The relics of Saint Thérèse and her saintly parents, Saints Louis and Zélie Martin, are coming to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in October. In this short reflection, we will look at the life of Louis and Zélie who the Church puts forth as models for the vocation of marriage, which is the way that most people are called to become saints today.

As a young man, Louis wanted to become a monk; however, he struggled to learn Latin. Discouraged, he left the monastery and resolved to become a watchmaker. For 11 years he lived a quiet meditative life of work, interrupted by long fishing trips (his favorite pastime), a few hunting parties, and evenings spent with young people of the Vital Romet Circle, a Catholic society devoted to works of charity. While he did not know it at the time, God was preparing him for his vocation.

Louis’ life as a young man reminds us that God always works behind the scenes, building up his kingdom in quiet and oftentimes unnoticeable ways. His life also reminds us that what we do today matters greatly for tomorrow! The way Louis lived for 11 years as a single man greatly affected his vocation as a husband and father.

Zélie Martin (née Guérin), for her part, was born into a poor family. They had to count every penny. Zélie never even had a doll. Unfortunately, her family atmosphere growing up was not the happiest. Her father was good, but surly. Her mother showed little affection. In a letter to her brother Isidore, Zélie said that her childhood was “sad as a shroud.”

At age 20, Zélie believed that she was called to religious life. However, because of her poor health, she was turned away. She eventually became a highly skilled lace maker of Point d’Alençon lace and an astute businesswoman. Zélie was intelligent, hard-working; yet, anxious, and at times tended toward scrupulosity.

Zélie crossed paths with Louis for the first time on a bridge in April 1858. His attractive appearance caught her attention. In his book, A Family of Saints, Father Piat tells the story:

One day, when Zélie Guérin was crossing over the Saint-Léonard bridge, she passed a young man whose distinguished appearance, dignified bearing, and reserved manner impressed her. At the same moment, an interior voice murmured, ‘This is he whom I have prepared for you.’

Her divine inspiration reminds us that Zélie was open to the Holy Spirit.

Louis and Zélie had a short courtship. They dated three months before getting married in Alençon on July 13, 1858, at midnight in the Church of Notre-Dame d’Alençon. Without question, a midnight wedding reception can cut down on a wedding budget!

The personalities of Louis and Zélie complemented each other well. Louis tended to be quiet and reserved, preferring silence. He loved fishing and taking pilgrimages. Zélie, on the other hand, was spontaneous, active, expressive, and not afraid to give her advice on things.

Shortly after their marriage, Louis proposed to Zélie that they live as brother and sister. The two lived together as brother and sister for 10 months until a confessor convinced them to change their lifestyle and have children. Evidently, they were very obedient because they had nine children (seven girls and two boys) in 13 years! As with children today, each of their children had a unique personality.

Marie tended to be independent, a bit of a nonconformist, and quite original.

Pauline was the confidante and favorite of her mother. She was intelligent, resourceful, and the tomboy of the family. She would eventually become prioress of Carmel.

Léonie was invariably called “poor Léonie.” She was the most troubled of all the children. She was not very gifted, often sick, and the only one to concern her mother. She was the middle child without a confidante. She would eventually become a Visitation Sister in Caen.

Hélène passed away at age five and a half years. She was very beautiful and her death was very difficult for her parents.

Joseph Louis passed away at five months.

Joseph Jean-Baptiste passed away at eight months.

Céline was clever, fearless, and the inseparable companion of Thérèse. She was a remarkably gifted artist.

Marie-Mélanie-Thérèse passed away at two months.

Marie-Françoise-Thérèse was the youngest. She was incredibly lively, mischievous, self-confident, candid, and stubborn. “Little Thérèse was blond, blue-eyed, affectionate, and alarmingly precocious. She could throw a giant-sized tantrum. Her bubbling laughter could make a gargoyle smile.”

Louis and Zélie worked to develop what we could call a Catholic culture of the home. In terms of daily Mass, they went to the 5:30 am Mass or the “workers Mass.” Even though little Thérèse could not understand the sermons, she would look up at her father’s handsome face and see that his eyes were filled with tears. For Thérèse, God’s Fatherly care and goodness shined through her father’s face.

