Léonie Martin
Léonie Martin Servant of God | |
|---|---|
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| Nun | |
| Born | 3 June 1863 Alençon, Orne, France |
| Died | 16 June 1941 (aged 78) Caen, Calvados, France |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Attributes |
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Léonie Martin (3 June 1863 – 16 June 1941) was a French Roman Catholic nun who led a cloistered life as part of the Visitation Sisters. More notable is the fact that she is the daughter of Saints Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin Martin and is the sister of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. She is sometimes dubbed Thérèse's "difficult sister". She assumed the name of "Françoise-Thérèse".
The introduction of the beatification process was granted assent in 2015 and she has been given the posthumous title Servant of God.[1]
Life
Léonie Martin was born on 3 June 1863 to Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin Martin - both of whom were canonized on 18 October 2015 by Pope Francis. She had several siblings which included Thérèse - future saint. Among them were:
- Marie Louise
- Marie Pauline
- Marie Hélène
- Joseph-Louis
- Joseph-Jean-Baptiste
- Marie Céline
- Marie Mélanie-Thérèse
- Marie Françoise-Thérèse (future saint)
She - as a child - lived with fragile health and almost died after eighteen months of her life. She suffered from the whooping cough in addition to measles with strong convulsions and eczema. She was a restless child who was seen as a burden upon her mother who suffered much to care for her - a difficult child. She was refused to remain at a Visitation school for the nuns disliked her breaking the rules on a constant basis.
Her mother died on 28 August 1877 leaving her with her father and sisters.
Martin entered - at the age of 23 - a convent that the Poor Clares managed but she resided there for a couple of months before she decided to make an attempt to become part of the Visitation Sisters. She was there for a mere six months before she returned to Lisieux.
Her father died in 1894. With no one left to help her she turned to her sister Thérèse who acted as her spiritual teacher. But she died in 1897 after a period of ill health. It was after this that she at last became a professed member of the Visitation Sisters with the new name of "Françoise-Thérèse".
Martin's health continued to falter and lived in the shadow of ill health; besieged with ailments such as eczema. She died on 16 June 1941.[2]
Beatification process
The beatification process commenced in France with the declaration of "nihil obstat" (nothing against) on 22 January 2015 thus conferring upon her the posthumous title of Servant of God. This allowed for a local diocesan process to open in order to gather documentation and testimonies; the local process commenced on 2 July 2015.
The Léonie League for the Advancement of Autistic Persons,[3] named for Léonie Martin, is a lay mission of the Congregation of Charity of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. Welcoming both autistic and non-autistic participants, they are in the preliminary stages of establishing a new religious order especially for autistics.
References
- ^ "Servant of God Françoise-Thérèse (Leonie Martin)". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- ^ "Servant of God Françoise-Thérèse (Leonie Martin)". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- ^ Leonie League organizational website, page found 2016-02-12.