The Story of Louis and Zelie Martin
Get to Know the First Spouses Canonized as a Couple
Louis and Zelie Martin, the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux were officially declared as saints by Pope Francis. They are the first spouses to be canonized as a couple — a sign that holiness was at the center of their relationship and a sign to us that whatever the couple started on the path of marriage, however much they have to learn, God can work powerfully in any wife and husband who let Him forge them into one.
The Martins, in their nineteen years together, found the Lord in each other and came to deep appreciation of God’s plan for married life and love. Fully embracing their vocation, they become holy through it.
Like any other couple, Louis and Zelie Martin had a shaky start. Marriage was not this couple’s first choice. Each had tried and failed to enter a religious community. Louis was refused because he knew no Latin, Zelie was told she had no vocation to the religious life. So she set her sights on marriage and asked God to give her many children to nurture for heaven. Louis, meanwhile became a successful watchmaker, living a studious and prayerful life. He had many friends but showed no interest on marriage. On the night of their marriage, Louis suggested they live as brother and sister. So the celibate couple lived together as friends for ten months.
Later, they consulted a confessor about their unusual situation and were advised to begin a normal married life which they did. In the next years, children began to appear, nine in all, though only five daughters survived to adulthood. Their family life had been full of fun, outings, food and celebrations. Together, the couple set an example of reaching out beyond their family. They give generously to persons in distress and stayed alert to the needs of their servants, tenants, employees and neighbors.
Louis and Zelie also grew closer through their trials, and they always made it a point to encourage each other to trust in God’s love for them and their children. They lost four kids within four years and they were confronted by another suffering as parent when Leonie grew up to be a very difficult child — unhappy and disruptive that she was expelled from school. The couple struggled to understand and help her. Years later, Zelie was diagnosed with inoperable breast cancer. She died on August 1877 at 45 years old. Louis was left with five minor daughters. Therese was the youngest at four. He faithfully pursued the couple’s desire to raise a family for God. Years later, he took his family to Lisieux believing it was for her daughters’ welfare. And in time, all of them except Celine left him to enter the convent.
Throughout his seventeen years as a widower, Louis kept Zelie’s memories close. Finally, suffering from Dementia, he was placed in a mental institution. He accepted the sacrifice and made it his mission to encourage the other residents and bring them back to God. He died in July 1894.
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