On February 27, 1945, the relics of St. Therese left Lisieux for the first time. This rare archival film (2:42) shows the ruins of Lisieux, the procession leaving the service of farewell at St. Pierre's Cathedral (one of the few buildings left standing in the town center), and the departure of the reliquary by car for Paris. The reliquary was placed first in the private chapel of Emmanuel Cardinal Suhard, Archbishop of Paris. He presided when it was venerated by fifty thousand young people in the Parc des Princes. The reliquary was carried successively into the principal churches of Paris. ending with solemn ceremonies at the Cathederal of Notre Dame in the presence of all the cardinals and archbishops of France. Watch the procession into the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the procession through the streets afterward. The occasion for this historic visit was the May 3, 1944 decree of Pope Pius XII naming St. Therese of the Child Jesus secondary patron of France along with St. Joan of Arc. The Blessed Virgin is the principal patron of France.
This film was produced by Les Actualites Francaises. We thank the Institut National Audiovisuel for making this treasure available online. See also a short newspaper article about this visit in The Observer of Rockford, Illinois, February 25, 1945, which mentions a special Mass in Paris exclusively for the officers and enlisted men of the American Forces.