Additionally, Louis remained steadfastly committed to honoring the Lord’s Day. For example, he refused to open his shop on Sundays to catch the afternoon strollers even though his friends’ businesses were open. Zélie, for her part, dedicated her Sunday afternoons visiting any of her lace workers who were sick.

Furthermore, the children saw their parents pray every day. Louis, their “king,” got on his knees, and that went a long way toward telling the little girls – who admired their father deeply – about God. Not seeing her father say his prayers one night, Thérèse, at the age of two, asked her father, “Why aren’t you saying your prayers, Papa?”

Of course, Louis and Zélie Martin suffered as families do today. For example, in the space of three years, the Martins buried five people: Zélie’s father and four of their children. Zélie once remarked, “How I am weary of suffering!” Many families today have experienced the terrible suffering of losing a loved one.

Tragedy struck again when Zélie was diagnosed with breast cancer. She made the journey to Lourdes with her three oldest children for a healing; however, it was not forthcoming. Sadly, after 19 years of marriage, Zélie passed away after much suffering. She was just 45 years old. Louis was left to raise five daughters alone. Thérèse, the youngest, was just four and a half years old when her mother died.

After Zélie’s death, Zélie’s brother, Isidore, insisted that Louis move to Lisieux to be closer to their family. After much prayer, Louis agreed for the good of his children. Louis left his friends, gravesites, and memories for Lisieux. He was willing to make great sacrifices for the good of his children.

In Lisieux, the family developed a daily routine. Louis read and commented on spiritual passages. Sometimes he sang to his children. There was time for games, walks, and fishing. Every night they gathered around the statue of Mary to thank her for the day. In short, their lives centered around God and their local parish.

Louis could have finished his life happily at Les Buissonnets in Lisieux surrounded by his daughters as their beloved “king.” However, like Abraham who offered his only son, this holy man was willing to offer all of his children to God. Eventually, all five of his daughters would enter into consecrated life. Pauline asked first, then Marie, then Léonie, and then Thérèse, the youngest, entered at the age of 15.

In her autobiography, Story of a Soul, Thérèse recounts the story of asking her father’s permission to enter Carmel of Lisieux. Sitting together in their backyard, the tears of both mingled together as Thérèse asked for her father’s permission. Louis then pulled a little white flower with all of its roots without breaking them. For Thérèse, it was symbolic. The little flower was destined to live in the soil more fertile than the tender moss where it had spent its first days. God willed that Thérèse leave the sweet valley of family life to climb Mount Carmel.

After offering all five of his daughters to God, one would imagine that Louis was tempted to say, “I’ve done enough.” However, he did not. He returned to the Church of Notre-Dame d’Alençon where he had married Zélie, he offered this prayer, “My God, it is too much! Yes, I am too happy; it isn’t possible to go to heaven this way. I want to suffer something for you! I offer myself…” Louis, who lived from the Sacred Host, now offered himself to God as “Eucharist,” an offering of thanksgiving for his own salvation, his daughters, and the world.

Shortly after, Louis drank deeply from the chalice of suffering. His health began to deteriorate rapidly. He suffered a series of strokes, resulting in memory loss and bouts of mental confusion. Eventually, he was placed in a psychiatric hospital for three years and only allowed to visit his daughters in the summer months.

During this time of suffering, someone asked him why God would allow him to suffer so much after living such a good life. In Louis’ mind, God had blessed him with a good life and he had not suffered all that much. God had given him many benefits. By drinking Christ’s cup of suffering, he became conformed to Christ our Savior for own his salvation and that of his daughters. He received the last rites of the Church and died peacefully the next day on July 29, 1894. He was nearly 71 years old.

The Church has since recognized this “holy household” and put them forth as a model for families today. Pope Benedict XVI beatified Louis and Zélie on July 13, 2008, 150 years to the day they were married. Pope Francis canonized them as saints on October 18, 2015. They are the first non-martyred spouses in the Church’s history to be canonized together as a married couple.

Louis and Zélie are saints because every day, they submitted their marriage and children to God and resolved to do His will in all things. God and their faith were the center of their lives. They heroically lived their motto: “God must be served first.” They taught it to their children, no matter what it cost them.

