Where is the process of beatification of Léonie, the sister of Saint Thérèse de Lisieux?
Save the date of February 22, 2020. It will mark the end of the diocesan trial for the beatification and canonization of Léonie, the sister of Thérèse de Lisieux.
Fragile throughout her life, Léonie has long attracted people to the most tormented journeys. It was not for nothing that her mother called her “poor Leonie”, a name that is still used , almost 80 years after her death. The sister of Saint Thérèse de Lisieux – known worldwide – like their parents, Louis and Zélie Martin – who were canonized in 2015 – could therefore also have her reputation for holiness recognized at the highest peak of the Catholic Church .
From Caen to Rome
Her beatification and canonization trial was officially opened by the Sisters of the Visitation of Caen in January 2015, where Léonie Martin spent her life, after a difficult youth. Five years after the launch of this bitter process – “long and costly” as the diocese recognizes – the voluminous dossier of the remarkable study carried out by the historical commission, is about to be handed over to the Vatican by Monsignor Boulanger. “The closing of the trial in our diocese will be officially sealed on Saturday, February 22,” said the bishop of the diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux.
I’m going to take the study to the Congregation of Saints in early March on a trip to Rome.
Sister Marcelle-Thérèse, of the Visitation of Caen and Monseigneur Boulanger, bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux, worked at length with the Historical Commission of the Diocese as part of the process of beatification and canonization of Léonie, opened since January 2015.
From Servant of God to Venerable?
If the Roman investigation is positive, Léonie – who became “Servant of God” on December 18, 2014 – will then be declared “Venerable”. a first step before those of beatification and canonization. “For each, a miracle must be noted,” explains Sister Marcelle Thérèse, of the Visitation of Caen, who knows Léonie’s history by heart and admires her journey as much as she says she is intrigued by her precocious aura.
When she died in 1941, in the middle of the war, 3,000 people marched for 3 days in front of her coffin. And 33 priests were there at her funeral. You can’t explain her influence as soon as she dies. Admittedly, she was Thérèse’s sister, but it didn’t happen at all with the others …
Her aura was such that in the 1960s, the first people to request the opening of Leonie’s trial were … American!
In search of miracles
For the moment, no miracle can be attributed to Léonie. “We have collected testimonies of healing, but for them to be recognized as a miracle, we must be able to present medical certificates before and after, and this is the most complicated thing,” admits Bishop Boulanger . “But we will continue our research,” says Sister Marcelle Thérèse.
A long and costly process
Requests to open the process of beatification and canonization of Léonie emerged in the 1960s. “We refused on several occasions,” explains Sister Marcelle Thérèse, from the Visitation monastery in Caen. “Until 2014 when the community was consulted. We debated and the majority voted for ”. The machine then started. But why so late? “Because it’s a lot of work, a lot of costs to incur too.” Mgr Boulanger estimates that it is necessary to count “around 300,000 €”.
The process requires in fact to unearth the remains, to build a new tomb, to mandate theologians, historians and other scientists … “All of this is a matter for the community, but it cannot afford to pay for everything. So you also have to use donations. ” Without forgetting the tedious work of research and gathering of information. It will indeed have taken 5 years for the historical commission of the diocese led by Father Pascal Marie to complete the voluminous dossier that the bishop will take to Rome in early March.