Portal:Catholicism/Patron Archive/October 1 2007

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Saint Thérèse de Lisieux (January 2, 1873 – September 30, 1897), or more properly Sainte Thérèse de l'Enfant-Jésus et de la Sainte Face ("Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face"), born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, was a Roman Catholic nun who was canonized as a saint, and is recognized as a Doctor of the Church. She is also known by many as "The Little Flower of Jesus."

St. Thérèse of Lisieux was born in Alençon, France, the daughter of Louis Martin, a watchmaker, and Zélie-Marie Guérin, a lacemaker. Zélie died of breast cancer in 1877, when Thérèse was only four years old, and her father moved to Lisieux.

At age of 15, the Bishop of Bayeux authorized the prioress of the carmelite of Lisieux to receive Thérèse, and in April 1888 she became a Carmelite nun. Thérèse is known for her "Little Way." In her quest for sanctity, she realized that it was not necessary to accomplish heroic acts or "great deeds" in order to attain holiness and to express her love of God. This "Little Way" also appeared in her approach to spirituality.

Thérèse's final years were marked by a steady decline that she bore resolutely and without complaint. On the morning of Good Friday, 1896, she began bleeding at the mouth due to a pulmonary hæmoptysis; her tuberculosis. In July 1897 she was moved to the monastery infirmary, where she died on September 30, 1897, at age 24.

Attributes:
Patronage: AIDS sufferers; Anchorage, Alaska; Australia; aviators; bodily ills; Cheyenne, Wyoming; Fairbanks, Alaska; Fresno, California; Juneau, Alaska; Pueblo, Colorado; florists; France; illness; Kisumu, Kenya; loss of parents; missionaries; Russia; tuberculosis; Witbank, South Africa <br /Prayer: "For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy