displayed with the permission of Fr. J. Linus Ryan, O. Carm.

Blessed Zelie and Louis Martin: Their Lives

• "Louis and Zelie Martin: A marriage of love," by Guy Gaucher,  O.C.D., auxiliary bishop emeritus of Bayeux and Lisieux - a translation of the article that appeared in Feu et Lumiere, July/August 2004. 
• "The Parents of St. Therese" by Fr. James Geoghegan, O.C.D  An eight-page conference from "Proceedings of the Second Regional Congress, Discalced Carmelite Third Order."  San Francisco, 1974, pp. 21-31.
• Brochure about Louis and Zelie Martin, illustrated with photographs, courtesy of the Irish National Office for St. Therese.  It contains short lives of Therese's mother and father by Christine Frost; "History of a Cure," details of the miracle certified by Pope Benedict XVI on July 3, 2008; an article by Rev. J. Linus Ryan, O. Carm.  Thanks to the Internet Archive
• "Louis and Zelie Martin: An example of a Christian family Interpreted according to Pope John Paul II's Letter to Families"  A spiritual newsletter published by St. Joseph de Clairval Abbey in Flavigny
• "A House of Love: Louis and Zelie Martin" An eight-minute film showing their Alencon home as it appeared before its renovation. .  Commentary in French about their lives and spirituality. Interviews with Fr. Thierry Henault-Morel and Mme. Laurence Valbray. Thanks to CFRT Jour du Seigneur.

About Zelie Guerin Martin

• "A Short Life of Venerable Zelie Martin," by Fr. J. Linus Ryan, O. Carm. - from the site of the Irish National Office for St. Therese.  With thanks to the Internet Archive.
• Zelie's letters at the time of the death of her young children - Courtesy of EWTN
• "The Mother of Saint Therese of Lisieux," by Sister Joan Gormley - New Oxford Review, October 2001.  You may see part of the article; to see it all, purchase or subscribe
• "Purgatory on Earth: An Account of Breast Cancer in 19th Century France," by Therese Taylor - This article, from the "Social History of Medicine," describes the terminal illness of Therese's mother. See the abstract; to see the full text, you must purchase short-term access or subscribe.
• "Death of a mama: August 28, 1877" from the magazine "Therese of LIsieux," no. 829, January 2003
• Recently recovered photo of Zelie Martin about 1875

About Louis Martin

• "A Short Life of Venerable Louis Martin, Father of St. Therese," by Fr. J. Linus Ryan, O. Carm. - an online biography from the site of the Irish National Office for St. Therese.  Click and scroll down.
• Therese's father, Louis Martin, courtesy of EWTN - Therese's description of her father in "Story of a Soul;" and remarks made about Louis Martin by M. Ducellier, a priest of Lisieux, in 1895 when he preached at Celine's reception of the habit
• Why was St. Louis Martin born in Bordeaux?

Films

• Louis et Zélie Martin d'Alençon by the Diocese of Seez WebTV; I thank them for permission to post it here.  The interviews are in French. Two weeks before the beatification in October 2008, the Church acquired Louis Martin's Pavilion, a watchtower within a walled garden on the outskirts of Alencon, where Louis fished, read, and meditated in his bachelor days.  This garden was the first home of the statue later called "The Virgin of the Smile," before which Therese was cured as a child.  After his marriage Louis often brought Zelie and his daughters to the Pavilion on outings.  For decades the Pavilion was closed to visitors, and this is the first film footage of the watchtower and garden.
•  "Inauguration of the Martin Family House at Alencon."  At the end of April 2009 the Martins' second marital home on Rue Saint-Blaise, where the family lived from 1871-1877 and where Therese was born, which had been closed for restoration for several years, reopened to pilgrims.  I thank the Diocese of Seez for permission to post this film of the event at which the restored house was opened to the press.  Most of the film is interviews in French with Mgr. Jean-Claude Boulanger, bishop of Seez, and with artists who worked on the house.  It also includes the first footage of the restored house.
•  A tourist train in the steps of Blessed Louis and Zélie Martin at Alencon."  The film shows priests from the diocese of Seez taking a "tourist train" to visit the places Louis and Zelie knew.  The audio is in French, but the film is easy to follow.  It shows first St. Leonard's Bridge over the Sarthe, where Zelie and Louis met in 1858.  Next a rare visit to St. Pierre de Montsort, the Martin family's parish church from 1858 through 1871, showing the baptismal font where all their children but Therese were baptized.  Then a visit to the Pavilion, the walled garden Louis bought in 1857.  The film shows the ground floor of the watchtower, where Louis kept his fishing rods; the second floor, where he meditated and prayed; and finally the third floor, where he slept on his visits to Alencon after he moved to Lisieux in 1877, and where it is believed he sometimes allowed homeless persons to sleep.  Finally, the film shows the outside of Louis's watch-and-jewelry shop on Rue Pont Neuf.  I thank the Diocese of Seez for permission to display the film here.
• A four-minute film, "A Pilgrimage Visit to the Alencon birthplace of St. Therese," the home ofLouis and Zelie Martin, where their daughter Therese was born on January 2, 1873.  Includes their worktables, the room where Therese was born, the chapel, and the garden; English captions.  Shows the appearance of the house before it was restored in 2008.  With thanks to Susan Ehlert.