True Believers
by Yen Cantiga
A HOLY HOME
Get to know Louis and Zelie Martin—the
married couple who raised a saint, and
then later became saints themselves!
O
n October 18, 2015,
Pope Francis canonized
Saints Louis and Zelie
Martin, the first married
couple to be canonized on the
same day. In his homily, Pope
Francis acknowledged that the
Martins cultivated such love
and faith in their home, that it
encouraged all five daughters
to offer their lives in service to
God—including one of the most
well-loved saints in the world,
St. Thérèse of Lisieux.SACRED HOUSEHOLD
Early on, Louis and Zelie
instilled a deep Catholic faith
in their children. Zelie even
wanted her children to become
saints! While the family was
a classic example of French
bourgeoisie, what set them
apart was the way they lived
their life during a time when
the Church struggled to carry
tradition into the industrial
revolution of the 19th century.The couple provided their
family with a comfortable life.
In fact, Zelie’s lacemaking
business was doing so well
that Louis, a watchmaker, sold
his own business to help his
wife, acting as the manager
and salesman of the company.Despite their busy schedules,
the couple would always
hear the early morning
Mass and refused to open
shop on Sundays. They
raised a very warm
and loving family. Zelie
would work late into
the night because she
would always play with
her children during the
day, and wrote letters to
her two eldest daughters
who were away at boarding
school. Meanwhile, Louis
was known for having terms
of endearment for each of
his daughters: Marie was his
Diamond, Pauline was theAlençon’s needle
point lace
A special
lacemaking
technique, it
takes seven
hours per
square
centimeter
to produce.THREE SAINTS IN ONE FAMILY
The first couple to be canonized
simultaneously, Louis and Zélie lived a
life of deep faith. They consecrated their
children to God, which led to all of their
daughters becoming nuns. Their youngest
is the beloved St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and
now another daughter, Leonie, is also
being considered for sainthood!