Léonie Martin, Disciple and Sister of St. Thérèse of Lisieux
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  • About the site
  • Léonie's life
  • Zelie Guerin Louis Martin before his marriage Sites of the Martin family at Alencon Louis and Zelie Martin's house and watch-shop at Rue Pont-Neuf Léonie's childhood at Alençon St. Pierre de Montsort, Léonie's parish church until 1878 Notre-Dame Church, where the Martins were married and Therese was baptized Rue Saint-Blaise, Zelie's girlhood home and the Martin family's home 1871-1877 Photos of Blessed Louis Martin Louis Martin's Pavilion on the outskirts of Alencon Léonie's youth at Lisieux Les Buissonnets Les Buissonnets, where Louis Martin lived from 1877 through 12 February 1889 Cathedral of St. Pierre, exterior The Cathedral of St. Pierre Photo Album of those who knew the Martins at Lisieux Photos of various members of family of Louis and Zelie Martin and St. Therese Photographs of family of Isidore Guerin, Zelie Martin's brother, Therese's uncle Countryside around Lisieux Léonie's life as a laywoman with the Guérin family, 1889-1893 and 1895-1899 7 Rue Labbey, Lisieux, the Guerin house, Rue Paul-Banaston Photos of Louis Martin at 7 rue Labbey, Lisieux, his home 1892-1894 Dedication of a plaque at 7 rue Labbey, Lisieux Chateau La Musse, Evreux, where Leonie vacationed with the Guerins The death of Louis Martin, July 29, 1894 Death and funeral documents for St. Therese Léonie at the Visitation of Caen Léonie's room at the Visitation Monastery in Caen Photographs of the Monastery of the Visitation at Caen Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway
  • Toward sainthood
  • "The hidden life of Léonie Martin," Famille Chretienne, June 8, 2013
  • Virtual Tour of Leonie's new shrine
  • Leonie Martin, Disciple and Sister of St. Therese of Lisieux Blog
  • "Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: A Gateway"
  • "Saints Louis and Zelie Martin, The Parents of Saint Therese of Lisieux""
  • E-mail me
  • Notices and Policies
  • Search the Site
  • Join our mailing list

Léonie Martin, Disciple and Sister of St. Thérèse of Lisieux

  • Home/
  • About the site/
  • Léonie's life/
  • Photo Gallery/
    • Zelie Guerin
    • Louis Martin before his marriage
    • Sites of the Martin family at Alencon
    • Louis and Zelie Martin's house and watch-shop at Rue Pont-Neuf
    • Léonie's childhood at Alençon
    • St. Pierre de Montsort, Léonie's parish church until 1878
    • Notre-Dame Church, where the Martins were married and Therese was baptized
    • Rue Saint-Blaise, Zelie's girlhood home and the Martin family's home 1871-1877
    • Photos of Blessed Louis Martin
    • Louis Martin's Pavilion on the outskirts of Alencon
    • Léonie's youth at Lisieux
    • Les Buissonnets
    • Les Buissonnets, where Louis Martin lived from 1877 through 12 February 1889
    • Cathedral of St. Pierre, exterior
    • The Cathedral of St. Pierre
    • Photo Album of those who knew the Martins at Lisieux
    • Photos of various members of family of Louis and Zelie Martin and St. Therese
    • Photographs of family of Isidore Guerin, Zelie Martin's brother, Therese's uncle
    • Countryside around Lisieux
    • Léonie's life as a laywoman with the Guérin family, 1889-1893 and 1895-1899
    • 7 Rue Labbey, Lisieux, the Guerin house, Rue Paul-Banaston
    • Photos of Louis Martin at 7 rue Labbey, Lisieux, his home 1892-1894
    • Dedication of a plaque at 7 rue Labbey, Lisieux
    • Chateau La Musse, Evreux, where Leonie vacationed with the Guerins
    • The death of Louis Martin, July 29, 1894
    • Death and funeral documents for St. Therese
    • Léonie at the Visitation of Caen
    • Léonie's room at the Visitation Monastery in Caen
    • Photographs of the Monastery of the Visitation at Caen
    • Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway
  • Toward sainthood/
  • "The hidden life of Léonie Martin," Famille Chretienne, June 8, 2013/
  • Virtual Tour of Leonie's new shrine/
  • Leonie Martin, Disciple and Sister of St. Therese of Lisieux Blog/
  • "Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: A Gateway"/
  • "Saints Louis and Zelie Martin, The Parents of Saint Therese of Lisieux""/
  • E-mail me/
  • Notices and Policies/
  • Search the Site/
  • Join our mailing list/
The choir of St. Pierre's Cathedral

