Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin are the first married couple to be canonized together, and they are a great example for all married couples of a holy marriage.
Zelie had a difficult childhood. Her relationship with her mother was marked by emotional neglect, which led to her putting up her guard in relationships. Her relationship with Louis was a safe place through which God helped her find healing.
Louis and Zelie had strived to enter religious life, but were rejected. So, they embraced their vocation to marriage, hoping to have children and raise them to embrace religious and priestly vocations. God answered their prayers, and five of their daughters entered religious life.
Louis and Zelie had nine children, of which only five survived to adulthood. The loss of their four children caused much grief and fear in further pregnancies, especially when one of their children died due to neglect by an alcoholic wet nurse. The loss of these children also brought the family closer together and helped them to learn how to trust in God’s will. In her letters, Zelie often mentions asking for the intercession of her four little saints in heaven, which she taught her children to do.
Zelie eventually contracted breast cancer, succumbing to the disease. There’s a beautiful line in the book Called to Love describing how Louis would hold Zelie as she moaned in pain. It talks about how Louis had made her feel safe and loved, like she hadn’t in childhood, and how that safety and love helped her to pass peacefully into eternal life.
Louis lived several more years, seeing most of his daughters enter religious life, before his death at an old age.
Lessons from Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin
One thing I love about the story of these two saints is how God used their marriage to heal Zelie from childhood neglect, and how Zelie was open to the Lord moving in that way once it was clear she was not called to religious life. It’s a great example of the importance of community and embracing your vocation while on your healing journey, because God may use those things to bring about your healing.
Resources to Learn More
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To learn more about saints who faced trauma, visit this page.