ST. THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS

Last October 1, we celebrated the feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and we have a mass.
On September 30, 1897, a 24-year-old nun lay dying in the Carmelite Convent in Lisieux, France. She had done so little in her life that one of sisters remarked that while she was charming, what would Mother Superior write about her at her death in the report she would make for the community?
The question is amusing to us now. For the fame of this young nun would spread beyond the Convent and throughout the Church with remarkable speed. One year after her death, her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, was published. Her devotees multiplied as miracles were worked and favors granted through her intercession. During World War I French pilots carried a photo of her in their aircrafts to protect them.

In less than 30 years, in April of 1923, Pope Benedict XV declared her Blessed, and in 1925 Pius XI canonized her and named her feast day October 3. St. Pius X called St. Therese of the Child Jesus one of the greatest saints of modern times. In less than a century, she had become one of the most popular saints throughout the world.