The relics of St. Therese will make their first visit to England and Wales from September 16 through October 16, 2009.  To see a video with interviews with Bishop McMahon, the bishop patron of the visit; Sister Patricia Marie; and a young woman named Leonora, please visit this page and click on the first link.  For details about the visit of the reliquary, please visit the bishops' site.

To honor the anniversary of the canonization of St. Therese on May 17, 1925, I am happy to present the link to an online exhibit of 116 photos of Lisieux "au temps de Therese."  The photographer, Francois Bidet, operated a pharmacy near that of Isidore Guerin, Therese's uncle. The exhibit is presented by La Bibliotheque Electronique de Lisieux; the photos are the property of the Musee d'art et de histoire de Lisieux, and the accompanying text was written by Jean Bergeret.  You can see the Cathedral Saint-Pierre on the Place Thiers during the bitterly cold winter of 1895; a man begging who could be one of the people helped by the Martin family; a Eucharistic procession in the town square; market day, and many other photos.

"Louis and Zelie Martin of Alencon" shows scenes familiar to the Martin family in Alencon, interviews in French, and the first film footage of the Pavilion, Blessed Louis Martin's watchtower and walled garden on the outskirts of Alencon.  Until the beatification of Zelie and Louis in October 2008, this property had been closed to pilgrims for decades. 

"The Inauguration of the Martin Family Home in Alencon" films the event in late April 2009 at which Louis and Zelie Martin's house on Rue Saint-Blaise, where St. Therese was born, was reopened to the press after having been closed for restoration.  Most of the film is interviews in French with Mgr. Jean-Claude Boulanger, bishop of Seez, and artists who worked on the restoration.  I thank the diocese of Seez WebTV for permission to post the films. To see them, please visit this page.

"The Basilica of St. Therese at Lisieux" features an exhaustive tour and history of the basilica of St. Therese, background about the saint's life, and interviews in English with Mme. Laurence Panontin, a long-time and knowledgeable member of the staff of the Pilgrimage Office at Lisieux.  I thank "Catholic Destinations," a TV show produced by Catholic TV in Massachusetts, for allowing me to post their film. 

    The archives of the Carmel of Lisieux conserved a document signed by Therese Martin at the age of 12, showing that on October 15, 1885 she enrolled in the Apostleship of Prayer, an association born of the missionary desires of Jesuits at a French seminary in 1844.  St. Therese of Lisieux is now co-patron of the Apostleship of Prayer.  Learn more about the Apostleship of Prayer and Therese's relationship with it.