France: The relics of the parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus in Paris
The basilica of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires [Our Lady of Victories] in Paris will welcome the relics of Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. A chapel dedicated to them will be opened on January 16, 2012. Thus it will be the first house of worship in France placed under the patronage of the Martins, who were beatified on October 19, 2008, in Lisieux, after a decision by Benedict XVI.
The spouses Louis Martin (1823-1894) and Zélie Guérin (1831-1877) often went to pray in that Parisian basilica, built in 1629 at the request of the Augustinian Fathers; many graces have been obtained there. Little Thérèse herself had fervently visited that shrine as she was traveling to Rome in 1888, the year she turned fifteen. (Source: DICI no. 248 dated January 13, 2012)
