Celebrating 10 years since the canonization of Celia and Luis Martin, the parents of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, Pope Leo XIV has sent a message to the bishop of Séez (France), Bishop Bruno Feillet, in which he recalls that the Martins represent the ideal couple model for young people and that marriage “is the path to holiness.”
The marriage of Celia and Luis is the first in history to be canonized. The ceremony, in which both achieved the dignity of the altars, was chaired by Pope Francis on October 18, 2015.
Receive the main news from ACI Prensa by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channels today:
This event, the Pontiff said, “is of special importance because it highlights marriage as a path to holiness.”
“Here, then, is the model of couple that the Holy Church presents to young people who wish—perhaps with hesitation—to embark on such a beautiful adventure: a model of fidelity and mutual attention, a model of fervor and perseverance in faith, of Christian education of children, of generosity in the exercise of charity and social justice,” says Pope Leo.
“Also a model of trust in trials… But, above all, this exemplary couple testifies to the ineffable happiness and deep joy that God grants, from here below and for eternity, to those who undertake this path of fidelity and fruitfulness,” he added.
In his message, written in French, Pope Leo explains that “in these turbulent and disoriented times” where young people are presented with “so many opposing models of union, often fleeting, individualistic and selfish, with bitter and disappointing fruits,” the family—as God intended—“could seem outdated and boring.”
“Luis and Celia Martin testify that this is not the case: they were happy, deeply happy! By giving life, by radiating and transmitting faith, by seeing their daughters grow and flourish under the gaze of the Lord,” he said.
Leo
Furthermore, he highlighted the “ordinary” life in which marriage developed according to the context of its time but which, in reality, was inhabited by an “extraordinary” presence of God, “which was its absolute center.”
“Among the vocations to which God calls men and women, marriage is one of the most noble and elevated,” Pope Leo noted.
“The Holy Couple of Alençon is, therefore, a luminous and enthusiastic model for the generous souls who have undertaken this path, or who plan to do so, with the sincere desire to lead a beautiful and good life under the gaze of the Lord, both in joy and in trial,” he added in his message.
The Pope invited all married couples to “persevere with courage on the path they have undertaken” and that, although at times it is “difficult and laborious”, it is also luminous when Jesus is at the center of the family, of “its activities and its decisions.”
“Present your infinite love and tenderness to your children, and strive so that they also love Him as He deserves: this is the great lesson that Luis and Celia give us today, and that the Church and the world so need,” he assured.
“How could Therese love Jesus and Mary so much—and then transmit such beautiful doctrine to us—if she had not learned it from her holy parents from a very young age?” he concluded.
Andres Henriquez
I was born in Caracas in 1996. I have been a writer for ACI Prensa and a correspondent for EWTN since 2023. Since then, I have covered events in the Catholic Church in Venezuela, Latin America and the world. I have more than 6 years of experience in bilingual media. Furthermore, in Venezuela I have worked in various areas in favor of freedom and respect for fundamental rights in the country. I have been a member of the Regnum Christi Federation since 2014.