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St. Theresa of the Child Jesus

Who Is St. Theresa?

St. Therese had a simple yet powerful message that still resonates in the hearts of millions today. She died at the age of 24, believing that her life was really just beginning for God, promising to spend her heaven doing good on earth. Her promised “Shower of Roses” began and has become a torrent in the Church ever since

Her Illness, Death, and Sainthood In the Infirmary

St. Therese had her first evidence of tuberculosis, the illness that would eventually end her life, in April 1896. By the following April she was gravely ill. Confined to the infirmary at Carmel, she spent her time, at the request of her Prioress Mother Marie de Gonzague, writing out her life story. This manuscript eventually became part of her book, “Story of a Soul” (L’histoire d’un ame).
St. Therese on the outdoor porch at Carmel during her illness

Death and Sainthood

It became apparent in the summer of 1897 that Therese would not rally from her illness and she received Extreme Unction in July. Therese passed at 7:20 PM on September 30, 1897 at age 24. She died believing that her life was really just beginning for God, promising to spend her heaven doing good on earth. Her final words were, “Oh, my God, I love you!”
St. Therese after her passing

Within months, the Carmelites at Lisieux began to receive reports of “favors and graces” attributed to Therese.   “Story of a Soul” had been published in October 1898 and pilgrims began to visit her gravesite at Carmel.

The cause for beatification and canonization grew at the beginning of the twentieth century.   Thousands of letters poured into the Carmel monastery in Lisieux.  Her canonization took place on May 17, 1925 at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome with 500,000 crowding St. Peter’s Square.

In 1997, St. Therese was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II, making her the second Carmelite nun to receive that distinction after St. Teresa of Avila.   Pope John Paul II stated:

Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face is the youngest of all the “Doctors of the Church”, but her ardent spiritual journey shows such maturity, and the insights of faith expressed in her writings are so vast and profound that they deserve a place among the great spiritual masters.

St. Therese’s promised “Shower of Roses” began at her death and has become a torrent in the Church ever since.

Important Dates in St. Therese’s Life

  • January 2, 1873 – St. Therese’s Birthday
  • January 4, 1873 – Baptism
  • August 28, 1877 – Death of her Mother, Zelie Guerin
  • October 2, 1882 – Pauline, her sister, enters Carmel
  • May 13, 1883 – Our Lady’s Smile; Therese Healing
  • May 8, 1884 – First Communion
  • June 14, 1884 – Confirmation
  • December 25, 1886 – Christmas Conversion
  • November 20, 1887 – Audience with Pope Leo XIII
  • April 9, 1888 – Entry into Carmel
  • January 10, 1889 – Therese takes the habit
  • September 8, 1890 – Profession of Vows
  • July 29, 1894 – Death of her Father, Louis Martin
  • July 8, 1897 – Therese enters the infirmary
  • September 30, 1897 – Her Death, Entry into Heaven
  • September 30, 1898 – Her autobiography “Story of a Soul” is published
  • June 10, 1914 – Cause of Beatification Introduced at Rome
  • April 29, 1923 – Beatification
  • May 17, 1925 – Canonization
  • October 19, 1997 – Declared Doctor of the Church

St. Theresa of the Child Jesus is a devotional and charitable Catholic organization in North America.

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