A digital pilgrimage in the footsteps of the Martin family in Alencon - June 15, 2016

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This beautiful virtual pilgrimage to Alencon (54:18) filmed by Mario Calcagno has beautiful music, unusually good camera work, and superb interviews and narration.  The audio is in French, but, even if you do not understand French, you can see places related to Saints Louis and Zelie and Saint Therese that do not often appear in online films.  For example:

  • At 36:49 the church of St. Pierre de Monsort, Louis and Zelie's parish church  1858-1871.  The building in which they worshipped has been replaced by a new church, which contains the baptismal font at which all the Martin children except Therese were baptized.
  • At 42:08, the Pavilion, the small walled garden Louis Martin purchased on the outskirts of Alencon.  He kept his fishing tackle there and went there to meditate and pray; his daughters cultivated little gardens and pick picked strawberries..
  • At 46:14 Louis and Zelie's first home on Rue Pont-Neuf, where the first eight children were born
  • At 47:18 the building where the Sisters of Providence conducted a school for the makers of Point d'Alencon lace.  Zelie and her future mother-in-law attended classes there.

If you have already visited Alencon, this film will recall the memories.  If you have not, all the more reason to view the film.  

Exposition "Saints Louis and Zelie Martin" at Lisieux through the end of November 2016

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Exposition “Saints Louis and Zélie Martin”

To get to know Saints Louis and Zélie Martin a little better, by Sister Monique Marie.  [Note: Sister Monique-Marie was one of those most active in the successful completion of the Cause of Saints Louis and Zélie].

Sts zelie and Louis Martin

Sts zelie and Louis Martin

The exhibition paints a picture of a warm, living family, with a difficult daily life: the marriage of two quite young persons; learning a common life; the birth of children; and the loss of some. Prayer, the Mass, the Gospel, and the Church are the guidebooks of their life.

Another part of the exhibition traces the recognition of the two miracles:  the healing of Pietro Schilirò, which led to their Beatification on October 19, 2008, and the healing of Carmen Lourdes Perez-Pons, which led to their canonization seven years later, on October 18, 2015. Finally, the exposition shows how today's families feel close to the family of Louis and Zélie Martin. 

Zélie gave birth to nine children, four of whom died very young.  The exposition shows in pictures the places where they lived and presents photographs of the children and of the whole family, such as Uncle Isidore, Zélie’s brother, who was a pharmacist in Lisieux.

panneau_expo_fam._martin-19435.jpg

The Martin spouse-saints share a taste for work well done.  Their life of work is anchored in an ethic of a life deeply imprinted with a profound love for God, Whom they served in practicing boundless charity toward all those around them and to the needy.

Their home was as warm as the family was united.  Mutual affection abounded.

“God was pleased all through my life to surround me with love.  My first memories are imprinted with smiles and with the most tender caresses.” 

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux – Ms A of Story of a Soul. 4v, 9

When Zélie died of cancer in 1877, their father moved the family to Lisieux, where the vocations of each of the daughters would blossom.

A statue of Louis and Zélie Martin which was offered to the Shrine at Lisieux by a Philippine artist is presented as part of the exhibition.

Exhibition

•             From March 3 through the end of November 2016

  • In March and in November: from 9:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
  • From April through the end of October: from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.           

•       At the Saint John Paul II Center, across from the Basilica

Note: The above article was translated from "Exposition: Saints Louis and Zélie Martin" on the Web site of the Shrine at Lisieux.  I thank the Shrine for permission to translate it and for the images.

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

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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:

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.