St. Therese of Lisieux
"I will spend my heaven doing good on earth."
Therese of Lisieux was born to Marie Francoise -Therese Martin on 2 January 1873, she is popularly known in English as the Little Flower of Jesus or simply the Little Flower. Pope Pius X called her “the greatest saint of modern times”.
Therese felt an early call to religious life and after overcoming various obstacles, in 1888, at age 15, she became a nun and joined two of her elder sisters in the cloistered Carmelite community of Lisieux, Normandy. She served as a Carmelite nun, having fulfilled various offices such as sacristan and assistant to the novice mistress. Therese died at the age of 24 from tuberculosis.
After her death, Therese became known globally through her spiritual memoir, The Story of a Soul, which explains her theology of the “Little Way”. As a result of her immense popularity and reputation for holiness, she was quickly beatified and canonized by Pope Pius XI, who completed the process just 28 years after her death. In 1997, Pope John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church. Her feast day in the General Roman Calendar was 3 October from 1927 until it was moved in 1969 to 1 October. Therese was beatified in 1923 and canonized in 1925. She was declared the patron saint of France and her feast day is celebrated on October 1.
Under the loving patronage of St. Therese of Lisieux, the ‘Little Flower’, we draw inspiration from her unwavering trust, childlike simplicity and boundless love for God and humanity. Guided by the Little Flower’s spirit of love, simplicity and devotion, we strive to embody her legacy of compassion, kindness and faith.
