After our two nights in Ardevon, we made our way to Alençon for the final leg of our Toussaint pilgrimage. We stayed at La Maison d'Accueil Louis et Zélie. This guest house is newly constructed within a pre-existing building that they gutted to build it. It's just a few steps away from the Alençon basilica where Louis and Zélie were married, where Therese was baptized, and also just about a block away from the Martin's home where Therese lived her earliest years until Zélie died, at which point Louis then moved to Lisieux.
La Maison d'accueil has its own small chapel with the Blessed Sacrament and a large reliquary with some of Louis and Zélie's relics.
Our first day in Alençon we visited Therese's natal home. At the home of Louis and Zélie, one can see many second class relics of the family: Louis and Zélie's tools, clothing, toys that the girls played with, etc. We visited several rooms of the house which are as they were when the Martin family lived there. There is also a chapel attached to the home, which I believe was built after Therese's canonization.
This is the garden of the Martin's home in Alencon and the bench were Therese's young sisters were overheard discussing sacrifices by their neighbor.
The chapel attached to the Martin home in Alencon.
Just an architectural niche with Mary and Jesus! We love seeing these sorts of things scattered throughout the cities and towns. There are also lots of "countryside crucifixes" at various crossroads throughout towns and the countryside.
In order to have a better appreciation for Zelie's work as a lace maker, we also visited Alencon's Musée de la Dentelle et Beaux Arts (Lace and Fine Art Museum.) We were absolutely blown away by the intricacy and difficulty of making lace by hand! I had no idea how labor intensive and time consuming it is. It takes an average of 7-15 hours to complete one square centimeter of lace! It is an art form that can only be done by hand. There are just a handful of women who still know how to do this craft and they learn it for the sake of carrying on the patrimony and heritage of this artform.
It is estimated that this veil took 350,000 to 500,000 hours of labor to complete!
On our second day in Alençon, we did a day trip to Lisieux. In Lisieux we visited all the important sites related to Saint Therese: her home known as "Les Buissonets," the Carmel where she was a nun and where her remains are entombed; the parish church where she and her sisters went to Mass; the basilica constructed in her honor after her canonization.
A statue of Sts Louis and Therese in their garden at Les Buisonnets.
Therese's bedroom where she was miraculously healed. On the wall is a framed arrangement of her hair.
A replica of "Our Lady of the Smile." I forget where the original statue is. It might be in the basilica now.
The Martins parish church were Therese made her first confession and first communion... although I read about multiple places where Therese supposedly made her first communion, so I'm not sure which one is true!
This description goes with the side chapel pictured above.
The high altar donated by St. Louis Martin when Therese entered the Carmel.
This is the chapel where daily masses were said, where Therese had the custom of assisting at Mass.
Where Therese made her first confession.
The Carmel of Lisieux.
St. Therese's primary relics. They are beneath the statue which you see in the glass coffin/reliquary. The remains of her biological sisters who were also nuns at this Carmel are there too.
The basilica of Lisieux dedicated to St. Therese.
More relics of Louis and Zelie in the crypt church.
The main altar of the crypt church (underneath the main church.)
Lucy "writing" prayer intentions.
After visiting the principle religious sites in Lisieux, we visited this picturesque chateaux which is called "Saint Germain de Livet" which is just about 20 minutes outside of Lisieux. The checkerboard pattern of limestone and white stones is very pretty and it has a moat and a drawbridge and everything! We were able to visit several rooms inside the chateau.
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