Louis and Zelie Martin Models for Marital Fidelity, Vice Postulator Says

The relics of St. Therese of Lisieux and her saintly parents will be displayed throughout the synod on the family in Rome.

The body of St. Therese of Lisieux
The body of St. Therese of Lisieux (photo: CNA/Enrique Lopez-Tamayo Biosca via Flickr (CC BY 2.0))

ROME — Glass cases with the relics of St. Therese of Lisieux and her parents, Blesseds Louis and Zelie Martin, will be displayed in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome for the entirety of the synod on the family, which continues through Oct. 25.

Blesseds Louis and Zelie will both be canonized Oct. 18.

The relics will be available for veneration by the faithful from 7am to 7pm, the normal hours the basilica is open.

The relics of St. Therese will be displayed in the Borghese Chapel of the basilica before the Marian icon of the Salus Populi Romani. Through this devotion to Mary, Pope Francis has asked for her intercession for the fruits of the work of the synod and for all the families of the world.

Father Antonio Sangalli, vice postulator for the cause for the canonization of St. Therese's parents, said, “Louis and Zélie demonstrated through their lives that conjugal love is an instrument of holiness, a way to holiness consummated by the two persons together.” He noted that this aspect today is “the most important aspect to value in the family. There is an enormous need for a simple spirituality lived out in daily life.”

The cause for beatification of one of St. Therese's sisters, Françoise-Thérèse, was opened in France in July.