Icon of "Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin with St. Therese of Lisieux and Siblings" by Paolo Orlando now available from Trinity Religious Artwork and Icons - October 10, 2015

Thanks to the kindness of don Riccardo Brena and the parish of Marcallo in the Archdiocese of Milan, you can order reproductions of their icon of the Martin family through Trinity Stores Religious Artwork and Icons in Colorado.  

This icon by Paolo Orlando, shows Louis and Zelie Martin with their five adult daughters dressed as nuns.  From left, Marie and Pauline as Carmelite nuns; Leonie, whose cause was introduced in July 2015, as a Visitation nun; Celine and Therese as Carmelites.  Near the parents are the four little ones who died very young: Marie Helene, Marie-Joseph-Jean-Baptiste, Marie-Melanie-Therese, and Marie-Joseph-Louis.  

The icon is available in many sizes and formats: holy cards and prayer cards, magnets, framed desk art and wall art, giclee prints, and wooden plaques.  You may also order the icon on devotional candles, T-shirts, and sweatshirts.  Some of the available sizes are quite big enough to be installed in churches and monasteries; you may also order custom reproductions.  Purchases through this link support this Web site.  Thank you. 

To order:

• Please click on the image of the icon of the Martin family above or click on "Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin with St. Therese of Lisieux and Siblings."  
• At upper left, you will see a box that says "search for art."  Type in the name "Orlando" and press the search button.
• The icon will appear.  Choose among sizes and formats.  

Louis and Zelie and their children gathered every night to pray before the statue of the Virgin of the Smile.  I hope this icon of the Martin family will become a center of prayer in many homes, churches, and monasteries; will make the new saints known and loved; and will be a window to the holy.  Consider ordering it to celebrate the canonization; for the feast of Sts. Louis and Zelie; for a wedding or anniversary gift; or for a Christmas present.  

I hope that many churches dedicated to St. Therese will install this icon to honor Louis and Zelie and to remind the people that Therese did not fall out of heaven as a completed saint, but was brought up in a holy family.  I would also like to see donors appear to give the icon to many Carmelite monasteries and monasteries of the Visitation.  Please pray that God attracts many souls through this sacred art.  Thank you.  

Pray for the Synod on the Family with Louis and Zelie Martin - October 5, 2015

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Zelie Martin and Louis Martin.  Photo credit: Sanctuaire d'Alencon

Let us pray for the synod of bishops on the family with Louis and Zelie Martin.

Let us accompany the synod of bishops with our prayers. During this month of October, the month of the Holy Rosary, we can pray the Rosary for this intention in our families, communities, and parishes, or we can pray it alone . . . Let us ask Louis and Zelie Martin to intercede for us with our Heavenly Father.

At the end of the rosary, you can pray this prayer:

Louis and Zelie Martin,
you who, in your life as a couple and as parents,
have given witness of an exemplary Christian life
by fulfilling the duties of your state in life
and practicing the evangelical virtues,
we turn to you today.
We pray especially for the synod fathers:
that they may let themselves be guided by the Holy Spirit
so that the Church can send a clear and encouraging word
to the families of today.
Let the example of your unfailing trust in God
|and ofyour abandonment to his will,
in joys but also through the trials, sorrows,
and suffering with which your life was filled,
encourage us to persevere in our daily difficulties
and to live in joy and Christian hope.
Intercede for us with our Father
that we may obtain the graces
of which we have such need in our everyday life on earth
and that, like you, we may reach eternal happiness.

translated from the Web site of the Shrine at Alencon, with thanks for their kind permission.  The French text is copyright Il est vivant no. 327. 

"Louis and Zelie Martin Model 'a Simple Spirituality Achieved in Daily Life": The National Catholic Register interviews Fr. Antonio Sangalli, Their Vice-Postulator

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"Works of mercy were the very foundation on which Louis and Zelie Martin built their life."  See the National Catholic Register interview with the vice-postulator, Fr. Antonio Sangalli, O.C.D.,, who speaks sensitively about their canonization, the miracle of little Carmen's healing, and the significance of their lives for us.  

The relationship of the Martin family with the Blessed Virgin Mary - new research

Icon of Our Lady of mount carmel  by brother robert lentz.  available from trinity icon stores; click on the image.  purchases through the link support this web site.  thank you.

"Under the Veil of the Virgin: The Gradually Developing Relationship of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face to the Blessed Virgin Mary," by Fr. Christopher Armstrong, is a marvelous work about St. Therese's relationship with Mary, newly published online and drawing on sources rearely published in English.  The opening chapters tell of Louis and Zelie's devotion to Mary and of the Marian atmosphere in which they raised their daughters.  See some details..