Pope Francis Approves Canonization of St. Thérèse's Parents
Pope Francis today approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Louis and Zelie Martin, paving the way for their canonization.
The Holy Father issued a decree confirming the miracle at an audience this morning with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Vatican said in a statement.
Pope Francis is now expected to consult with cardinals on possibly holding the canonization ceremony during the Ordinary Synod on the Family, to take place Oct. 4-25.
Louis Martin (22 August 1823 - 29 July 1894) and Marie-Azelie Guérin Martin (23 December 1831 - 28 August 1877) were beatified in 2008 in the basilica dedicated to their daughter at Lisieux. They are believed to be the first parents of a saint to have been beatified.
No official details of the miracle have yet been released, but promoters of the Martins’ cause say it involves a girl called Carmen from the Archdiocese of Valencia, Spain, born prematurely and with multiple life-threatening complications.
She is understood to have suffered a major brain hemorrhage, but after her parents prayed for the Martins’ intercession, she survived and is healthy.
Last month, Cardinal Amato revealed the canonization would take place this year, in the same month as the synod. “Thanks to God in October two spouses will be canonized: the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux,” he said.
The Pope also issued decrees approving the heroic virtues of the following, raising them to ‘Venerable’:
- Servant of God Francesco Gattola, diocesan priest and founder of the Daughters of the Most Holy Immaculate Virgin of Lourdes, born 19 September 1822 in Naples, Italy, died there 20 January 1899;
- Servant of God Petar Barbaric, Jesuit novice, born 19 May 1874 in Klobuk, Bosnia and Herzegovina, died 15 April 1897 Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Servant of God Mary Aikenhead, founder of the Religious Sisters of Charity of Ireland, born 19 January 1787 in Cork, Ireland, died 22 July 1858 in Dublin, Ireland;
- Servant of God Elisa Baldo Foresti, widow, founder of the Holy Home of St. Joseph in Gavardo, and cofounder of the Humble Servants of the Lord, born 29 October 1862 in Gavardo, Italy, died 5 July in Brescia, Italy;
- Servant of God Vincenta of the Passion of the Lord (nee Jadwiga Jaroszewska), founder of the Benedictine Samaritan Sisters of the Cross of Christ, born 7 March 1900 in Piotrkow Trybunalski, Poland, died 10 November in Warsaw, Poland).
- Servant of God Juana of the Cross (nee Juana Vazquez Gutierrez) professed religious of the Franciscan Nuns of the Third Order Regular and Abbess of the Santa Maria de la Cruz convent in Cubas, born 3 May 1481 in Villa de Azana (today: Numancia de la Sagra), Spain, died 3 May 1534 in Cubas de la Sagra, Spain;
- Servant of God Maria Orsola Bussone, young layperson of the Focolare Movement, born 2 October 1954 in Vallo Torinese, Italy, died 10 July 1970 in Ca' Savio, Italy.
- Keywords:
- canonization
- cardinal amato
- causes of saints
- louis and zelie martin
- pope francis
- st. therese of lisieux
- vatican
Edward Pentin Edward Pentin is the Register’s Senior Contributor and EWTN News Vatican Analyst. He began reporting on the Pope and the Vatican with Vatican Radio before moving on to become the Rome correspondent for EWTN's National Catholic Register. He has also reported on the Holy See and the Catholic Church for a number of other publications including Newsweek, Newsmax, Zenit, The Catholic Herald, and The Holy Land Review, a Franciscan publication specializing in the Church and the Middle East. Edward is the author of The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates (Sophia Institute Press, 2020) and The Rigging of a Vatican Synod? An Investigation into Alleged Manipulation at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family (Ignatius Press, 2015). Follow him on Twitter at @edwardpentin.