Léonie Martin, Disciple and Sister of St. Thérèse of Lisieux

A disciple of the way of confidence and love

The Cathedral of St. Pierre, Leonie's parish church at Lisieux

Léonie Martin, Disciple and Sister of St. Thérèse of Lisieux

  • Home/
  • About the site/
  • Léonie's life/
  • Photo Gallery/
    • Zelie Guerin
    • Louis Martin before his marriage
    • Sites of the Martin family at Alencon
    • Louis and Zelie Martin's house and watch-shop at Rue Pont-Neuf
    • Léonie's childhood at Alençon
    • St. Pierre de Montsort, Léonie's parish church until 1878
    • Notre-Dame Church, where the Martins were married and Therese was baptized
    • Rue Saint-Blaise, Zelie's girlhood home and the Martin family's home 1871-1877
    • Photos of Blessed Louis Martin
    • Louis Martin's Pavilion on the outskirts of Alencon
    • Léonie's youth at Lisieux
    • Les Buissonnets
    • Les Buissonnets, where Louis Martin lived from 1877 through 12 February 1889
    • Cathedral of St. Pierre, exterior
    • The Cathedral of St. Pierre
    • Photo Album of those who knew the Martins at Lisieux
    • Photos of various members of family of Louis and Zelie Martin and St. Therese
    • Photographs of family of Isidore Guerin, Zelie Martin's brother, Therese's uncle
    • Countryside around Lisieux
    • Léonie's life as a laywoman with the Guérin family, 1889-1893 and 1895-1899
    • 7 Rue Labbey, Lisieux, the Guerin house, Rue Paul-Banaston
    • Photos of Louis Martin at 7 rue Labbey, Lisieux, his home 1892-1894
    • Dedication of a plaque at 7 rue Labbey, Lisieux
    • Chateau La Musse, Evreux, where Leonie vacationed with the Guerins
    • The death of Louis Martin, July 29, 1894
    • Death and funeral documents for St. Therese
    • Léonie at the Visitation of Caen
    • Léonie's room at the Visitation Monastery in Caen
    • Photographs of the Monastery of the Visitation at Caen
    • Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway
  • Toward sainthood/
  • "The hidden life of Léonie Martin," Famille Chretienne, June 8, 2013/
  • Virtual Tour of Leonie's new shrine/
  • Leonie Martin, Disciple and Sister of St. Therese of Lisieux Blog/
  • "Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: A Gateway"/
  • "Saints Louis and Zelie Martin, The Parents of Saint Therese of Lisieux""/
  • E-mail me/
  • Notices and Policies/
  • Search the Site/
  • Join our mailing list/
The choir of St. Pierre's Cathedral

The choir of St. Pierre's Cathedral

courtesy of L'instantané Normandie

The heights of the Cathedral

The heights of the Cathedral

courtesy of L'instantané Normandie

Interior of St. Pierre's Cathedral

Interior of St. Pierre's Cathedral

courtesy of L'instantané Normandie

Nave, St. Pierre's Cathedral

Nave, St. Pierre's Cathedral

courtesy of L'instantané Normandie

Nave, St. Pierre's

Nave, St. Pierre's

courtesy of L'instantané Normandie

St. Pierre's interior, illuminated

St. Pierre's interior, illuminated

courtesy of L'instantané Normandie

Ceiling, St. Pierre's

Ceiling, St. Pierre's

courtesy of L'instantané Normandie

Interior of St. Pierre's with daylight

Interior of St. Pierre's with daylight

courtesy of L'instantané Normandie

Plaques in the chapel of St. Pierre's Cathedral

Plaques in the chapel of St. Pierre's Cathedral

These two plaques in St. Pierre's Cathedral state that it was in this chapel that Therese attended Mass and Vespers on Sunday until she entered Carmel.  Here, in July 1887, while closing her missal, she saw a holy card protrude from the edge in such a way that only the wounded hand of the Crucified was visible, and she understood her vocation to gather up this Precious Blood and "pour it out on souls." 

Statue of St. Therese where she attended Mass on Sundays

Statue of St. Therese where she attended Mass on Sundays

In the south aisle of St. Pierre's Cathedral, this modern statue of Therese by Lambert-Rucky marks the place where she sat for Sunday Mass until the homily began.  In "Story of a Soul" Therese describes how, when the priest began to preach, she and her father would move closer to the pulpit so that they could hear the homily.

Close-up of the statue of Therese

Close-up of the statue of Therese

marking the spot where she worshipped on Sundays.

