icon of St. Therese of Lisieux by Joan Cole, available at Trinity Icon Stores

 Shrine of Sainte-Thérèse of Lisieux  

In 1898, the publication of Histoire d'une âme made the young nun from Lisieux, who had died a year earlier, better known. Thanks to this publication in French, and then very quickly in many other languages, the message of Thérèse of Lisieux went out to conquer the world. At the same time, pilgrims flocked to the Lisieux cemetery, and the small size of the Carmelite chapel required the construction of another building.

The idea gained ground, and, in 1925, at the time of the canonization of Saint Thérèse, the project of a basilica was born. The architect Louis-Marie Cordonnier was chosen in 1927; the structural work lasted from 1929 to 1939, mobilizing 400 workers and engineers all week long on the hill overlooking Lisieux. In 1937, the Basilica was blessed by the legate of Pope Pius XI, Cardinal Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII.

After the 1944 bombings, which spared the newly built Basilica, work began again. The Basilica was consecrated in 1954.

Pilgrimage in the footsteps of the saints of Lisieux

From 1897 to the present day, pilgrims and visitors from all over the world have flocked to Lisieux to follow in the footsteps of Thérèse of Lisieux, who had come to join them in their lives and in their daily concerns. They visit in turn the Basilica, the Carmelite monastery, the "Buissonnets" (the family home of Saint Thérèse), and the Cathedral of St. Pierre.

The image of Saint Thérèse, present on the five continents in the most remote chapels as well as in the greatest cathedrals, allows us to make a diversion to the Basilica of Lisieux, erected in the “pays d’Auge” in her honour in the 20th century, where there is a significant reliquary. The recumbent statue, of Thérèse, otherwise known as a shrine, can be seen in the chapel of the Carmel in the city center, where Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face spent the nine years of her religious life. Finally, the walk to the Buissonnets house, inhabited by Louis Martin and his five daughters in November 1877 after the death of his wife, allows us to measure the youth of Thérèse from the age of 4 to 15.

Since 19 October 2008, the Basilica of Lisieux has contained the shrine with the bodies of Louis and Zélie Martin, declared saints by Pope Francis on 18 October 2015. This recognition thus offers Lisieux the presence of three saints from the same family.

Today, the various places of the Shrine of Lisieux receive more than one million people a year. The reputation of the Shrine of Lisieux places it second only to Lourdes as a shrine in France.

Visitors come from all five continents: America (United States, Brazil, Canada, etc.); Europe (Italy, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Spain, etc.); Asia (the Philippines, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, India, etc.); Africa (the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Senegal, etc.); and Oceania (Australia, New Zealand).

[To learn more about the work of the Shrine at Lisieux, visit its English Web site at https://www.therese-de-lisieux.catholique.fr/en/]

This article is excerpted from a press release published on the Web site of the Shrine at Lisieux (https://www.therese-de-lisieux.catholique.fr).  I reproduce it here with fervent thanks to the Shrine at Lisieux, the Shrine at Alencon, UNESCO, and all their partners in celebrating this worldwide honor done to Therese].  Look for more information about the universal significance of this award in the days to come.

"St. Therese on Air" icon by Brother Mickey McGrath, OSFS. Available from Trinity Stores.

A nature lover and sustainable development activist

taken up by Pope Francis

The contemplation of nature made Thérèse of Lisieux aware of the depth of the human person. It encourages humanity to care for creation, the development of which also serves the good of humanity.

From her earliest years, Thérèse of Lisieux's relationship with nature, through the elements, such as the sun, animals, flowers, the sea, the countryside, trees, and the earth, gives root to her universal message of love and reconciliation. She places it in a global economy, an ecology at the service of humanity, a society that takes into account the integral human. The education Thérèse of Lisieux received from her parents, in the family, opened her to these principles of life. 

The question of sustainable development refers in the Bible to the Book of Genesis, to the question of Creation, and opens the way to the integral ecology of which Pope Francis speaks in his second encyclical entitled "Laudato si'" ("Praise be to you"). It invites men and women of good will to take care of our earth, our common home, and ultimately to correspond to God's plan in his work of creation that he continues to instill day by day throughout the worl

Taking care of the common home also means taking care of the people we are (or are not) in a relationship with. A common house is made for the meeting of those who live in it.

