Parents of St. Thérèse Beatified on Mission Sunday

OMPEII, Italy (Zenit) – Benedict XVI said the second couple to be beatified in the history of the Church proclaimed the Gospel through living an “exemplary” married life.

Louis Martin and Marie-Zélie Guérin, the parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, were beatified today in Lisieux, France, by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, retired prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes.

Before praying the Angelus today during his one-day trip to the shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, the Pope noted that the beatification fell on the same date as World Mission Sunday. Pius XI, he explained, declared St. Thérèse “patroness of the missions.”  Read more here.