Saints Louis and Zélie Martin
Feast day: July 12
Louis and Zélie Martin, parents of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, a married couple made saints (12/07)
Who are they?
Saint Louis Martin (1823–1894) and Saint Zélie Martin (1831–1877) were a French married couple. They were the parents of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, the little saint of the “little way.” On 18 October 2015, Pope Francis declared them saints together, the first time in the history of the Church that a married couple was canonized together.
Life story
When they were young, both of them wanted to enter religious life. Louis asked to enter a monastery but was not accepted, because learning Latin was too hard for him. Zélie asked to join a congregation of sisters but was not accepted either, perhaps because of her health. Louis became a watchmaker; Zélie learned to make Alençon lace and opened a lace workshop.
In 1858, the two met in Alençon and married only three months later. They had nine children, but four of them died when they were small. Those were very great sorrows, but they kept trusting God. Every morning, the family went to early Mass. They prayed together, kept Sunday holy and helped the poor. Zélie often wrote letters telling her relatives about the children, so today we know a lot about that warm family life.
In 1877, Zélie died of cancer, at only 45. Little Thérèse was then just four and a half. Louis moved his five daughters to Lisieux to be near their mother’s family. He loved his children with all his heart and gladly gave all five of his daughters to God: all of them became nuns. In his last years, he was seriously ill and suffered greatly, and he died in 1894.
Why are they saints?
They became holy right in the middle of married life, in their everyday work and in their family’s sufferings. They loved each other, loved their children, and always put God first. Saint Thérèse said that God had given her a father and a mother more worthy of heaven than of earth.
A lesson for you
- Pray for your parents every day.
- Help make your family happier: obey, help with the chores, and pray together with your whole family.
Identifying marks
- A husband and wife standing close together, looking at each other tenderly: they were the first married couple to be declared saints together at the same time.
- A Rosary in Louis’s hand: the whole family prayed faithfully and went to Mass every morning.
- A piece of white lace and Zélie’s lace collar: she was a well-known maker of Alençon lace, a very fine French lace.
- A long coat and a dark dress in 19th-century style: the clothing of an ordinary French family in the 1870s.
- The old streets of Alençon behind them: the small town in Normandy where they met, married and raised their children.
The text on this page is the saint card in the Catholic Information app, word for word.
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