 In "Laudato si,” Pope Francis draws on the example of "Thérèse of Lisieux"(n. 230 , editor's note) and, in substance, says that integral ecology begins here and now, precisely with a smile, a benevolent attention, an outstretched hand, which bring men and women of good will into contact with one another and awaken in them the desire for a common house where it is good to live, respecting the traditions and cultures of those who inhabit it.

This is the missionary desire of Thérèse of Lisieux, expressed here, to go out to meet the world in order to share with as many people as possible what makes her live and to desire to continue to "do good on earth.”

This article is excerpted from a press release published on the Web site of the Shrine at Lisieux (https://www.therese-de-lisieux.catholique.fr).   I reproduce it here with fervent thanks to the Shrine at Lisieux, the Shrine at Alencon, UNESCO, and all their partners in celebrating this worldwide honor done to Therese].  Look for more information about the universal significance of this award in the days to come.

 Statue of Saint Therese, Doctor of the Church.

Thérèse of Lisieux, "Doctor of the Science of Love”

John Paul II named Thérèse of Lisieux a Doctor of the Church on 19 October 1997 and dubbed her "Doctor of the Science of Love." The question of a "Doctorate" had been raised as early as 1932! Thérèse of Lisieux is today the only French woman to be a Doctor of the Church among the 36 Doctors recognised in the world. This means that her doctrine, teaching, and the path she traced is addressed to all humanity. This Love is universal. It transcends all times and all places and can be found in every culture. This "science of love" unites all the men and women of this world because it corresponds to the quest for meaning in our world, to the search for man's deepest self, which is to love. This "science of love" is revealed to be at the service of a world of solidarity.

She entered religion at the age of 15 and was novice mistress at the age of 22. A teacher and educator at heart, she maintained a relationship of trust, self-esteem. and respect for the personal development with those entrusted to her, which allowed her novices, sometimes older than herself, to grow in inner freedom, to assert themselves, to find their way, and thus to emancipate themselves. By her attitude, her words, her silence, her example, St. Therese reveals herself as a teacher of life.

Many schools in France and around the world bear her name which, beyond the name, represents a certain way of educating children and young people.

Even today, the spiritual closeness of Thérèse allows so many people on the five continents to benefit from this same invitation to follow this path of inner freedom, which is quite simply the path of spiritual childhood that Saint Thérèse discovered and whose experience she shares with those of our contemporaries who receive her message and let themselves be touched.

The way of Thérèse of Lisieux contributes to inner and personal peace of mind. It builds up the human person and develops a spirit of peace.

Since the year of her doctorate, religious and cultural initiatives around Thérèse of Lisieux have grown exponentially, with over 120 initiatives in more than 60 countries to date, from the northern to the southern hemisphere. Her message was spread more and more widely.

This article is excerpted from a press release published on the Web site of the Shrine at Lisieux (https://www.therese-de-lisieux.catholique.fr).   I reproduce it here with fervent thanks to the Shrine at Lisieux, the Shrine at Alencon, UNESCO, and all their partners in celebrating this worldwide honor done to Therese].  Look for more information about the universal significance of this award in the days to come.

St. Therese of Lisieux by Br. Mickey McGrath, OSFS. Available at Trinity Stores.

The literary works of Thérèse of Lisieux

 Despite her short life, the literary work of Thérèse of Lisieux is considerable. Thérèse of Lisieux entered the teeming cultural movement of the 19th century, which she described as "a century of inventions." It was the time of Zola and Maupassant. In 1989, the publication of the critical edition of her work was honoured by the Académie Française with the Grand Prix du Cardinal Grente.

Her seminal work is Histoire d'une Âme, or Autobiographical Manuscripts, published a year after her death, which has spread in a meteoric fashion, with many editions still in print today. This story has been published in more than 80 languages and dialects worldwide, with millions of copies published, making it the second most popular book after the Bible. Thérèse of Lisieux shares her personal journey with readers and at the same time immerses them in the life of a bourgeois family and a convent in 19th century France. Through her work, Thérèse of Lisieux, in her own way, depicts the societyof her time like other writers.

