Today, July 12, is the memorial of Saints Louis and Zelie Martin.
Parents of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.
Before becoming a watchmaker, Louis Martin wanted to become a religious. Zelie Guerin also wished to become a religious. She eventually became a successful lacemaker.
Louis and Zelie met in Alencon and were married in 1858 after a three-month courtship. For almost a year the couple lived as celibates, but the advice of a confessor changed their minds and they decided to raise as many children as possible for the glory of God.
Zelie gave birth to nine children, five of whom became nuns (four were Carmelites, including St. Therese of Lisieux, and one was a Visitandine, the Servant of God Leonie Martin whose cause for sainthood is underway).
The couple lived modestly, reached out to the poor and the needy, and led daily prayers in the household.
St. Therese would later write: “God gave me a father and a mother who were more worthy of heaven than of earth.”
In 1877, at age 45, Zelie Martin died of breast cancer. Louis’ daughters left, one by one, to enter the convent. Fighting off the sadness, he said: “It is a great, great honor for me that the Good Lord desires to take all of my children. If I had anything better, I would not hesitate to offer it to him.” Louis died in 1894 after much suffering.
Zelie and Louis were beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008. Pope Francis canonized them in October 2015.
Their memorial is on July 12, their wedding day. They are the first married spouses in Church history to be canonized as a couple.