the Carmel

The Trial of the Writings

A "little" trial

It is even the Latin name given to the process of writings, processiculus. It is short: seven sessions over less than a month for writing. Ten witnesses are heard, including Dr. La Néele and especially those who are in possession of Thérèse's writings; all will meet again in the great trial. This preliminary trial is also used to run the procedure, for the judges, the copyists, the witnesses. Small trial, but important in view of the assigned goal and the information produced. The main interest lies in the collection of almost all of Thérèse's writings, grouped into four main categories: large manuscripts, correspondence, drama, poetry, not to mention other texts of lesser importance. The documentation gathered also reflects the main beneficiaries, so we left together the writings received by Sr Geneviève, poetry, fiction, letters.

As in the whole trial, copies are produced, but these are carefully checked against the originals, with extreme meticulousness. The trial of the writings is essential on two points, later controversial. There are indeed three different manuscripts of autobiographical tone, where the first eleven chapters of the Story of a soul made believe in the existence of a single document.

The writings do not include any words of Thérèse. At the great trial, Mother Agnès will certainly be able to bring a selection of final words as proof, but the tribunal, for its part, will also want that, for the Roman procedure, another copy of the great manuscripts be attached to the trial.

The Dubosq, Quirié and Deslandes team in the Carmel garden.

Small Trial relating to the Search for the Writings of the Servant of God

Thérèse of the Child Jesus of the Holy Face (1910)

Authentication of Thérèse's texts after copying.

At the beginning of 1909, Father Carmelite Rodrigue de S. François de Paule was appointed Postulator of the Cause of Beatification. immediately in the diocese of Bayeux-Lisieux and elsewhere Therese's writings. This is an extraordinary act, because it is up to the Ordinaries of the place to collect the writings of the Servants of God. On the approach of the Postulator, the Holy See intervenes directly. This is why we notice, according to the documents, that the “Processiculus” is made “Apostolica auctoritate”. It is said explicitly in the frontispiece and at the beginning of the documentation, as well as in the acts; Mgr. T. Lemonnier, Bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux, is called “Delegatus Apostolicus” and his signature is accompanied by this title; the vicar general Auguste Quirié, judge of the Tribunal in place of the bishop, is called “Subdelagatus Apostolicus” and he signs in this way. The "Processiculus" on the writings is therefore also "Apostolic." 

The Postulator, in asking for a special indult, must have already foreseen that Thérèse's writings, in a certain sense, already posed a problem; which also explains the solicitude that prompted him to take this exceptional step, also with the aim that a long delay would not harm the Cause. The Sacred Congregation of Rites gave the expected response by the rescript 194/X of February 10, 1910, thus opening, from Rome itself, and with papal authorization, the way to the glorification of the one whose, barely 15 years later, Pius XI was to say in the homily of the canonization: "It pleased the divine goodness to endow and enrich her with a completely exceptional gift of wisdom... She acquired in fact... such a knowledge of supernatural things, that she was able to trace for others a certain way of salvation”. And this resulted above all from the humble writings which were to be collected in 1910 during this Little Trial of the Writings. 

The Sacred Congregation immediately prepared the instruction with the norms and the questions to ask the witnesses (March 1, 1910), and gave the document to Bishop Lemonnier as well as a letter of the following March 5 (cfr. ff. 3v‑6v). This obviously facilitated the work process, already giving an indication of the different steps to be taken. Around mid-March the documents were already in the hands of the Bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux, who immediately wrote to Mother Agnès of Jesus, telling her that he wanted to get to work immediately. Mother Agnès herself immediately communicated the news to Fr. Rodrigue: “Your Reverence must divine the gratitude of all our hearts! This step that she was kind enough to take with Monseigneur de Bayeux touches us beyond what we can express (...) Monseigneur Lemonnier, Bishop of Bayeux, writes to me this morning to tell me about his pastoral letter that he will do without delay” (L of March 18, 1910 to Fr. Rodrigue). 

