The Grace of the Last Place: Story of the Servant of God, Sister Françoise-Thérèse Martin, “Léonie” Sister of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus

By Visitation Sisters

Sister Françoise-Thérèse “Léonie” Martin, sister of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, is now a Servant of God. Her cause was opened in Caen, France on July 2, 2016, the anniversary of her profession (1900) in the Order of the Visitation.

The title, The Grace of the Last Place comes from the term used by the postulator, Father Antonio Sangalli. The term was also used by Dr. Anne-Marie Pelletier in a conference given in 1999 (in French) called: “Léonie and Her Family or the Grace of the Last Place.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: TreeFrogClick, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 9, 2016

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The Grace of the Last Place

Story of the Servant of God, Sister Françoise-Thérèse Martin: Léonie Sister of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus

A Translation of the Circular Letter by the Visitation Sisters

From the archives of the Toledo Visitation, translator unknown

Introduction

Sister Françoise-Thérèse Léonie Martin, sister of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, is now a Servant of God. Her cause was opened in Caen, France on July 2, 2015, the anniversary of her profession (1900) in the Order of the Visitation.

The title, The Grace of the Last Place, comes from the term used by the postulator, Father Antonio Sangalli. The term was also used by Dr. Anne-Marie Pelletier in a conference given in 1999 (in French) called: Léonie and Her Family or the Grace of the Last Place.

Léonie Martin was born on June 3, 1863 to Louis and Zélie Martin (now Saints). She was baptized the next day, which was the Feast of Corpus Christi. On this same feast, some 78 years later on June 17, 1941, she received her passport for Heaven, through the Sacrament of Extreme Unction in the Monastery of the Visitation of Caen. Léonie began her life in extreme sickness, a sickness which was miraculously healed through the fervent prayers of her parents. However, her childhood was marked with trial and her family was left with a weight to bear (it is possible that the measles and convulsions she suffered greatly contributed to some minor brain damage, which would account for many of her childhood problems and struggles). At the age of nine, her aunt (a Visitation nun) said of her:

Léonie, for the short time that I have had her, has given me good hope for the future. She is a difficult child to raise, whose childhood will give no comfort, but I believe that later she will be worth as much as her sisters. She has a heart of gold, her understanding is not developed and remains below her age; nevertheless, she is not wanting in powers and I find in her good judgment, together with admirable strength of character. When this little one has the use of reason and sees her duty nothing will stop her; difficulties, however great they may be, will be nothing for her; she will overcome all obstacles, which will not be wanting in her path, for she is built for that. Finally, she has a strong and generous nature, entirely to my liking, but if the grace of God was not there, what would she be?

A religious vocation was certainly in God’s plans. It was to this same aunt that Léonie had written these words:

Dear Aunt, when you go to Heaven, ask the good God, if you please, to grant me the grace to be converted, and also to give me a vocation to become a true religious, for I think of it every day. I beg you not to forget my little commission, for I am sure that the good God will hear you.

In 1890, Léonie was on a pilgrimage with one of her sisters, and there she begged Blessed Margaret Mary to pray for her to receive the grace of belonging entirely to God as a fervent and devout religious. These prayers were certainly efficacious. Her perseverance in the faith stands before us today as an example of what it means to follow God with one’s whole heart. Léonie and her family struggled through her difficult childhood, and she endured much suffering