Thérèse of the Child Jesus

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux was born Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin on January 2, 1873, in Alençon, France, into a deeply faithful family. After a fragile infancy and the sorrow of losing her mother at age four, she moved with her father and sisters to Lisieux in Normandy, where her tender heart was formed through prayer, sacrifice, and ordinary family life. Feeling an early call to belong wholly to Jesus, she overcame obstacles and, at just fifteen, entered the Discalced Carmel of Lisieux in 1888, joining two of her sisters in the cloister. Hidden from the world, Thérèse lived with joyful simplicity, serving in humble duties and offering every small act in love. In her final months she endured a painful “night of faith,” yet clung to trust until she died of tuberculosis on September 30, 1897, aged twenty-four. Through her memoir, The Story of a Soul, she taught the “Little Way” of spiritual childhood, becoming the beloved “Little Flower” and later a Doctor of the Church. She is honored as patron of Children’s Backyard Rosary Circles and several communities and dioceses. Her feast day is October 1.