She was born in Alençon, France, on January 2, 1873.
She entered the Carmelite convent in Lisieux, where three of her sisters had preceded her.
She reached a high degree of holiness, devoting herself to prayer, meditation, and the practice of every virtue, especially charity and humility. She had a profound love for the Child Jesus and used to say: “The path to holiness is the path of love.”
Because of the many mortifications and sacrifices she embraced, as well as the duties she carried out in the convent despite her fragile health, she became seriously ill. From the cross of her sufferings, her pure soul departed to be united with her divine Bridegroom in the heavenly dwelling places, in Lisieux, on September 30, 1897. She was 24 years old.
From heaven, she showered the earth with an abundance of graces.
Her constant motto was this saying of the Lord Jesus:
“Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
She lived the spirituality of spiritual childhood and bore witness to it. She used to say:
“I will always remain before Him like a little two-year-old child, so that He may show me even greater care. A child accepts its smallness and weakness and acknowledges its need for help.
I will trust in God my Father in everything, ask Him for everything, and hope for everything from Him.
I will leave the past to Him, with all its troubles and sins, so that He may forgive them. I will accept the present and the future from Him in advance, just as His tender hand chooses to weave them for me.
In the end, everything leads to my salvation, my happiness, and His glory. God knows everything, He can do everything, and He loves me.
I will always remain a child before Him and will continually strive to rise toward Him despite my weakness and frailty.
A little child can pass anywhere because of its smallness.
How I long for heaven, where we will love Jesus without reserve and without limits.
In the Heart of Jesus, I will always be happy.
The only grace I desire my soul to ask for is the grace to love Jesus and, as far as I am able, to lead every person to love Him.
The smallest moment of pure love is more beneficial to the soul than all other activities combined.”
She was canonized on May 17, 1925, and proclaimed Patroness of the Missions on December 14, 1927.
On the first centenary of her death, she was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church, specifically on October 19, 1997.
With the celebration of the feast of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus also begins the month dedicated to the missions, which reaches its high point with the celebration of World Mission Day, traditionally observed each year on the second-to-last Sunday of October.
Prepared by Rita, from the Sawt El Rab team.
