St. Therese of Lisieux the Little Flower (BJE 01)

Affectionately known as ‘The Little Flower,’ St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897), who was canonized in 1925, is one of the most beloved saints of the Catholic Church. Thérèse, the youngest of the Martin children, was born into a devout French family: Both her parents Louis (1823-1894) and Zélie Martin (1831-1877) are venerated as saints, the first spouses in the church's history to be canonized as a couple. Léonie (1863-1941), an elder sister and Visitation nun, is titled Servant of God. And, three other sisters—Louise (1860–1940), Pauline (1861-1951), and Celine (1869-1959)—all became Discalced Carmelite nuns. By special dispensation, Thérèse herself was allowed to enter the Lisieux Carmel in 1888 at the early age of 15. During her nine years as a Carmelite religious, she cared quietly and unobtrusively for other nuns by doing them small services and by performing acts of charity. She also served as sacristan and assistant novice mistress. Her simple approach to living out the Gospel has become known as her ‘Little Way’. She was devoted to the Holy Face of Jesus, Eucharist adoration, and praying for the Foreign Missions. Today, Thérèse is best known for her spiritual memoir, The Story of a Soul, and for her statement “When I die, I will send down a shower of roses from the heavens, I will spend my heaven by doing good on earth.” She died of tuberculosis at the age of 24. + In art, St. Thérèse is routinely depicted in her Carmelite habit holding a crucifix amid an armful of roses. A Doctor of the Church, she is patron of florists and flower growers, foreign missions and missionaries, and the ill—especially AIDS and TB patients. + Feast: October 1 + Image Credit (BJE 01): Antique image of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, originally published in chromolithography by Bouasse-Jeune, Paris, B. 90, early 20th century, from the designer’s private collection of religious ephemera.