Léonie Martin

After the death of Zélie Martin, the family moved to Les Buissonnets in Lisieux in November 1877. Léonie continued her studies with the Benedictines of Lisieux, but her academic path remained chaotic. Very early on, she felt the call to religious life, desiring to imitate her Visitandine aunt. However, her journey toward consecrated life was strewn with obstacles and repeated failures: 1. On October 7, 1886, she attempted a first entry with the Poor Clares of Alençon, but the rigor of the rule was too heavy for her fragile health; she left after six weeks. 2. On July 16, 1887, she entered the monastery of the Visitation of Caen, but had to leave six months later. 3. On June 24, 1893, she made a second attempt at the Visitation of Caen. She took the habit there, but difficulties in adaptation and health tensions forced her to leave two years later, in 1895. It was after the death of her younger sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus in September 1897, and the reading of 'Story of a Soul', that Léonie found the strength to persevere. On January 28, 1899, she crossed the doors of the Visitation of Caen for the fourth and final time. She took the habit there on July 2, 1899, under the name Sister Françoise-Thérèse (in homage to Saint Francis de Sales and her sister Thérèse) and pronounced her perpetual vows on July 2, 1900. Within the monastery, Sister Françoise-Thérèse led a hidden, humble, and laborious life. She was entrusted with simple tasks, notably in the refectory and then in the sacristy. Despite her precarious health and physical limitations, she distinguished herself by her gentleness, her constant joy, her obedience, and her profound humility. She refused to draw any glory from the growing fame of her sister Thérèse, preferring to remain hidden in the shadow of the cloister.

Léonie's journey toward holiness is intimately linked to the 'little way' of spiritual childhood theorized by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Léonie is undoubtedly the first and most docile disciple of this path. She understands that her weakness, her childhood wounds, and her limitations are not obstacles to the love of God, but on the contrary, the privileged place where Divine Mercy unfolds.

Her regular correspondence with her Carmelite sisters of Lisieux (Marie, Pauline, and Céline) bears witness to her inner transformation. She learns to accept her imperfections with peace and confidence. Over the years, her presence at the Visitation of Caen becomes a living testimony of the grace that transfigures human weakness. She passed away peacefully on June 17, 1941, at the age of 78, while France was under German occupation.

After her death, the tomb of Léonie Martin, located in the crypt of the Visitation Monastery in Caen, began to attract many pilgrims. Starting in the 1960s, the sisters received thousands of letters from all over the world requesting her intercession, particularly from parents of difficult children, and people suffering from depression, trauma, or difficulties with professional orientation.

Faced with this popular fervor, steps were taken to open her cause: * **June 16, 2013**: Bishop Jean-Claude Boulanger, Bishop of Bayeux and Lisieux, granted the imprimatur to a prayer requesting her beatification. * **January 24, 2015**: With the agreement of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Bishop Boulanger officially declared Léonie Martin a "Servant of God" during a Mass at the Visitation of Caen. * **July 2, 2015**: The cause for beatification was officially opened at the diocesan level. Her body was exhumed for recognition and placed in a reliquary. * **January 21, 2017**: Her reliquary was transferred to a new tomb accessible to the public in the monastery chapel. * **February 22, 2020**: Bishop Boulanger presided over the solemn closing of the diocesan inquiry. * **March 10, 2020**: The file of the diocesan inquiry was officially submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome for the Roman phase of the process.

The spirituality of Léonie Martin is that of absolute trust and abandonment to Divine Mercy. She embodies the holiness of the ordinary and of fragility. While her sisters experienced a linear and brilliant spiritual ascent in the Carmel, Léonie shows that a winding path, marked by failure, mental or physical illness, and childhood trauma, can lead to the highest summits of union with God.

She is today invoked as the patron saint of people in difficulty, of "difficult" children, of parents worried about the future of their children, and of all those who feel rejected or maladjusted. Her spiritual legacy, preserved through her letters and retreat notes, continues to inspire thousands of faithful throughout the world, reminding them that God does not choose the capable, but that He makes those whom He chooses capable.