First married couple canonized


On Sunday, October 18, 2015, Pope Francis canonized the first couple to be recognized together as saints in the Catholic Church.

zelie louis

In a ceremony in Saint Peter's Square, Pope Francis declared four new saints in the Catholic Church. Among the four, were the parents of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus (Therese of Lisieux), Louis and Zelie Martin.

Married in 1858, Louis and Zélie had nine children. Four died in infancy while the remaining five entered religious life. During their marriage, the couple was known to attend Mass daily, pray and fast, visit the elderly and the sick and welcome the poor into their home.

The canonization comes during the Synod on the Family, throwing light on a model couple, who had many children and lived exemplary Catholic lives.

Louis and Zélie Martin were canonized alongside two others: Italian Father Vincenzo Grossi, founder of the Institute of the Daughters of the Oratory and Spanish Sister Maria of the Immaculate Conception, Superior General of the Sisters of the Company of the Cross.

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