Leonie Martin Sr. Francoise-Therese 1863 - 1941

June 3, 1863	Léonie is born at Alençon. She is the third daughter in the Martin family.
May 23, 1875	First Communion at the Church of Notre Dame, Alençon.
June 18, 1877	She accompanies her sick mother to Lourdes along with Marie and Pauline.
October 3, 1881	At the age of 18, she finishes her studies at the Benedictine School at Lisieux where she was a boarder.
May 13, 1883	Thérèse is miraculously cured by the Virgin Mary in Léonie's presence.
June 14, 1884	She acts as sponsor for Thérèse at the latter's Confirmation.
October 7, 1886	While Mr. Martin is still residing at Alençon with his four daughters, she makes a first attempt at religious life by entering the Poor Clares. She stays only two months.
July 16, 1887	She enters the Visitation Convent at Caen at the age of 24.
January 6, 1888	Léonie leaves the Visitation Convent at Caen having stayed for 6 months.
January 10, 1889	She attends Thérèse's first profession along with her father and sisters Céline.
February 12, 1889	Mr. Martin is admitted to the Bon Sauveur Hospital at Caen where he stays for 3 months. Léonie and Céline visit him regularly.
June 24, 1893	She enters the Visitation Convent for a second time.
April 6, 1894	At her first profession, she takes the name Sr. Thérèse-Dosithée.
July 20, 1895	Having spent two years in the Visitation Convent, Léonie (age 32 years) leaves and goes to reside with the Guérin family at Lisieux.
July 17, 1897	In her last letter to Thérèse, Léonie assures her sister that she will become a Visitation Sister.
October 4, 1897	Thérèse is buried. Léonie leads the mourning.
January 28, 1899	For the third and final time, Léonie enters the Visitation Convent at Caen. She is 35 years of age.
June 30, 1899	Léonie is once more professed at the Visitation Convent at Caen, this time taking the name Sr. Françoise-Thérèse.
July 2, 1900	Final profession at the Visitation Convent.
August 1910	At Bayeux, Léonie acts as a witness for the cause of Thérèse's beatification.
September 1915	She meets her three sisters at the Carmelite Convent in Lisieux during the Apostolic Process of the cause of Thérèse's beatification.
April 29, 1923	Sr. Thérèse of the Child Jesus is beatified at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome by Pope Pius XI. Léonie (Visitation Sister) and her three sisters (all Carmelite Sisters) are invited to Rome for the ceremony, but they decline out of a desire to remain faithful to their vocation to the enclosed religious life.
June 16, 1941	She dies at the Visitation Convent at Caen, aged 78 years.
March 11, 1945	The casket containing the relics of St. Thérèse, Patron Saint of France, is brought to the Visitation Convent at Caen, to "salute" the mortal remains of Léonie in the crypt. The Crypt which holds the mortal remains of Léonie has been made accessible to the many pilgrims who come to pray at her tomb.
Source :  Sanctuaire de Lisieux :  Significant Dates :  Leonie See also :  Leonie Martin :  The Forgotten Sister of St. Therese

| NEXT | HOME |