In the meantime, before writing the “mandement”, Bishop Lemonnier constituted the tribunal for the research of the writings. Having passed, as we already know, his powers as judge or president, as sub-delegate, to his vicar general Auguste Quirié (+ 1930), he appointed the Canon Pierre-Théophile Dubosq (1860‑1932) tax promoter, and Eucher-Deslandes (1849‑1922) notary‑actuary. According to the acts of this Small Process of the writings, the president of the Tribunal constituted for the research of the writings of Thérèse, like also that of the Ordinary Informative Process and the Apostolic Process, was Auguste Quirie, who was also Vicar General. These people, whom we already know, have particularly well deserved the Cause of Thérèse, which they have served with extraordinary solicitude and interest. 

The tribunal held its first session, of a strictly legal nature, at the bishopric of Bayeux, in the presence of the bishop himself, on March 24, 1910. After the opening and the reading of the Roman documents, Mgr Lemonnier gave the order to Canon Deslandes to prepare the pastoral letter, signed by the bishop on April 4 and distributed throughout the diocese. A copy is found among the acts of the first session, and the sober and discreet expressions demonstrate the esteem that existed for the one whose "name (...) was known in several countries of Europe, Africa , Asia and America" ​​(f. 7r), as well as the hope of bringing "to a good end the cause of a soul who seems to have been a model of simplicity and love trusting in God" (f .8r). There were six more sessions. The 23nd and 24rd were held at the Carmel of Lisieux on May 1910 and XNUMX, XNUMX. All the witnesses are already known by the various Processes.   

The sixth session took place on May 27 in the sacristy of Bayeux Cathedral: it was a legal meeting during which, noting that all the known writings had been gathered and that the promoter had nothing to object, the president gave the order to prepare a copy of all the acts of the Trial (ff. 24v‑25v). The VIIth session was the concluding session. It was held on June 12 at the bishopric of Bayeux, in the presence of Bishop T. Lemonnier, with the members of the Tribunal. The notary having declared that the authentic writings having been quickly collected and the copy having been collated with the autographs—this had been done on May 9 and the following days, and therefore before the actual legal investigation of the Trial, at the Carmel of Lisieux by E. Deslandes and C. Marie (1849‑1912) — the Trial itself could be declared closed. The bishop revised the volume of the “Transumptum” to be transmitted to Rome as well as the copy of the writings, and affixed—it is obligatory—the seals. The following day, Bishop Lemonnier wrote a letter presenting the work done by the Tribunal, communicating to the Sacred Congregation that the “Transumptum” and the copy of Thérèse's writings would be brought to Rome by Canon E. Deslandes himself. 

Indeed, on June 25, 1910, Canon Deslandes gave the documents to Bishop Filippo di Fava, substitute of the Congregation of Rites (cf. Annales n° 6, 1930), Le "Processiculus", after more than a year of judgment, was opened on August 2, 1911. Therese's writings were then given to be examined by a theological censor, who rendered his positive judgment on December 6, 1912. On December 10, Card. J. Gotti, OCD, Ponent or Relator of the Cause, at the instance of the Postulator, during the Ordinary Congregation of Rites proposed the question of the revision of the writings of the Servant of God. The Congregation decided: “Nihil obstat quominus procedi possit ad ulteriora”, which Pius X approved the following day, December 11. 

The Cause thus had the way open.

*

Letter from the Bishop of Bayeux and Lisieux ordering the search for the writings

of the Servant of God Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face of the Carmel of Lisieux.

Thomas‑Paul‑Henri Lemonnier, by the grace of God and the authority of the Holy Apostolic See, Bishop of Bayeux and Lisieux, to the clergy and faithful of our diocese, greetings and blessings in Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our dear brothers,

On September 30, 1897, a professed nun aged just over 24 died piously in the Carmel of Lisieux. Hardly thirteen years have elapsed since this event, and yet the name of this Carmelite became known in several countries of Europe, Africa, Asia and America; his life has been translated into several languages, and many souls invoke him in the secret of their prayer. of [7v] beatification of the Servant of God Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face. The rules of the Church require that the writings of the Servant of God be researched and examined On March 5, the Sacred Congregation of Rites invited us to do this research. Consequently, we order, under penalty of ecclesiastical censorship, to all those who possess some treatises, booklets, meditations, speeches, letters, petitions, memoirs or other works emanating from the Servant of God, written by her hand, at her dictation or by her order, to communicate them to us, or, at least, to send us authentic copies. themselves these writings, would know of their existence, if obliged to let us know in whose hands they are.

