Feast: October 3 (Traditional Calendar) / October 1 (Modern Calendar)
Titles: Virgin, Carmelite Nun, Doctor of the Church, “The Little Flower of Jesus”
Early Life
Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin was born on January 2, 1873, in Alençon, France, the youngest of nine children of Saints Louis and Zélie Martin. From the cradle, she was consecrated to God. Her mother, a woman of deep piety, died when Thérèse was only four, leaving her in the tender care of her father and her older sisters. Sensitive, affectionate, and deeply spiritual, the child’s soul was molded by an intense desire for holiness.
From her earliest years, Thérèse showed remarkable precocity in matters of faith. She delighted in prayer and acts of charity, and she cultivated an ardent love for the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus.
Vocation and Entrance into Carmel
At age 14, during Christmas of 1886, she experienced a profound grace that gave her strength and maturity, transforming her from a sensitive child into a resolute soul. She called it her “complete conversion.” Soon after, she conceived the burning desire to enter the Carmelite convent of Lisieux, where two of her sisters had already gone.
Facing obstacles due to her young age, Thérèse petitioned not only her local bishop but even Pope Leo XIII, kneeling before him during a pilgrimage to Rome and begging permission to enter Carmel at 15. Her persistence was rewarded, and she entered the cloister in April 1888.
Life in Carmel
Hidden behind the cloister walls, Thérèse embraced the Carmelite life with total fervor. She lived a life of silence, prayer, penance, and charity, not by great external works, but by what she herself called her “Little Way.” This path consisted in performing the smallest duties with great love, offering every sacrifice, suffering, and act of obedience for the love of God and the salvation of souls.
Her writings, particularly her Story of a Soul (manuscript composed in obedience to her superiors), reveal the depth of her interior life and her teaching that sanctity is accessible to all, not through extraordinary deeds, but through perfect trust in God and childlike confidence in His mercy.
Suffering and Death
In 1896, Thérèse was struck by tuberculosis, a disease that she bore with heroic patience. Her sufferings were compounded by spiritual trials, including a severe interior darkness and temptation against faith. Yet, even in desolation, she clung to God with unwavering trust.
On September 30, 1897, at only 24 years of age, she died whispering, “My God, I love You.”
Veneration and Canonization
Soon after her death, devotion to the “Little Flower” spread rapidly across the world. Many miracles were attributed to her intercession, and she became beloved by the faithful for her simplicity, humility, and immense spiritual fruitfulness.
- Beatified: 1923 by Pope Pius XI
- Canonized: 1925 by Pope Pius XI
- Declared Patroness of the Missions: 1927, despite never leaving her convent walls, because of her great missionary zeal
- Declared Doctor of the Church: 1997 by Pope John Paul II (third woman in history to receive this title)
Spiritual Legacy
Saint Thérèse’s “Little Way” remains one of the most cherished treasures of Catholic spirituality. It teaches that holiness is found not in extraordinary feats, but in doing ordinary things with extraordinary love and in offering one’s littleness to God’s infinite mercy.
Her life embodies the Gospel truth: “Unless you become as little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).