Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin to be first spouses canonized as a couple in October 2015

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Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, who are to be named saints in October 2015

Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, who are to be named saints in October 2015

Cardinal Amato announces that Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, the first spouses in the history of the Church to be declared saints as a couple, will be canonized in October 2015

March 3, 2015.  Zenit.org reported today that Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, has announced that Louis and Zelie Martin will be canonized during the Synod on the Family, which will take place in Rome in October 2015.  No date was reported.  The cardinal spoke during a meeting organized by the Libreria Editrice Vaticana (LEV) to emphasize how important sanctity in the family is.  "Thanks be to God, in October two spouses, the parents of Saint Therese of Lisieux, will be canonized.  Saints are not only priests and nuns, but also lay people," the Cardinal said. Please see Zenit's article announcing the canonization of Louis and Zelie Martin. See also Nicholas Seneze's article in La Croix, which states that Cardinal Amato made the announcement on Friday, February 27, and that the recognition of the miracle for Louis and Zelie's canonization has not yet been officially announced by the Vatican.

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May 24, 2014: Stained-glass window dedicated to the Martin family to be blessed by Mgr Jacques Habert, bishop of Seez

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The stained-glass window dedicated to the Martin family in the church of St. Symphorien des Bruyères in the province of Orne, France.

On Saturday, May 24, 2014, at 11:00 a.m., Mgr Jacques Habert, bishop of the diocese of Séez, will preside at a Mass of thanksgiving for the restoration of the Church of St Symphorien des Bruyères in the province of Orne.  Then he will bless the three new stained-glass windows in the church, including the window pictured above, dedicated to the Martin family.  The window shows a scene from the life of the Martin family.  At left, Zelie is teaching her two youngest daughters to pray: Therese is on her lap, and Celine kneels in front of her.  One of the older Martin daughters looks on. The other two are near their father, who looks on. At the top of the window can be seen the words "Martin Family" and, at the bottom, the words "All Called to Saintliness." 

A family at prayer

A family at prayer

The Shrine at Alençon informed me that the window is based on the painting above, which represents the Martin family at prayer.

The family of Louis and Zelie Martin was chosen as a subject of the window not only by the Church but also by the mayor and the people of the commune of St Symphorien des Bruyères, a small municipality about an hour northwest of Alençon.  We congratulate the commune and the Association for the Conservation of the Heritage of the commune for completing the restoration of this fifteenth-century church after ten years of work. 

You may see other photos of the church on the Web site of Atelier Touchard Architectes, which accomplished the restoration.

May the life of the Martin family be a true icon for us.  May we see their hardships and joys all now illumined by the light of Christ.  May the light of their lives shine through ours so that they may obtain for us from God the same grace of seeing God in everything and everything in God. 

I thank the Shrine at Alencon (http://www.louiszeliemartin-alencon.com/eng/), which permits me to share with you the photographs and the story. 

Pietro Schilirò meets Pope Francis: "It was like meeting Jesus"

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Pope Francis with Pietro Schilirò

     Pietro Schilirò is the Italian child who was healed by God after the prayer of his parents and relatives to Louis and Zelie Martin. This healing has been officially recognized as a miracle, and it led to the beatification of the Martin spouses in 2008.  On March 29, 2014 Pietro, now 11, met Pope Francis in Rome.  Here is his first-person testimony:
 

     When I learned that the Pope was to meet with deaf people and their families, I asked Mom if we could go there too. We decided to write to the Pope to tell him that we would be very happy to greet him personally, but if that was not possible, we would be happy to receive his blessing even from afar.

     In St. Peter's Square, we lined up with all the other deaf people and their families. It moved me to see other people who were deaf like me. Some had trouble speaking; this touched me so that I had the desire to learn sign language, that I might be closer to them.

     Suddenly, my Dad’s phone started to ring.  We were told that Pope Francis would meet us personally at the end of the audience. We were very touched!

     After about 1 ½ hours, the Pope came in amid songs of joy and hands raised in a sign of salute (this is how the deaf applaud). After some testimonies, the Pope spoke to us.

     Then the Pope came down to the crowd to greet the people who were in front, including us! I was very excited and I asked Mom and Dad what I should say, because I could not find the words.

     Pope Francis approached; he was close to me! Mom and Dad greeted him, and Mom told him that we pray for him. Then he kissed me, and I burst into tears! I leaned against him, and my hearing aid fell to the ground. Then the Pope bent down to pick it up! Dad told the Pope that I was healed by a miracle granted by the Lord through the intercession of Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, and he was very happy to hear that. He smiled and said, “I know that now there has been another miracle that is being studied. I am very happy!” And with a big smile he said, “Go now, and do not cry any more.”  And with a big hug, we said goodbye to Pope Francis.

     Then, before waving to everyone and leaving the room, he looked at me. With his fingers he gave me the ‘OK’ sign! I still felt close to tears, but I was so happy because of the Pope’s embrace. For me it was like meeting Jesus! I will never forget it.”

Pietro Schilirò

This translation by Mary Davidson and the photograph appear here by courtesy of the Web site of the Shrine at Alencon (www.louiszeliemartin-alencon.com).

"Beatos Celia Guerin y Luis Martin: Compañeros en nuestro Viaje"

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The article "Blessed Zelie and Louis Martin: Companions on Our Journey," by Maureen O'Riordan, appears in Spanish as "Beatos Celia Guerin y Luis Martin: Compañeros en nuestro Viaje" to celebrate the second feast of the blessed parents of St. Therese of the Child Jesus of the Holy Face.  This article was first published to celebrate their beatication in 2008.  Special thanks to Teolindo Garcia for translating it into Spanish. 

