Saturday February 22, the diocesan inquiry devoted to Léonie Martin will be officially closed in Caen. The beginning of a long process.
By Célia Caradec https://www.tendanceouest.com/actualite-352321-caen-l-avenir-de-leonie-entre-les-mains-de-rome.html?fbclid=IwAR3kukX0X3_sq_Cof15QnWgtiSUEYJHcdDo3nC1XhZlhGUTI-gEK8dhj_Sk
In front of the Visitation monastery, not far from the town hall of Caen, the usual tranquility reigns. From the outside, nothing can suggest that the daily life of the sixteen sisters who live there is accelerating. Except maybe a car registered in Italy, parked in the yard. It belongs to the secretary of Father Sangalli, postulator of the cause in beatification of Léonie Martin. The sister of Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux lived here from 1899 to 1941. “It was her third attempt. She had said: ‘I will only get out of it in my coffin.’ She never came out! “Smiles Sister Marcelle-Thérèse, member of the congregation. Because the nun, the third daughter of the Martin family, prayed around the world, rests in the chapel of the monastery.
After her parents Louis and Zélie, canonized in 2015, she could in turn be beatified by the Pope, that is to say become venerable, with a view to a future canonization. On Saturday February 22, the first stage of this long procedure will be completed: the bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux Monseigneur Jean-Claude Boulanger will officially close the diocesan inquiry devoted to the cause of Léonie. The culmination of five long years of work for the Sisters of the Visitation… who are in the cards. “Several dozen boxes,” confirms Sister Marcelle-Thérèse. Thousands of documents have been gathered to bear witness to Léonie’s life and her devotion. Impossible to attend the last preparations, they are confidential. Historians, theologians, translators, archivists … Specialists, including foreigners, have worked on the case of Léonie Martin. He even had to open her coffin, buried in the crypt until 2017. The body of “poor Léonie” was almost intact. For the religious community, all these procedures are not without effort. “In 2014, when the question arose of opening the cause of Léonie, it was debated. We saw the work and the costs that this requires.” In this case, around 300,000 euros, financed by donations. “We had to photocopy everything, transcribe, translate the testimonies, the correspondence … even the chapel’s guest book.” The fruit of this work will be transported to Rome by Monsignor Boulanger in March. “I will give an extract from Léonie’s letters to Pope Francis, who has great veneration for her.” The services of the sovereign pontiff will examine the file to decide if it is admissible. “The case of an anti-Semitic priest had been refused.” To be recognized as blessed, Léonie Martin will have to be at the origin of a miracle, then of a second, so that her holiness is recognized. Again, specialists will be called upon to examine contemporary cases, on the basis of medical records. “If they say, ‘In the current state of science, we don’t explain this or that healing,’ then it will be.”
The sisters of the Visitation Monastery are expecting more than 200 faithful, on Saturday February 22, for the celebration.