Papal message: St. Thérèse’s parents show us that marriage is a path to holiness
October 21, 2025
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CWN Editor's Note: The tenth anniversary of the canonization of Saints Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of St. Thérèse, “highlights marriage as a path to holiness,” Pope Leo XIV wrote in a message to Bishop Bruno Feillet of Séez, France.
“Louis and Zélie did not fulfil their desire to become saints and educate their children in holiness by withdrawing from the world,” Pope Leo wrote in his message, dated October 1 and released by the Vatican on October 18. “They assumed their duty in the ordinary course of everyday life,” in “the Norman society of their time through their parish, their professional activities, their charitable works, their circles of friends and, of course, their family life.”
“In these troubled and confused times, when so many counter-models of unions, often fleeting, individualistic and selfish, with bitter and disappointing fruits, are presented to young people, the family as the Creator intended it may seem outdated and dull,” the Pope added. “Louis and Zélie Martin testify that this is not the case: they were happy—deeply happy!—giving life, radiating and transmitting the faith, seeing their daughters grow and flourish under the gaze of the Lord.”
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