KARMELight

SAINT THERESE OF LISIEUX
Virgin & Doctor of the Church
October 1 | Memorial

Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin was born on January 2, 1873, and baptized two days later on January 4th. She was the youngest of nine children, five of whom survived childhood.

After her mother died of breast cancer in 1877, Therese moved with her family to Lisieux. In the deeply religious atmosphere of her home, her piety developed early and intensively. All four of her elder sisters became nuns, and at the age of 15, she entered the Carmelite convent at Lisieux, having been refused admission a year earlier. Although she suffered from depression, scruples—a causeless feeling of guilt—and, in the end, religious doubts, she kept the rule to perfection and maintained a smiling, pleasant, and unselfish manner.
Her sense of commitment led her to a profound experience of the love of God and of neighbor. She never had an easy life, but she did live with a great sense of peace and joy.

She was named a doctor of the church by Pope John Paul II in 1997. She is a patron saint of missions and of florists.
Her burial site at Lisieux became a place of pilgrimage, and a basilica bearing her name was built there.

In 2015, her parents, Saints Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin, were canonized by Pope Francis I; they were the first spouses to be canonized together as a couple.

ST. THERESE OF LISIEUX
Pray for us!
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Sources:
https://www.littleflower.org/st-therese/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Therese-of-Lisieux