Martin is survived by a brother, Edward Martin of Lilburn, Ga.; two sisters, Frances Osborne and Dorothy Christopher, both of Baltimore; Mrs. Abraham and her husband, Tommy Abraham, with whom he lived for 30 years; and many nieces and nephews.
