St Louis and St Zelie research

This Sunday, October 18th, will be the first canonization of a married couple!

Blessed Louis and Zélie Martin, the beloved parents of St Thérèse of Lisieux, will be canonized in Rome as part of the ongoing Synod of the Family.

Ever since our daughter Kelly started drawing the Saints, we've been creating Saint research craft kits with bios and quick facts about the Saints. These two new saints have inspired the work on the third kit in the series and we've enjoyed getting to know these models of parenthood!

St Louis and St ZelieSt Louis Martin (1823 - 1894) and St Azelie-Marie Guerin (St Zélie)  (1831-1877)

Louis tried to enter the Congregation Hospitaliere du Grand-Saint-Bernard, but was not accepted because he could not learn Latin. Louis was a skilled watch maker and he married Azelie-Marie Guerin (Zélie) who was an accomplished lace maker and entrepreneur.

Although they lived as brother and sister for the first 10 months of their marriage, they went on to have nine children.

Suffering more than their share of tragedy, they lost four children: two baby boys, a 6-month-old girl and a 5-year-old girl Marie Hélène.

Zélie died of cancer at the age of 46, when her youngest (Thérèse) was only four years old.

After the death of his wife, Louis decided to move his family of five girls to Lisieux to live close to extended family. All five of his daughters became nuns, four within the Carmelite Order. The youngest is well known as St Thérèse of Lisieux and the cause for the beatification and canonization of her sister Léonie Martin has already been opened this past July.

Louis and Zélie are excellent models of Catholic family life. Practicing their Faith through daily Mass, regular confession, and consistent corporal and spiritual works of mercy, they discreetly helped those in need and guided their family in the Faith. The couple grew in holiness through their vocation of marriage and instilled in their children the importance of the morning offering of their hearts to God, accepting difficulties and making sacrifices out of love for Jesus.

For more information on the Lives of Blessed Louis and Blessed Zélie, please check out this site: Louis and Zelie Martin.

Saint Scripts St Zelie St Louis

For updates on the release of Saint Scripts Series Three with 21 awesome Saints illustrated with Kelly Saints Comics and presented with short bios and quick facts, please subscribe to Equipping Catholic Families!

Copyright 2015 Monica McConkey.
Images copyright 2015 Monica McConkey. All rights reserved.