St. Thérèse summarized her parents well by saying, “God gave me a father and a mother more worthy of heaven than of earth.” In good times and in bad, look to these beautiful parents as models of encouragement and hope and ask for their intercession. They remind you that no matter what you are going through, God is with you and making you a saint through it.

Today, Louis and Zélie Martin celebrate the eternal Mass in heaven, which they had made the center of their lives while they lived here on earth. By putting God first in all things and loving him above all things, may you be strengthened in hope that the eternal glory these saintly parents now enjoy, you will one day too!

~Saints Louis and Zélie, pray for us!

Pope Pius X once described St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus as “the greatest saint of modern times” in a private audience with a missionary. There are few saints more loved in our Catholic tradition than St. Thérèse of Lisieux. She lived a quiet life in the monastery, but was catapulted into the public eye with the publication of her autobiography, Story of a Soul.

Ironically, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who is the co-patron of the missions, never went on a mission. She never founded a religious order nor performed any great works. She died at a very young age – just 24 years old. And yet, 27 years after her death, the public clamored for her canonization. Even today, she remains one of the most admired saints in the Catholic tradition.

This beautiful little saint was born in Alençon, France in 1873. As the baby of the family, she was everyone’s favorite and quite pampered by her parents. The blonde hair, blue-eyed child was incredibly stubborn, yet very affectionate and alarmingly precocious. She was the tale of two cities. At one moment, she could throw a giant-sized tantrum, and, at another, she could make a gargoyle smile with her bubbling laughter.

Thérèse’s happy disposition came to an abrupt end with the loss of her mother, Zélie, who died of breast cancer in August 1877. Thérèse was just four and a half years old at the time. Her older sister, Pauline, became like a “second” mother for Thérèse.

Now a widower and responsible for raising his five daughters, Louis moved his family to Lisieux to receive help from his in-laws. He rented a home tucked away in Lisieux and named it “Les Buissonnets” (“the little bushes”).

Louis sent Thérèse to boarding school at Lisieux’s Benedictine Abbey School of Notre-Dame-du-Pré. However, she disliked it very much and said that the five years spent there (1881 – 1886) were the saddest of her life. While Thérèse was academically bright, she struggled to relate with classmates and instead preferred the familiar surroundings of her family.

Thérèse experienced further suffering when her older sister and second mother, Pauline, left for the Carmel of Lisieux. She felt abandoned and shed bitter tears.

Following Pauline’s departure from the family, Thérèse fell seriously ill. While some believed that she was experiencing a nervous breakdown, Thérèse attributed her illness to the devil. Desperate for healing, on May 13, 1883, Thérèse looked toward a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in her room and prayed for a cure. Suddenly, as she has related, Mary’s face radiated kindness and love. For the first time in her life, she noticed Mary’s ravishing smile. Subsequently, Thérèse was cured. The statue has since been called “Our Lady of the Smile.”

At age eleven, Thérèse received her First Holy Communion, which she described as her first “kiss of love.” She received Confirmation two months later, which she described not as the mighty wind of Pentecost but rather the “gentle breeze” that the prophet Elijah heard on Mount Horeb. For Thérèse, Confirmation gave her the gift of fortitude for suffering.

Because of her frail health, Louis removed Thérèse from boarding school and provided private tutoring for her. Marie, the oldest, entered the Carmel of Lisieux on October 15, 1886. With the loss of Marie, Thérèse now lost her “third” mother.

Early Christmas morning 1886, after Midnight Mass, Thérèse experienced her Christmas conversion. As she walked up the stairs after Mass, she overheard a comment from her father that would have normally sent her into tears. However, God’s grace intervened. Thérèse composed herself and regained the strength of her soul that she had lost at age four and a half. Filled with divine charity, she began running the “Giant’s Race” in her thirst for the salvation of souls. She would offer sacrifices for sinners so that they know of Jesus’ love and mercy.

At age fourteen, Thérèse sought permission from her father to join Marie and Pauline at the Carmel of Lisieux. Initially concerned about her youth, Louis saw her resolve and zealously began helping her to realize her desire.