These writings must be delivered and these communications made, either to the secretary general of our bishopric, before May 20 of this present year, or to the commission set up by us for this purpose and which will meet at the Carmel of Lisieux on May 24 and 25. .The faithful will be able to make this deposit, through the intermediary of the priest of their parish or their confessor.

[8r] We are confident that priests and faithful will be most eager to respond to our call and will help us to bring to a successful conclusion the cause of a soul who appears to have been a model of simplicity and trusting love in God. This ordinance will be published in the sermon in all the parish churches and public chapels of our diocese, three consecutive Sundays, starting from the Sunday following its reception.

Given in Bayeux, under our signature, the seal of our arms and the countersignature of the general secretary of the bishopric, on April 4, 1910, on the feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin.

THOMAS, ev. from Bayeux and Lisieux

By order of the Bishop: A. HAMEL, chan. general secretary of the bishopric.

[Session 2: - May 23, 1910, at 2:30 p.m.]

[9v] Interrogation of Doctor La Néele

1. I [Presentation of the witness]:

My name is Francisque‑Lucien‑Sulpice La Néele, doctor of medicine in Lisieux, born in Paris on October 18, 1858, first cousin by marriage of the Servant of God.

He. [Number and description of writings available to the witness]:

I have several writings from the Servant of God, one of them, a piece of verse, concerns me personally (28th vol., fol. XNUMX v), the others relate to Mrs. La Néele who will be able to testify. more precise.

I have the original piece that concerns me, and I keep it in my family papers; I gave this original to the Prioress of Carmel who had a copy made of it, included in the notebook - vol. IV, fol. 28v; copy and original were communicated to the delegated notary who acknowledged their conformity.

III. [Does the witness have other writings?]:

No.

IV. [Do other people have other writings?]:

It is well known that the Servant of God composed other writings, most of which must be in the hands of the Carmelites of Lisieux and especially of her sisters: Marie, Pauline, Céline and also Léonie at the Visitation of Caen. But I don't know the details of these documents.

V. [Have some writings disappeared by fraud or by chance?]:

I do not believe that.

[The witness listens to the reading of his testimony, approves it and signs it]:

Doctor LA NÉELE, deposui ut supra.

2. Questioning of Madame Jeanne Guérin

I. [Response to first request]:

My name is Marie‑Elisa‑Jeanne Guérin, wife of Doctor La Néele, first cousin of the Servant of God, born in Lisieux on February 24, 1868, living in Lisieux.

He. [Answer to second request]:

I have various writings of the Servant of God, namely:

1° 1 letter to his uncle, Monsieur Guérin (vol. II, fol. 26v°).

2nd letters to his aunt, Madame Guérin (vol. II, fol. 27v°, 28v°, 29, 30, 31, 31v°, 32, 32v°, 33, 34, 35, 36, 36v°, 37, 38v °, 39v°, 43, 44). [lOv]

3° Five letters addressed in common to the two preceding ones (vol. II, fol. 27, 40v°, 41, 41v°, 42).

4° Four letters addressed to me, Jeanne Guérin, his cousin (vol. II, fol. 4v°, 21v°, 22v°, 23v°).

5° A poem addressed to my husband, Dr. La Néele (vol. IV, fol. 28).

6° A poem, entitled “The confidences of Jesus to Thérèse” (vol. II, fol. 25).

I have the originals of these documents, the nuns of Carmel made a copy that the notary had to collate with the original. These originals are complete.

III. [Response to third request]:

I don't own any other.

IV. [Answer to fourth request]:

There are others, but we had to bring them together at the Carmel; I don't know the exact list.