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The choir of St. Pierre's Cathedral
The heights of the Cathedral
Interior of St. Pierre's Cathedral
Nave, St. Pierre's Cathedral
Nave, St. Pierre's
St. Pierre's interior, illuminated
Ceiling, St. Pierre's
Interior of St. Pierre's with daylight
Plaques in the chapel of St. Pierre's Cathedral
Statue of St. Therese where she attended Mass on Sundays
Close-up of the statue of Therese
  • Home/
  • About the site/
  • Léonie's life/
  • Photo Gallery/
    • Zelie Guerin
    • Louis Martin before his marriage
    • Sites of the Martin family at Alencon
    • Louis and Zelie Martin's house and watch-shop at Rue Pont-Neuf
    • Léonie's childhood at Alençon
    • St. Pierre de Montsort, Léonie's parish church until 1878
    • Notre-Dame Church, where the Martins were married and Therese was baptized
    • Rue Saint-Blaise, Zelie's girlhood home and the Martin family's home 1871-1877
    • Photos of Blessed Louis Martin
    • Louis Martin's Pavilion on the outskirts of Alencon
    • Léonie's youth at Lisieux
    • Les Buissonnets
    • Les Buissonnets, where Louis Martin lived from 1877 through 12 February 1889
    • Cathedral of St. Pierre, exterior
    • The Cathedral of St. Pierre
    • Photo Album of those who knew the Martins at Lisieux
    • Photos of various members of family of Louis and Zelie Martin and St. Therese
    • Photographs of family of Isidore Guerin, Zelie Martin's brother, Therese's uncle
    • Countryside around Lisieux
    • Léonie's life as a laywoman with the Guérin family, 1889-1893 and 1895-1899
    • 7 Rue Labbey, Lisieux, the Guerin house, Rue Paul-Banaston
    • Photos of Louis Martin at 7 rue Labbey, Lisieux, his home 1892-1894
    • Dedication of a plaque at 7 rue Labbey, Lisieux
    • Chateau La Musse, Evreux, where Leonie vacationed with the Guerins
    • The death of Louis Martin, July 29, 1894
    • Death and funeral documents for St. Therese
    • Léonie at the Visitation of Caen
    • Léonie's room at the Visitation Monastery in Caen
    • Photographs of the Monastery of the Visitation at Caen
    • Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway
  • Toward sainthood/
  • "The hidden life of Léonie Martin," Famille Chretienne, June 8, 2013/
  • Virtual Tour of Leonie's new shrine/
  • Leonie Martin, Disciple and Sister of St. Therese of Lisieux Blog/
  • "Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: A Gateway"/
  • "Saints Louis and Zelie Martin, The Parents of Saint Therese of Lisieux""/
  • E-mail me/
  • Notices and Policies/
  • Search the Site/
  • Join our mailing list/

Léonie Martin, Disciple and Sister of St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Léonie  Martin, the sister of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, became Sister Françoise-Thérèse of the Monastery of the Visitation at Caen in northern France.  Léonie led a challenging life: ill from childhood; abused by a maidservant; expelled from school; isolated within her family.   She tried religious life three times before she  succeeded: in 1899, at the age of 35, she entered definitively the Monastery of the Visitation at Caen, where she died in 1941 at the age of 78. 

How did the troubled child and unhappy teenager turn into the sister everyone remembered as so kind, so serene, and so happy that they could not believe she had had a difficult childhood?  As a laywoman, Léonie lived at the margins of her family and her society.  She found Christ there and made him the center and the source of her life.  She discovered God within herself, in her woundedness, and she became the first disciple of Thérèse's "way of confidence and love."

After her death, Léonie was almost forgotten for a long time.  But, about 1960, the nuns of her monastery began to receive letters from all over the world asking them to pray that Léonie might obtain graces for those who wrote.  Many of these letters came from the parents of special children, from families in conflict, and from persons who, like Léonie, struggle to find and to fulfill their vocations.  These were followed by letters of thanksgiving.  Pilgrims come to pray at her tomb, to ask for graces and to give thanks.  Now she is being considered for beatifcation.  Mgr Jean-Claude Boulanger, bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux, the diocese where Léonie lived most of her life and where she died, has granted the imprimatur for a prayer asking that Léonie might be declared "venerable" (that is, declared to have practced heroic virtue).  

Léonie's mission is to draw souls, especially the wounded, the broken, and those who have not found a place in the world, to God.  Invite her to accompany you and to lead you to surrender yourself, as she did, to God's "consuming and transforming love."

 

Copyright Maureen O’Riordan 2013-2023. All rights reserved.

Copyright Maureen O'Riordan 2013-2016. All rights reserved.