"Leonie Martin: on the path to beatification," by Pascal Simon. Ouest-France, January 25, 2015

                                   the crypt of the visitation at caen, where leonie martin is buried.  from left, the vice-postulator, father antonio sangalli, o.c.d., and mgr jean-claude boulanger, bishop of bayeux and lisieux

Translated by Mary Davidson.  We thank Pascal SIMON and Ouest-France for permission to translate and publish this article and for the use of the photograph. See the original article "Leonie Martin: en route vers la beatification," January 25, 2015.

Bishop Boulanger made the announcement yesterday during a Mass at the Monastery of the Visitation in Caen, beginning a long process. Will the sister of St. Therese of Lisieux be canonized someday? The answer will take many months, or even years, to come, but the process has begun.

Yesterday, Bishop Boulanger, Bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux, celebrated Mass in the chapel of the Monastery of the Visitation on rue L‘Abbatiale in Caen. He announced that he had responded to the wishes of the people and the religious community where Leonie Martin (Sister Françoise-Thérèse was her religious name) lived from 1899 to 1941.

“Bishop Boulanger has already received the opinion of the Episcopal Conference of Normandy. He will now send a letter to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican,” said Carmelite Father Antonion Sangalli, postulator of the cause of beatification of Léonie Martin. Father Sangalli is already a specialist in this field, since he has worked for the canonization of Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, parents of Saint Thérèse and Leonie.

When Bishop Boulanger has received the response of the Holy See, he will establish a diocesan tribunal to “conduct a proper investigation and look for any obstacles to the beatification.” In this context, the body of Sister Françoise-Thérèse will be exumed from its place in the crypt of the monastery. Her remains will be exposed in a reliquary which will find a place in the chapel of the monastery.