V. [Answer to the fifth request]:

I haven't heard of it.

[The witness listens to the reading of his testimony, approves it and signs it]:

J. LA NÉELE, born JEANNE GUÉRIN,

3. Interrogation of the Reverend Mother Prioress

I. [Presentation of the witness]:

My name is Marie‑Pauline Martin, in religion Sister Agnès of Jesus, prioress of the Carmel of Lisieux, sister of the Servant of God, born in Alençon on September 7, 1861.

II. [Description of the writings kept in the monastery. Where are they kept? Are they autographs or apographs? Printed or not, and if so, which ones?]:

The monastery has the following writings from the Servant of God: SEE BOOK.

The originals of these documents are respectively in the hands of the nuns to whom they were addressed, but I know the existence and the place of each of these originals, and I personally hold, with those which were addressed to me, all those which do not include not a specific address. The vast majority of these originals are absolutely intact; I will presently explain the few rare and unimportant accidents that they may have suffered. I had a careful copy made of all these writings and I communicated it with the originals to the notaries who verified their accuracy.

[13r] The rare accidents that modified the originals call for the following explanations:

1° As regards the manuscript of her life, it consisted of three parts, the first and third of which were addressed to Sister Agnès of Jesus and Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart, her relatives. These two parts included appellations and family details.

The second part, on the contrary, composed under the priorate of Mother Marie de Gonzague, who was not related to her according to the flesh, and addressed to her, does not include these designations and these details.

When this said mother prioress, Marie de Gonzague, had to take care of the publication of the manuscript of the life, she considered it appropriate to ensure a certain unity to the manuscript by having the appellations and family details scattered throughout parts I and 3.

I was able to restore all these passages to their original tenor; moreover, they are of no importance and cannot in any way modify the judges' assessment of the Servant of God's character and virtues.

2° In making the copy of the original documents and in particular of the manuscript of his life, I had explanatory notes added, but they are carefully designated as [13v] such, and written in red ink, so that they can in no way be confused with the original text.

3° The letter (vol. II, fol. 13) is only fragmentary, because the addressee destroyed the parts which had no interest.

The same is true of the letters (vol. 1[, fol. 16, 17v°).

4° The original of the piece “Jesus at Bethany” (vol. III, fol. 56‑60) was lost by chance.

5° The small piece, a pious recreation, entitled “Triumph of humility” (vol. II [fol. 78‑86) contains gaps of a few lines that have been scratched out. These lines contained some childish allusions to the Diana Vaughan affair; the Servant of God had expressed the desire to remove the passages in question from her compositions.

III. [Do other people have other writings?]:

I gave Mr. and Mrs. La Néele the originals that they had given me to make copies. I also know that my sister Léonie Martin, in religion Sister Françoise-Thérèse, of the monastery of the Visitation of Caen, has several letters.

IV. [14r] [Are these autographs or apographs? Printed or not and, if so? which?]:

As I said above, we have in Carmel the autographs of almost all the writings. We have also established a copy collated by the notary which we submit to the commission. Finally, the work entitled: "Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, 1873-1897 Story of a soul written by herself", Bar-le-Duc, Imprimerie Saint Paul, 1910, reproduced in letterpress printing the manuscript of life and a selection of poems and letters. However, as this publication is not entirely in conformity with the original, although it reproduces it in its essential parts, the commission considered it preferable to make establish an authentic copy of the originals.

V. [What care was taken to research the writings of the Servant of God and can we think of finding others?]:

The greatest care has been taken to research and collect these writings to which we attach great value. I wrote to all the people I thought capable of providing us with some information on this subject; I don't think you can find any other writings by the Servant of God.

VI [14v] [Have any writings been lost and, if so, under what circumstances? Fraud? Chance?]:

I have no knowledge of it for the outside, and in the monastery, we have lost nothing of the writings of the Servant of God, except, 1° by fortuitous event, as I said more above, the original of the pious recreation "Jesus at Bethany", and, by erasing, the few lines indicated in the pious recreation "Triumph of humility."

