Quote of the day, 11 February: St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Léonie was here. She hopes to be cured at the Holy Face or at Lourdes. She will go down into the bath.

Poor Léonie, she was so kind and she wanted to deprive herself of her visits just to please Céline… They rang for Vespers, and I left. I don’t know when they will be at Tours, but I believe they will be at Lourdes next week. 

We must write them on Monday or Tues­day before noon so that the letter arrives on Saturday.

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Letter LT 104 to Sr. Agnès of Jesus (Pauline)
5–6 May 1890

Note: Léonie’s biographer, Marie Baudouin-Croix, notes the following details concerning this trip to Lourdes:

Léonie and Céline did a great deal of traveling during that period [1889-1890]—especially by the standards of the late nineteenth century. They went, with the Guérins, to the 1889 International Exhibition in Paris, for the official opening of the Eiffel Tower; and soon afterward, Léonie and Céline went to Lourdes. Léonie’s frail health was worrying her family; the terrible eczema which had affected her since childhood had returned. Her family prayed that she would be cured; and finally, the two Martin girls, with their uncle and aunt, went to Lourdes, visiting Tours and northern Spain on the way.

Baudouin-Croix, M & Mooney, M 1993, Leonie Martin: A Difficult Life, Veritas Publications, Dublin.

Featured image: An antique postcard from Lourdes depicts the 6 October 1872 national pilgrimage to the shrine. Image credit: Bibliothèque Nationale de France banque d’images (libre de droit).