Louis Martin was born in Bordeaux, France, in 1823, and worked as a watchmaker and jeweler in Alençon after an earlier attempt at monastic life did not work out. He married Zélie Guérin in 1858, and the couple, both deeply devout, ran their household and businesses according to a disciplined life of daily Mass, prayer, and generosity to the poor.
Of their nine children, four died in infancy; the five surviving daughters all entered religious life, most famously Thérèse, who became Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and a Doctor of the Church. After Zélie's death from cancer in 1877, Louis raised the younger daughters alone, later suffering years of illness himself before his death in 1894. He and Zélie were canonized together in 2015, the first married couple canonized as spouses in the same ceremony.
Saint Louis Martin
Father of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
A French watchmaker who, with his wife Zélie, raised a family of five surviving daughters, all of whom entered religious life, including Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.
- Born
- 1823
- Died
- 1894
- Birthplace
- Bordeaux, France
- Died in
- La Musse, France
- Country
- France
- Canonised
- 2015-10-18
- Century
- 19th century
Categories
Why People Pray to Saint Louis Martin
Saint Louis Martin is invoked by fathers and by families seeking to raise children in a home ordered around prayer and quiet devotion.
