Welcome to our Lisieux directory honoring St. Therese of Lisieux, also known as "The Little Flower," and Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face and whom Holy Mother Church has called the "Prodigy of Miracles . . . the Greatest Saint of Modern Times." We have completely refurbished this presentation.

One day a priest said to Pope Pius X who had signed the decree for the introduction of St. Therese's cause, that there was nothing extraordinary in the life of Therese. The Pontiff replied: "What is most extraordinary about this soul is precisely her extreme simplicity. Consult your theology." This theological truth, that sanctity lies in simplicity is the teaching most needed in our time. It was the littleness of St. Therese, that is to say, her utter dependence on God, her complete dependence as a little child, and with it the confidence which only a little child can possess, it was upon these foundations that God fashioned His Saint. It is upon these foundations alone that God can build true greatness.

The story of the Saint's beatification and canonization is extraordinary, that no one could question.

Pope Pius X  signed the decree for her cause on June 10, 1914; the rapidity with which her cause went forward was literally unparalleled in the Church. Pope Benedict the XV, in order to hasten the process dispensed with the usual fifty year process under canon law between death and beatification. On the 14th of August, 1921 he declared that Therese had lived a life of heroic virtue. Pope Pius XI continued the cause from beatification through canonization. The two miracles necessary for the first was easy and on April 29th, 1923, she was Beatified in St. Peter's Basilica. the outpouring from all over the world and the Pontiff's on guidance from the Holy Spirit again spurred a Pope to dispense with canon law  time frames and Therese was canonized while her four sister nuns were still living, just two years after her beatification, on May 17, 1925. The scene in St. Peter's is almost impossible to describe in words; the gathering was the largest and most distinguished for centuries. Thirty-four cardinals were present, over two hundred bishops and innumerable representatives from religious orders and missionary societies.

St. Therese is still sending miracles, her Shower of Roses, to earth to this day. Come in and learn about and be inspired by this great great Saint.

HER FEAST IS OCTOBER 3, the Traditional Calendar

This Museum is dedicated to Fr. John Fongemie, FSSP, who was instrumental in providing some of the material used for this presentation and who has shown such a keen interest in the Saint that ours was strengthened. There is a secondary impetus for this directory:

THERE ARE SOME WEB SITES FEATURING ST. THERESE AS THEIR STANDARD BEARER AND SUPPOSED 'RAISON DE ETRE' AND WHEN YOU GO THERE AT LEAST ONE IS QUITE IMPRESSIVE. THAT IS, JUST UNTIL YOU READ ALONG AND DISCOVER THAT THE REAL AIM OF THE SITE IS TO INDUCE CATHOLICS TO SUPPORT THE "ORDINATION" OF WOMEN: THE ONES WHO HAVE PUT THE SITE TOGETHER HOLD ST. THERESE AS THEIR HEROINE OF SORTS BASED ON SOME CLAIM THAT SHE ONCE UTTERED A WISH FOR ORDINATION. NOW, IF THIS IS TRUE AND NOT A MISQUOTE OR A LIE, SO WHAT? ALL KINDS OF SAINTS HAVE SAID THINGS THEY LATER UNDERSTOOD, HAVING LIVED LONG ENOUGH, AS IMPETUOUS AND OR ILL PUT AND HAVE EITHER RETRACTED THOSE UNFORTUNATE STATEMENTS OR EXPLAINED THE CONTEXT. BUT WE KNOW OF NO RECORD OF THAT UTTERANCE FROM ST. THERESE. THE LITTLE FLOWER LIVED BUT 24 YEARS, THE LAST FEW IN PAIN AND TERRIBLE SUFFERING. IS THERE ANY ONE OF TRUE CATHOLIC INTEGRITY WHO COULD DOUBT THAT IF ST. THERESE LIVED AT THIS TIME SHE WOULD NOT BE SUBMISSIVE TO THE MAGISTERIUM? OF COURSE NOT! A WISHFUL STATEMENT IS HARDLY THE EQUIVALENT OF ACTIVE PROMOTION OF THE SAME AS THESE PEOPLE ARE DOING AT THESE MOST UNFORTUNATE WEB SITES. THEY MIGHT BE WELL INTENDED, BUT WE MUST DEFEND HER HONOR.

WE CANNOT CONTROL WHAT THEY SAY AND DO, BUT WE CAN MAKE REPARATION OF A SORT, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE PURPOSES HERE. TO HONOR ST. THERESE FOR THE SAKE OF THE LOVE OF GOD AND THIS GREAT SAINT AND TO RESTORE THE INTEGRITY OF HER HONOR, NOW BEING PLUNDERED BY DISSENTERS. WE DO NOT KNOW THE STATE OF THEIR HEARTS, THAT IS UP TO GOD, BUT WE MUST JUDGE SITUATIONS OBJECTIVELY SO AS TO PREVENT ERROR AND THE LOSS OF SOULS. OBJECTIVELY SPEAKING, TO USE A SAINT FOR THE GOAL OF DISSENT IS AN OUTRAGE. PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM AND WE HOPE YOU VISIT THIS WING OF CATHOLIC TRADITION OFTEN. TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FELLOW "WEBSTERS" ABOUT THIS DIRECTORY FOR ST. THERESE.

IN ADDITION, PORNOGRAPHY IS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH. WE BECOME WHAT WE SEE, FOR IMAGES CAN BE MORE POWERFUL THAN WORDS. EVERY PRACTICING CATHOLIC AND OR CHRISTIAN HAS TO STRUGGLE TO AVOID EVERY DAY IMAGES OF DEBAUCHERY AND SAVAGERY THAT BOMBARD US IN OUR ORDINARY DUTIES AMIDST THIS MOST SORRY CULTURE WE FIND OURSELVES IN, AS ALIENS IN WHAT WAS ONCE OUR OWN LAND. THE SIMPLE, SWEET BEAUTY OF ST. THERESE IS THE PERFECT REMEDY OF REPARATION FOR WHAT AILS AMERICAN SOCIETY TODAY.

Biography:

FAMILY TREE
EARLY CHILDHOOD
SUFFERING AND CONVERSION
PILGRIMAGE TO ROME
THE CARMEL
SUFFERING
 THE DEATH OF THE SAINT

THERESE: THE GREATEST SAINT OF MODERN TIMES,
Compiled by Sr. Teresa O'Shea O.C.D. and Fr. Patrick Sheenan from St. Therese's writings and letters of the Martin family;

    THERESE AND LISIEUX, Pierre Descovemont and Helmut Nils Loose, Novalis Books, 1996; the Descovemont book is an exquisite coffee table book that will become a family classic much used and exhibited.