Marie-Azélie Guérin Martin
| Saint Azélie-Marie Guérin Martin | |
|---|---|
| Laywoman | |
| Born | Azélie-Marie Guérin 23 December 1831 Saint-Denis-sur-Sarthon, Orne, France |
| Died | 28 August 1877 (aged 45) Alençon, Orne, France |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 19 October 2008, Basilique de Sainte-Thérèse, France by Pope Benedict XVI |
| Canonized | 18 October 2015, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope Francis |
| Feast | 12 July |
| Patronage |
|
Saint Azélie-Marie "Zélie" Martin née Guérin (23 December 1831 – 28 August 1877) was a French laywoman and the mother of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Her husband was Saint Louis Martin.
She was canonized as a saint on 18 October 2015 together with her husband. Zélie and Louis are the first spouses in the history of the Church to be canonized as a couple.
Contents
Life[edit]
Early life[edit]
Azélie-Marie Guérin was born in Saint-Denis-sur-Sarthon,[1] Orne, France and was the second daughter of Isidore Guérin and Louise-Jeanne Macé. She had an older sister, Marie-Louise, who became a Visitandine nun, and a younger brother, Isidore, who was a pharmacist. Her maternal family were from the Madré, in the neighbouring department of Mayenne, where her grandfather Louis Macé was baptised on the 16 March 1778.
Zélie wanted to become a nun, but was turned away by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul due to respiratory difficulties and recurrent headaches. Zélie then prayed for God to give her children and that they would be consecrated to God.
Guérin later decided to become a lacemaker,[2] making Point d'Alençon lace. She later fell in love with the watchmaker,[3] Louis Martin,[4] in 1858 and married only three months later[5] in the Basilica[6] of Our Lady of the Assumption in Alençon.[7]
Marriage and family[edit]
Although Zélie and Louis had led a continent marriage for almost a year, Louis' spiritual director encouraged them to have children. They would have nine altogether, though only five daughters would survive childhood; all became nuns:
- Marie Louise (22 February 1860 – 19 January 1940), as a nun, Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart, Carmelite at Lisieux.
- Marie Pauline (7 September 1861 – 28 July 1951), as a nun, Mother Agnès of Jesus, Carmelite at Lisieux.
- Marie Léonie (3 June 1863 – 16 June 1941), as a nun, Sister Françoise-Thérèse, Visitandine at Caen.
- Marie Hélène (3 October 1864 – 22 February 1870)
- Joseph-Louis (20 September 1866 – 14 February 1867)
- Joseph-Jean-Baptiste (19 December 1867 – 24 August 1868)
- Marie Céline (28 April 1869 – 25 February 1959), as a nun, Sister Geneviève of the Holy Face, Carmelite at Lisieux.
- Marie Mélanie-Thérèse (16 August 1870 – 8 October 1870)
- Marie Françoise Thérèse (2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), as a nun, Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, Carmelite at Lisieux, canonised in 1925.[5]
After Zélie's death, Pauline, Marie, Thérèse and Céline all became Carmelite nuns one after another along with a cousin, Marie Guérin. Léonie became a Visitandine nun at Caen[8] after leaving the Poor Clares.[9]
Death[edit]
Marie-Azélie died of breast cancer on 28 August 1877 in Alençon,[7] Orne, aged 45, leaving her husband and daughters. Her funeral was held in the basilica where she had married Louis. [10]
Beatification[edit]
Louis and Zélie were declared "venerable" on 26 March 1994 by Pope John Paul II. They were beatified[5] on 19 October 2008 by Jose Cardinal Saraiva Martins, the legate of Pope Benedict XVI in the Basilica of Saint Thérèse, Lisieux, France.[11]
A few months earlier, the church had recognized the miracle[12] of Pietro Schiliro, an Italian child cured of lung trouble at their intercession. For Louis and Zélie to be canonized,[13] the Church needed to find that God worked a second miracle at their intercession.
Canonization[edit]
On 7 January 2013 Carlos Osoro Serra, Archbishop of Valencia, presided at the opening of the diocesan phase of the canonical process to inquire into the healing of a little girl named Carmen who was born in Valencia only four days before Louis and Zelie were beatified. The diocesan process closed on 21 May 2013,[14] and the file was brought to Rome to be examined by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
On 27 February 2015 Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, announced informally that Zelie and Louis would be canonized in October 2015 during the Synod of Bishops.[15] On 18 March 2015 Pope Francis received Cardinal Amato in a private audience and authorized him to promulgate the decree recognizing the healing of little Carmen as the miracle for the canonization of Louis and Zelie Martin.[16] On June 26, 2015 the 15-minute film "Miracle of Life in Valencia," which recounts the healing of little Carmen and was produced by the Archdiocese of Valencia, was released online in English.[17]
On 27 June 2015, at a consistory of cardinals, Pope Francis approved the decree for the canonization of Louis and Zelie Martin and announced that the ceremony would take place on 18 October 2015, during the Synod of Bishops on the Family.[18]
Publications[edit]
In 2011, the letters of Zélie and Louis Martin were published in English as A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, 1863–1885, translated by Ann Connors Hess and edited by Dr. Frances Renda (Staten Island, N.Y.: Alba House).[19]
References[edit]
- ^ Shrine Louis and Zelie Martin (Alençon-France) – Saint Denis sur Sarthon
- ^ Shrine Louis and Zelie Martin (Alençon-France) – Lacemaker, holiness in work
- ^ Shrine Louis and Zelie Martin (Alençon-France) – The watchmaker
- ^ Shrine Louis and Zelie Martin (Alençon-France) – Louis'life
- ^ a b c "Blessed Louis and Zélie Martin, the Parents of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux". Blessed Louis and Zélie Martin, the Parents of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ Shrine Louis and Zelie Martin (Alençon-France) – The Basilica
- ^ a b Shrine Louis and Zelie Martin (Alençon-France)
- ^ "Léonie Martin, Disciple and Sister of St. Thérèse of Lisieux". Léonie Martin, Disciple and Sister of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ Shrine of Alençon : Monastery of the poor clares
- ^ "Ste. Thérèse of Lisieux Part 1- Her Family – canadiancatholicblog's Blog – Blogster". blogster.com. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ Website of saints at sqpn.com
- ^ Shrine Louis and Zelie Martin (Alençon-France) – The miracle
- ^ Shrine Louis and Zelie Martin (Alençon-France) – The canonization
- ^ "Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin: A Step Closer to Canonization"
- ^ "Canonization of St. Therese's Parents to Coincide with Synod on the Family". Zenit. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ^ "" Pope authorizes promulgation of miracle, heroic virtue"
- ^ "The Canonization Miracle of Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin". Blessed Louis and Zélie Martin, the Parents of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Pope officially paves the way for Saint Therese's parents to be canonized". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, The Parents of St. Therese
Shrine Louis and Zelie Martin (Alençon-France)
Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, The Parents of St. Therese of Lisieux
|