Sister Geneviève of the Holy Face–Patron Nun of Photographers | Part 1

How the talents of Céline Martin gave us a window into the soul of a Saint

Céline and Therese posing together before the performance of a play about Joan of Arc written by Therese. The play was performed in honor of their older sister, Mother Agnes of Jesus (Pauline Martin).

If she were a Saint, today would be her feast day.

That's because Saints are generally remembered on the day they died. And Céline Martin, also known as Sister Geneviève of the Holy Face, died on February 25, 1959, at the age of 89.

But there's always hope.

Her younger sister is St. Thérèse of Lisieux, her parents, Louis and Zelie, are Saints, and her older sister, Leone Martin (Sister Francoise-Thérèse of the Visitation at Caen), is a Servant of God.

Perhaps it's a matter of a miracle or two.

And if that day ever comes, perhaps she and St. Veronica can share the title of 'Patron Saint(s) of Photographers.'

But in the meantime, I suggest that she be honored with the title 'Patron Nun of Photographers.'

She may not have wanted that because even though her photographs are among the most recognized in the Catholic world, I think she'd rather be remembered for her unfaltering devotion to Christ.

Like I said, there's hope ;-)

Years ago, I was searching for a gallery of images of St. Thérèse of Lisieux and was surprised at how many high-quality photographs existed of her. Only a handful of Saints from the 19th Century were photographed. And even then, not more than once or twice. But in her case, there were dozens of photos spanning her entire life.

At the time, I didn't really appreciate the significance of how they came to be, or who took them, until I read a little bit of the autobiography of Sister Geneviève (Céline Martin), her sister-photographer-Sister.

Celine and Therese were inseparable in their youth until Therese left for the Convent. But they picked right back up when Celine joined her in the Convent in 1894.

Young Céline was a maverick. She had a tenacious spirit, an artist's heart, and an engineer's mind.

In her autobiography, she states, "I really liked making inventions and understanding the mechanism. Having had a sewing machine, I took it apart completely, and after cleaning each part, I put them back in their place. Speaking of the sewing machine, I also knew how to make it work, and often, our cousins ​​and I made toilets for ourselves!"

She excelled in academics and won several prizes for excellence in mathematics.

Her talents were diverse—electroplating, sketching, photography—but painting held her heart. She received offers to study with the Master's at 'The Salon' in Paris and was even encouraged by her father, Louis. But after he offered his assistance for her to move, she revealed to him that she felt called to be a Nun.

Céline leads the way on an adventure, followed by her cousin Marie Guerin, and sister, Jeanne. She would ultimately lead them both into the Convent.

After his passing, she entered the Carmelite Convent in Lisieux, taking the name Sister Geneviève of the Holy Face, joining her sisters and cousin. Providentially, along with her abundant skills and talents, she was permitted to bring her cumbersome camera along with her, a simple gesture that would profoundly impact the world.

The camera was a 13x18 wooden box-type with a 'Darlot' lens. It used a dry-plate or 'tintype' process, also known as ferrotype. It was a 19th-century photography technique that created a positive image on a lacquer-coated metal sheet.

The process involves coating a thin iron plate with a light-sensitive collodion and silver nitrate mixture. This is exposed to light in a camera, then immediately developed, fixed, and varnished, resulting in a durable, detailed, and relatively inexpensive image.

But the process took a lot of work. Things would need to be thoughtfully staged and posed, and the subjects would need to stay unflinching for up to a minute due to the low light sensitivity of the media with an ISO of 1!

But as impressive as her skills were, it was where she was photographing that was that was groundbreaking.

Within the hallowed walls of a cloister.

This photograph of the Monastery is thought to be the first photograph that Céline took after she entered the Convent.

She was one of the very first people to photograph within a cloister and she was the very first Nun to photograph within a cloister. And being a member of the religious community gave her access to the heart of the Order. The inner workings. The inner life. And what a life it was.

After entering the cloister, she took 41 photographs that included her younger sister, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, chronicling her life and, ultimately, her death. Among the most famous, and by far the most creative images—were the photographs made on January 21, 1895, on the feast of St. Agnes.

Each year, the Carmelite community celebrated the feast day of the prioress, in this case, Mother Agnes of Jesus (Pauline Martin), their older sister. Thérèse contributed to these celebrations by writing and producing plays they would perform.

For Mother Agnes's feast, she produced a 'Joan of Arc' play. Céline joined the convent a few months earlier and played the role of St. Catherine…and photographer.

During one performance, Thérèse, portraying Joan, narrowly escaped being burned alive in an accidental fire where she stood unflinching, demonstrating her willingness to offer her life to God.

The plays, preserved online by the Carmel of Lisieux archives, offer insight into her talents, with the book "The Plays of St. Thérèse of Lisieux" providing valuable context for these works.

Céline Martin - Sister Geneviève of the Holy Face

But beneath it all was Céline's abiding passion for Christ, as was evident from her writings: "From the moment we first seek his kingdom and his justice, he is happy with us. And I am certain that even in occupations which did not have eternity as their immediate goal, I always gave myself up to them with the intention of finding there some beauty which would bring me closer to my Creator. Besides, it wasn't difficult, everything raised me to him, even the things that naturally should have taken me away from him."

She spent a lifetime developing her God-given gifts while at the same time detaching from them in her heart to make room for Christ.

The heart of an artist with the soul of a saint.

In a world that often forgets the hands that crafted its memories, Céline Martin – an artist, a sister, and perhaps, a future patron saint of photographers, sharing the mantle with St. Veronica will not be forgotten.

And bound by her love of Christ, her closeness to her sister, and her skills as a photographer, she left us with more than images— but a window into a soul.

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You can see all 41 photographs taken by Céline in the cloister at: https://archives.carmeldelisieux.fr/en/photos-de-therese/

And you can learn more about the lives of the Martin sisters and their Saintly parents here: https://archives.carmeldelisieux.fr/en/

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Céline and the Martin family dog, Tom.