Thérèse first approached the Carmelite authorities, then the local bishop, and finally, she traveled to Rome to ask Pope Leo XXIII for permission to enter the Carmel. Eventually, she received by letter a response from the Carmelite authorities in Lisieux. She was given permission to enter on April 9, 1888, wherein she would say goodbye to her home and her family. The fifteen-year-old desired to live in the “desert” with Jesus and twenty-four cloistered companions.

Soon thereafter, Louis, her papa, suffered a series of strokes and became mentally unstable. For the next six years, he drank deeply from the chalice of suffering, even spending considerable time in a psychiatric hospital. He died peacefully in 1894 with Céline, his daughter, by his side. Céline joined her three sisters at the Carmel of Lisieux later that year.

Thérèse spent nine years in Carmel. She worked in the sacristy, cleaned the dining room, painted pictures, wrote plays and poems, and remained faithful to her prayers. Externally, there was nothing remarkable about the good nun.

Interiorly, Thérèse had the desire to soar like an eagle with the great saints. However, she felt like a bird with a broken wing as she had to bear with herself and the reality of her imperfections. She wanted to find a means of going to heaven by a “little way,” a way that was straight and totally new. Realizing that she was too small to climb the rough steps to perfection, Thérèse looked for an elevator that would lift her to Jesus. Thérèse’s extraordinary insight was that by remaining little, Jesus’ arms would be her elevator as they lifted her to him.

Thérèse would allow Jesus to love her and through her the Carmelite sisters, and in particular, those most difficult to love. In fact, she sought out difficult sisters to help them and willingly put up with the irritating idiosyncrasies of her sisters. In short, Thérèse’s “little way” of confidence and love asked, “What does love ask of me at this moment?” Whenever Thérèse failed, she threw herself into the merciful arms of Jesus with great confidence. In short, Thérèse’s “vocation to love” meant that she would generously allow Jesus to love her and through her via little acts of sacrificial love.

In April 1896, Thérèse had her first bout of tuberculosis, a disease that would eventually take her life. Falling sick, she wrote a manuscript that became part of her autobiography, Story of a Soul. As her health deteriorated, she was given the grace and opportunity to be more perfectly conformed to the suffering of Christ. Thérèse passed away at 7:20 PM on September 30, 1897, at age 24. Her final words were, “Oh, my God, I love you!” She promised to spend her heaven doing good on earth.

Soon thereafter, the Carmelite sisters and others began receiving “favors and graces” attributed to Thérèse. Her autobiography, Story of a Soul, was published in October 1898. Pilgrims began flocking to her gravesite and thousands of letters poured into the Carmel of Lisieux.

Beginning in the twentieth century, people clamored for her beatification and canonization. Thérèse was beatified by Pope Pius XI on April 29, 1923. Additionally, Pope Pius XI canonized St. Thérèse in Rome on May 17, 1925 with 500,000 faithful participating in the celebration. Pope John Paul II declared Thérèse a Doctor of the Church on October 19, 1997. The “Shower of Roses” that began at the death of Thérèse and experienced by thousands in the twentieth century will continue for those who have recourse to this saint who is loved by so many.

~St. Thérèse, pray for us!

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

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the Teaching of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Manchester, New

Hampshire: Sophia Institute Press, 2001.

Gaucher, Guy. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: Story of a Life. San

Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 2019.

Gaucher, Guy. I Would Like to Travel the World St. Thérèse of

Lisieux: Miracle Worker, Doctor, and Missionary. Translated

by James Henri McMurtrie. Manchester, New Hampshire: Sophia Institute Press, 2023.

Philippe Jacques. The Way of Trust and Love. Translated by

Helena Scott. New York, NY: Scepter Publishing, 2012.

Thérèse of Lisieux. Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St.

Thérèse. Translated by John Clark. Third edition. Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications, 1996.

Saint Louis and Zélie Martin

Martin, Louis and Zélie. A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family

Correspondence of the Parents of Saint Thérèse of the Child

Jesus (1864 – 1885). New York, NY: Society of St. Paul, 2011.

Mongin, Hélèn. The Extraordinary Parents of St. Thérèse of

Lisieux. Translated by Marsha Daigle-Williamson, Ph.D.

Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2015.

Stéphane-Joseph Piat, O.F.M., A Family of Saints: The Martins of

Lisieux – Saints Thérèse, Louis, and Zélie. San Francisco:

Ignatius Press, 2016.