Discover Alençon, city of sanctuary

One fine day in 1858, on the Pont de Sarthe, Zélie Guérin, a young lace-maker, crossed paths with Louis Martin, a watchmaker. The story goes that, at the same moment, she heard him say, “This is the one I have prepared for you”. Whether it was love at first sight or an arranged meeting, it didn’t matter, because on 13 July 1858, the couple exchanged vows at midnight in the church of Notre-Dame.

This was to be the starting point for the life of this close-knit family, who brought up their five daughters on a path of humanity and spiritual growth with the motto “God first served”. It was thanks to this education that the youngest daughter, Thérèse, became Saint Thérèse.

In 2015, the couple will be the first to be canonised together for having been an example to many Christians. Alençon is therefore an essential stop-off point for following in the footsteps of the Martin family. Discover the places that were marked by their passage: the bridge where the couple met, the house where Sainte Thérèse was born and the basilica where she was baptised.