Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus

Who is she?

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, also called Thérèse of Lisieux, was a French Carmelite nun who lived a very hidden life. And yet the Church has declared her a Doctor of the Church, because she showed everyone a way to holiness that anyone can follow: the “little way.”

Life story

Thérèse was born on 2 January 1873 in Alençon, France, the youngest child of Louis and Zélie Martin. Her parents were also canonized by the Church in 2015. When she was just over 4, her mother died. The family moved to Lisieux; her father called his youngest daughter his “little queen.”

As a little girl, she was very sensitive and cried easily. On Christmas Eve 1886, she heard her tired father say something that hurt her. This time she thought about her father’s happiness more than her own sadness, and she cheerfully opened her presents with the family. She said that Jesus gave her that grace: from that night on, she knew how to forget herself in order to love others.

She longed to enter the convent early, but she was too young. In 1887, on a pilgrimage to Rome, she boldly asked Pope Leo XIII himself for permission. On 9 April 1888, at 15, she entered the Carmel of Lisieux.

In the convent, she did small things out of love for God: smiling at a sister she found hard to get along with, doing hard work without complaining. She prayed a lot for missionaries, and wrote letters to encourage a missionary priest and a seminarian. She once hoped to go to the Carmel in Hanoi, but she was too ill to go.

She had tuberculosis and suffered for many months, yet she kept trusting and surrendering herself to God. On 30 September 1897, she died; her last words were telling God that she loved him. The pages she wrote at the request of her superiors were printed as the book “Story of a Soul,” which has helped many people come close to God. She was canonized in 1925, named patron of the missions in 1927 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1997.

Why is she a saint?

She did nothing that looked great in the eyes of the world. She became a saint by loving God in every little thing and trusting him completely. She compared her way to an elevator: she was too little to climb the high stairs of holiness, so she let the arms of Jesus lift her up.

A lesson for you

• Every day, do one small thing out of love for God: tidy up without being reminded, give way to a younger child, smile at someone who annoys you.
• When you feel weak or you make a mistake, don’t give up: trust God the way a little child trusts their parents.
• Pray for missionaries and for people who do not yet know God.