Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin to be first spouses canonized as a couple 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.

More about

• Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, their lives, spirituality, and beatification, at "Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, the Parents of St. Therese of Lisieux"
• The healing in 2008 of the newborn baby Carmen Perez Pons in Valencia, Spain:
  • "The cure of Carmen: Is this the miracle that will make Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, the parents of St.  Therese of Lisieux, canonized saints?" - Process opens in Spain to examine "presumed miracle."  by Maureen O'Riordan.  January 20, 2013.
  • "Vatican to investigate "presumed miracle" attributed to Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux.  Will the healing of little Carmen make them saints?" - by Maureen O'Riordan.  May 28, 2013.
  • "Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, the Parents of St. Therese of Lisieux a Step Closer to Canonization," by Maureen O'Riordan.  Carmelite Review, Summer/Fall 2013.

• The history of the diocesan inquiry into the "presumed miracle" of the healing of little Carmen, written by the vice-postulator, Father Antonio Sangalli, O.C.D.  May 21, 2013.  Courtesy of the Shrine at Alencon.

• The Web site of the Shrine at Alencon, which receives pilgrims who visit the Martin family home at Alencon (the town where Louis and Zelie lived together; it was only after Zelie's death that the family moved to Lisieux).

• The Web site of the Shrine at Lisieux.  Louis and Zelie were beatified in the Basilica dedicated to their daughter at Lisieux in 2008, and the Shrine at Lisieux promoted their cause.

• For an audio reflection on Louis and Zelie, please listen to the radio show Carmelite Conversations, on which Maureen O'Riordan was a guest to reflect on the lives and spirituality of Louis and Zelie Martin on February 23, 2015.