Catholic Tourist

Shrine · France

Birthplace of St. Thérèse and Martin Family House

Alençon, Normandy, France

BirthplaceFamily HomeLiving Catholic ShrineSaints Louis and Zélie MartinShrineSt. Thérèse ChapelSt. Thérèse of LisieuxActive Catholic family shrine under the Diocese of Séez, preserving the documented birthplace of St. Thérèse and home of Saints Louis and Zélie Martin

Why pilgrims come

A sacred place worth the journey.

The Martin family house at 50 rue Saint-Blaise where St. Thérèse was born on January 2, 1873 and St. Zélie died in 1877. The visit includes the birth room, family objects, and an adjoining chapel built for pilgrims; it is a living diocesan shrine, not merely a commemorative plaque.

TraditionCatholic

The pilgrim’s guide

What makes this visit meaningful

Begin the Martin family pilgrimage inside the domestic world where Thérèse was born and where Louis and Zélie practiced holiness through marriage, work, illness, parenthood, and prayer. The preserved rooms and family objects make the family’s ordinary life the subject of the visit.

01

The room where Thérèse was born

See the cradle and family setting associated with her birth on January 2, 1873.

02

Holiness in family life

Meet Louis and Zélie through their work, marriage, children, suffering, and prayer.

03

The adjoining St. Thérèse Chapel

Pray in the chapel opened for pilgrims in 1928 beside the birth room.

Continue nearby

More sacred stops for this journey

BasilicaBasilica of Notre-Dame d’Alençon and St. Thérèse’s BaptisteryAlençon, FranceBasilicaBasilica of St. Thérèse of LisieuxLisieux, FranceMonasteryCarmel of Lisieux and Shrine of St. ThérèseLisieux, FranceHistoric SiteLes BuissonnetsLisieux, FranceCathedralSt. Peter’s Cathedral of LisieuxLisieux, France