The General Correspondence contains 266 letters from Thérèse of Lisieux and 199 letters from her correspondents. These letters depict a state of mind, the interplay of relationships between their authors, the search for that deep and lasting peace which reveals the heart of man and allows him to find reasons for existing...

 A collection of 54 poems reveals the soul of Thérèse of Lisieux, poet. Composed to the melodies of her time, they are conceived as odes to life, and to Love. Universal in scope, they are still attempts to respond to the spiritual quest of the persons for whom Therese wrote them, for whom they are primarily intended.

Her work is enriched by eight plays composed to delight and entertain her community. The young nun wrote, directed, and performed them herself, as an actress with other sisters. If these plays are performed during major feasts, Thérèse of Lisieux truly created an author's work, and each time she distils the universal message that lives within her, in favour of Love, Peace, Life, and Reconciliation.

As an artist, she loved to paint and would have liked to know how to do it better. Art is like an extension of her thoughts, allowing her to say and communicate more.

A woman of conviction, she is at the junction of different worlds, at the crossroads of religious, political, economic and social paths, in the middle of the Industrial Revolution. Her thought inspires social doctrine; it is an integral humanism and solidarity in favour of justice and peace between peoples, at the service of this call to universal love.

This article is excerpted from a press release published on the Web site of the Shrine at Lisieux (https://www.therese-de-lisieux.catholique.fr).   I reproduce it here with fervent thanks to the Shrine at Lisieux, the Shrine at Alencon, UNESCO, and all their partners in celebrating this worldwide honor done to Therese].  Look for more information about the universal significance of this award in the days to come.

icon of St. Therese of Lisieux by Brother Mickey McGrath. Available at Trinity Stores.

Thérèse of Lisieux at the heart of political developments

The political tradition of Thérèse of Lisieux's "involvement" with the people appeared very soon after her death. Her reputation grew in the trenches on both sides of the war during the First World War. Thérèse of Lisieux becomes a sign of peace, comfort, encouragement and consolation for these men torn from their lives.

 On 3 May 1944, Thérèse of Lisieux became the secondary patron saint of France, while the Allied landings were taking place. On 6 June 1944, the long march to liberate France and Europe in the service of peace began... From 1944 to 1947, the relics of Thérèse of Lisieux, symbols of her presence and radiance, travelled throughout France to restore confidence and courage to a whole people wounded by the war, in the effort to rebuild and reconcile men and people.

In recent years, the universal scope of her message has been widely expressed in the world:

 Philippines: In January 2000, at the request of the prison authorities in Manila, Thérèse of Lisieux and her message were welcomed in the death row. No further executions would take place after this memorable moment. The death penalty would be abolished in 2006.

Lebanon: From September to November 2002, all of Lebanon, regardless of religion, honoured Thérèse of Lisieux. On 17 October, in Beirut, President Jacques Chirac participated in the Francophone summit, supported peace efforts throughout the region and reaffirmed the need for the withdrawal of non-Lebanese military troops, which had been underway for several months, as provided for in the Taif agreements in 1989.

 Iraq: on 16 November 2002, the 8 o'clock news in France simultaneously showed the arrival of the UN Delegation on the tarmac in Baghdad and the tribute paid to Thérèse of Lisieux.

Colombia: In 2004, a Colombian initiative around Thérèse of Lisieux, had as its objective a "Peace Mission for Colombia" under the protection of the Army, in the midst of the conflict with FARC.

Thérèse of Lisieux is also an advisor to political figures, whose testimony remains personal most of the time.

This article is excerpted from a press release published on the Web site of the Shrine at Lisieux (https://www.therese-de-lisieux.catholique.fr).   I reproduce it here with fervent thanks to the Shrine at Lisieux, the Shrine at Alencon, UNESCO, and all their partners in celebrating this worldwide honor done to Therese].  Look for more information about the universal significance of this award in the days to come.