About St. Thérèse of Lisieux

St. Thérèse, widely known as “The Little Flower,” was born on January 2, 1873, in Alençon, France—the youngest of nine children. Her parents, Saints Louis and Zélie Martin, were devout Catholics who had a deep commitment to their faith. At the age of four, Thérèse experienced a profound loss when her mother passed away after a long illness. She was then raised by her father and the two eldest of her four surviving sisters, Pauline and Marie. At just 15, Thérèse made the decision to join the Carmelite order in Lisieux and took the name “Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.” 

Thérèse’s spirituality was unique in its emphasis on small, everyday acts of love, which she called the “Little Way.” She believed that holiness could be found in the simplest acts, done with love and humility, regardless of one’s circumstances or external achievements, and saw herself as a child in the arms of God, confident in His love and goodness. 

During her final years, she suffered from tuberculosis and died on September 30, 1897, at the young age of 24. Throughout her illness, Thérèse continued to offer her suffering to God, believing that even her pain could be a means of drawing closer to Christ. Her writings from this time reflect her deep spiritual insights, and many of them were later compiled into her autobiography, Story of a Soul. In 1925, Pope Pius XI canonized her as a saint, and in 1997, Pope St. John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church, making her one of only 36 individuals to receive this distinction.