ON SUNDAY, we will be blessed with the first visit of the pilgrim relics of Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin. It is very rare to have a married couple canonized together and Louis and Zelie Martin are the first in these modern times.
Louis Martin was born in Bordeaux and wanted to become a monk. He was rejected because he was not good in Latin. Instead, he decided to become a watchmaker studying in Rennes and Strasbourg.
Azélie-Marie Guérinor Zeliewas born in Gandelain, France. Just like Louis, Zélie wanted to become a nun, however, her health failed her so she was turned away by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. Since the religious life was not God’s will for her, she asked God to give her many children and that they would be consecrated to God. She became a lacemaker.
The watchmaker and the lacemaker met and were married after a three- month courtship. Although very much in love, their marriage was not consummated for several months, in fact close to a year. It was only when a spiritual director encouraged them that they lived as husband and wife.
Zelie’s prayer was granted and the couple had nine children, but only five daughters survived infancy and all five entered the nunnery. They were: Marie Louise (Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart, Carmelite) at Lisieux; Marie Pauline (Mother Agnès of Jesus, Carmelite at Lisieux; Marie Léonie (Sister Françoise-Thérèse, Visitandine at Caen); Marie Céline (Sister Geneviève of the Holy Face, Carmelite at Lisieux; and finally the most popular saint of the millennium, Marie Francoise Therese or Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, Carmelite at Lisieux.
The Martins led a comfortable lifestyle and were devoted to each other. They lived modestly and were generous to the poor and needy. Prayers were bountiful in the Martin household. From St. Therese: “God gave me a father and a mother who were more worthy of heaven than of earth.”
Louis loved nature. From him, St. Thérèse inherited her passion for flowers and meadows, and forces of nature like the clouds, thunderstorms, the sea and the stars. Louis made pilgrimages to Chartres and Lourdes, went to Germany and Austria, travelled twice to Rome and even to Constantinople, and planned, but never made it to the Holy Land.
His love for adventure did not eclipse his quiet time though. In their home in Lisieux, Louis had a den up in the attic where he prayed, read and meditated. Even his daughters were not allowed to enter only if the purpose was for spiritual conversation and self-examination. His day was divided into worship, garden work, and relaxation. He was a doting father who gave his daughters touching pet names: Marie was his "diamond," Pauline his "noble pearl," Céline "the bold one," and "the guardian angel." Thérèse was his "little queen ... to whom all treasures belonged."
Zélie died of breast cancer at the age of 45. After Zélie's death, gradually, his daughters left to enter the convent. Despite his loneliness he said: “It is a great, great honor for me that the Good Lord desires to take all of my children. If I had anything better, I would not hesitate to offer it to him.”
Louis suffered two paralyzing strokes and stayed for three years at the Bon Sauveur Asylum in Caen. Upon his return to Lisieux, his two daughters looked after him until his death on July 29, 1894. Celine and Therese became Carmelite nuns. Therese is recognized as one of the greatest saints of all times.
Louis and Zelie Martin were beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008 and canonized by Pope Francis in 2015. Their feast day is July 12.
In 2011, the letters of Zélie and Louis Martin were published in English titled A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, 1863–1885.Only 16 letters from Louis survive, many of Zélie's 216 letters give vivid details about the family's life and Louis's character as a father.
In Christian marriages, spouses strive to lead each other to holiness. In the case of Louis and Zelie Martin, we are given an exemplary example of how a marriage not only benefits the couple, but their children, the Church and society.
The relics of Saints Louis and Zelie will be brought to the Carmelite Monastery on January 15, by 3 p.m., followed by a welcome liturgy and veneration and confessions. There will be Mass at 6 p.m. evening and veneration continues with confessions until 10 p.m.
On January 16, Monday, there will be a 6:30 a.m. Mass, followed again by veneration and confessions until 3 p.m. After which, the relics of the saint couple will be transferred to the San Sebastian Cathedral. There will be Masses at 5:15 p.m. and 6 p.m. On January 17, there will be a send-off Mass at the Cathedral at 6 a.m.
May the visit of Saints Louis and Zelie bring a renewal of the Filipino family life and the further strengthen our faith.