St Louis and St Zélie were a married couple who both worked and raised a large family. They understood the chaos of running a business alongside family life, the challenges of parenting in an increasingly secular world and the devastating grief of losing four children. Yet they show us that daily toil, family responsibilities and health issues are not obstacles to holiness; they can actually be our way to heaven.
Their secret was putting faith at the centre of everything: their marriage, family and relationships with others. They taught their children to love Jesus and His mother, to pray, forgive, be humble and show kindness. Most importantly, they led by example through daily Mass, caring for the poor, helping those in need and trusting God even amid profound suffering.
They did not become saints because their daughter was a saint. In fact, Zélie died in 1877, when Thérèse was only four, so you could almost say the opposite is true. St Thérèse deeply admired her parents, saying: “The Good God gave me parents more worthy of heaven than of earth.” Their joyful trust was tested repeatedly by the deaths of their children, yet Zélie found consolation in knowing that they were with God.
Their story is a powerful reminder that we do not become saints despite marriage and family life, but through them. Their feast day, 12 July, was chosen because it is their wedding anniversary. As Pope Leo XIV reminded us on the tenth anniversary of their canonisation, their example remains deeply relevant today.
Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to visiting their home in Alençon and their relics in Lisieux with my husband, hoping to follow a little further in their footsteps.
