St. Therese of Lisieux, Co-Patroness of Missions

St. Therese of Lisieux, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

Birth and childhood

St. Therese of Lisieux was born Marie Françoise Martin on January 2, 1873 A.D., at Alençon, France. Therese is the youngest of nine children - with only five of them surviving (all girls) to adulthood. Her father was Martin, a watchmaker, and her mother was Zelie Guerin. When the mother of Therese passed away in 1877 A.D., her father moved the family to Lisieux so that Therese and her sisters could be near an aunt who can help raise the family.

Entering the Carmelite convent at Lisieux

Therese was nearly fourteen when she insistently wanted to enter the Carmelite convent where her sisters Pauline and Marie entered. She was refused admission at first because of her youth, but when she reached the age of 15 years, with a Papal dispensation, she entered the Carmelite Monastery of Lisieux. She was professed in 1890 A.D. and took the religious name she will come to be known by: Therese of the Child Jesus.

Life as a Carmelite

Therese became afflicted with tuberculosis. However, she bore her illness with great patience and fortitude. She did not perform extraordinary things, but rather, she fulfilled her daily duties in an extraordinary way - in a spirit of love and charity. Soon, she was appointed novice mistress of the community, in which position she taught humility and simplicity to the new novices (both in word and by example). When her older sisters got the idea for her to write her autobiography, by order of the prioress, which was Pauline (the eldest sister of Therese), she undertook to write the story of her life. This autobiography came to be titled, "The Story of a Soul".

The Story of a Soul

The Story of a Soul is actually composed of three manuscripts: manuscript A - this is the one asked of Therese by her sister Pauline; manuscript B - this tells about her "little way", for which she is famous; and manuscript C - this compiles a memoir of Therese and her experiences as a Carmelite (this Therese wrote in obedience to prioress Mother Gonzague, the one who succeeded her sister Pauline). This book, in one of its editions, is published in only 159 pages and divided into eleven chapters. Reading the book will truly introduce the reader not only to the "little way" of Therese, but also how she lived this spirit in her life as a Carmelite nun in Lisieux.

Death and sainthood

Therese died of tuberculosis in September 30, 1897 A.D. at Lisieux. She immediately attracted a tremendous following as "the Little Flower" and "the saint of the little way". She was canonized in 1925 A.D. by Pope Pius XI and was declared copatron of the missions (because of her spiritually encouraging correspondence by letters with many missionaries) together with St. Francis Xavier in 1927 A.D. She was also named copatroness of France together with St. Joan of Arc in October 1, 1944 A.D. In 1997 A.D., one hundred years after he death, she was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II. The Church celebrates her feast day every October 1.