Fr. J. Linus Ryan, O. Carm., the great apostle of St. Therese in Ireland, has entered into life

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Dear friends,

On the morning of July 18 I received a letter from Sister Monique-Marie of the Community of the Beatitudes at Lisieux telling me that Fr. J. Linus Ryan, O. Carm., director of the National Office for St. Therese in Ireland and a dear friend, died on the morning of July 17, a little before eight o'clock Dublin time.  Father Ryan consecrated his life to making St. Therese and her gentle Jesus known and loved, and he was tireless in promoting the cause of her parents, Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin.  He contributed much to causing 75% of the population of Ireland to turn out to venerate the major reliquary of St. Therese when it visited Ireland in 2001, to the annual visit of the relics of St. Therese to Ireland every year, and to the Irish National Pilgrimage to Lisieux on the feast of St. Therese every year.  With his devoted co-workers, he maintained a Web site about St. Therese.  Every year his office produced a calendar and a brochure; these were focused recently on the Martin family.

For a bigger photo of Father Ryan wearing the stole commissioned for the beatification of the Martin spouses which was presented to him by the authorities at Lisieux and holding the reliquary containing the relics of Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, click the image.  Msgr. Lagoutte, rector of the shrine at Lisieux, traveled to Ireland in May to present the reliquary to Father Ryan in recognition of his lifetime of dedicated service to the apostolate of St. Therese.

 I became acquainted with Father Ryan through his Web site, which contained more information about St. Therese and the Martin family than I found elsewhere in English.  I wrote to him for permission to link to it, and he was generosity itself in sharing all his materials with me.  I knew how hard he worked to promote the cause of Louis and Zelie in Ireland, and I knew that it was largely because of him that, as Mgr. Lagoutte, rector of the shrine at Lisieux, said, "Ireland has led the world" in promoting the cause of Lous and Zelie.  So, in January 2008, when I found online the first news story stating that the Martin spouses were to be beatified in 2008, I wrote at once to congratulate him.  Of course, I thought he knew this news before I did, but he answered asking for documentation and saying that he'd known nothing of it.  I sent the link to the news article, and at about seven p.m. my time (two o'clock in the morning in Dublin), he called me, grateful and jubilant.  After we talked for a while, I said "Father Ryan, it's the middle of the night where you are.  What are you doing up?"  "Oh, it's a big night here," he answered.  "We are letting everyone know."  After that he kindly called me every month or so, always thoughtful and supportive.  He rejoiced in our work to make Therese and Louis and Zelie known in the English-speaking world, and he sent to the United States posters and post cards to help us make the Martin spouses better known.  Sometimes I became discouraged by having only nights and weekends to devote to Therese and Louis and Zelie, but Father Ryan's spirit of faith never failed him.  He encouraged me constantly in the months before the beatification, when we worked long hours to make Louis and Zelie known.  Illness prevented him from attending the beatification he did so much to promote.  When I regretted it, he accepted it with truly Theresian surrender.  His devoted confere, Mr. Pat Sweeney, told me that Father Ryan regained consciousness on the night before his death, and that they had a good talk.  Mr. Sweeney pointed out laughingly that, although Fr. Ryan clung to life till the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was over in Ireland, at the time of his death it was before midnight on Thursday, July 16 in the United States.  So all the Americans who benefited from his commitment to making the spirituality of the Martin family known in English had the joy of offering him to God on the feast of the Lady of his Order. 

     Please visit here for more about Father Ryan.

     Be sure that he says to us what Therese said to her spiritual brother:  "Dear little Brother, there are many things I should like to make you understand now that I am at the door of eternity, but I am not dying; I am entering into life, and all that I cannot say to you here below, I shall make you understand from the heights of heaven."  Join with me, if you please, in thanking God for the apostolic life and happy death of the man who was such a good friend to St. Therese, to me, and to "Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway."  Now that St. Therese and Blessed Louis and Zelie have received their faithful son into their family in heaven, let's invoke his intercession confidently, knowing he will help us to share in their mission "to love Jesus and to make Him loved." 

With Sister Monique-Marie's kind permission, I post below her letter announcing his death and giving the information about his funeral ceremonies. 

Dear friends,

A word to inform you of the entry into life on July 17 of a great Theresian figure in Ireland, Father Linus Ryan. He worked ardently to spread the message of Therese, for the reception of her relics, and for the beatification of the Martin parents. He, among others, was the intermediary through whom the beautiful reliquary—that we now call the “Irish reliquary”—of Louis and Zélie was offered. A debilitating disease which made him suffer terribly prevented him from coming to Lisieux for years, but he remained in constant contact with us by telephone, and he continued to work with his faithful collaborators, who came every year to Lisieux on the Irish National Pilgrimage. Three or four months ago, Msgr. Lagoutte, the rector of the shrine at Lisieux, went to visit Father Ryan and to give him a beautiful reliquary of the Martin parents. It appears in the photograph. It was time for Father Ryan to be set free, for he had lost the sight in one eye and had started to lose it in the other. But never a complaint . . . He retained an exquisite kindness for all his visitors. Thank you for keeping him in your prayers, together with his family, his Carmelite brothers, his friends, and his collaborators, for they will no doubt feel a great emptiness even though, for Father Ryan himself, it is a real delivery. Ria and I will represent the Pilgrimage Office at Lisieux at Fr. Ryan’s burial, which will take place on Monday, July 20. The Mass will be at 11:00 a.m. in Terenure College, Dublin, where he lived with his community of friars of the Ancient Observance of the Carmelite Order. He will be buried in the cemetery of White Abbey, in Kildare, the city from which he came, and of which he was so proud.

Fraternally,

Sister Monique-Marie

For those who knew him or had bonds with him, you can always send an e-mail to sttheres@indigo.ie  His collaborators, especially Mr. Pat Sweeney, will open it.