[The witness listens to the reading of his testimony, approves it and signs it]:

Sister AGNÈS DE JESUS, rci, prioress, deposed ut supra.

~Session 3: - May 24, 1910, at 8:30 a.m.]

 [15r] SESSION III

4. Interrogation of Sister Geneviève of Sainte Thérèse

I. [Presentation of the witness]:

My name is Marie‑Céline Martin, in religion Sister Geneviève of Saint Thérèse, of the Carmel of Lisieux, sister according to nature of the Servant of God, born in Alençon on April 28, 1869.

He. [Does the witness have writings of the Servant of God in his possession and, if so, where does he keep them?]:

I hold 1° pieces which had been addressed to me personally by the Servant of God, namely, 46 letters, 8 notes and 7 poems, in all 61 pieces.

In addition, I keep as archivist and in the name of our Reverend Mother Prioress the following pieces, without special recipient or whose recipients are not here, namely, 9 pious recreations or sketches, 16 poems and 29 letters, in all 54 pieces.

III. [Do other people have other writings?]:

Other sisters keep pieces that have been addressed to them personally, in particular the Reverend Mother Prioress, Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart, Sister Marie of the Trinity and a few others known to the Reverend Mother Prioress. Apart from these rooms, I don't think there are any others in the monastery.

IV. [Are these autograph or apograph writings? Printed or not, and if so, which ones?]:

1° I have the complete originals of the 61 pieces which are personal to me. The documents that I hold, as archivist, are also original, except for three, namely a pious recreation (“Jesus at Bethany”), the original of which was accidentally lost, and 2 letters to Father Roulland, missionary, of which we do not only have copies, but certainly exact.

2° All these documents were carefully copied by order of our Reverend Mother Prioress and this copy was given with the originals to the notary of the commission.

3° Some of these pieces were printed in the book: “Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, died in the odor of holiness, in the Carmel of Lisieux, 1873-1897. Story of a soul written by itself. Letters and Poems.

V. [What care was taken to research the writings of the Servant of God and can we think of finding others?]:

I contacted all the people who could provide us with information and I am certain that no other writings could be found in the monastery.

[17r] VI. [Have any writings been lost, and if so, under what circumstances? Fraud ? Chance ?]:

Nothing certainly has been destroyed by fraud; only one original was fortuitously lost (“Jesus at Bethany”), but we had an exact copy which we have reproduced in the general copy. Finally, some letters, as I said above, are only fragments, because what seemed insignificant was destroyed.

The pious recreation “The Triumph of Humility” was crossed out in a few passages following the desire clearly expressed by the Servant of God, recognizing the falsity of the story of Diana Vaughan, from which she had borrowed some features.

[The witness listens to the reading of his testimony, approves it and signs it]:

SISTER GENEVIÈVE DE SAINTE THERESE, rci, deposui ut supra.

5. [17v] Interrogation of Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

I. [Presentation of the witness]:

My name is Louise‑Marie Martin, in religion Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart, sister by blood of the Servant of God, born in Alençon on February 22, 1860.

He. [Does the witness have writings of the Servant of God in his possession and, if so, where does he keep them?]:

I have 15 coins, 7 bills, 4 letters and 4 poems and the 3rd part of the Life manuscript.

III. [Do other people have other writings?]:

I have no other writings, there are others in the community, our Reverend Mother Prioress knows which ones.

IV. [Are these autograph or apograph writings? Printed or not, and if so, which ones?]:

I have the autographs of all these plays; I returned them to the Reverend Mother Prioress to make the general copy. Most of these pieces are printed in the book: “Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face... Story of a soul written by herself....”

V. [What care was taken to research the writings of the Servant of God and can we think of finding others?]:

I have a great cult for these memories of my sister, I omitted nothing to preserve everything that was of her.

VI. [Have any writings been lost, and if so, under what circumstances? Fraud ? Chance ?]:

Two or three original [18r] poems have been lost, but we had kept the double.

[The witness listens to the reading of his testimony, approves it and signs it]:

SISTER MARY OF THE SACRED HEART,

rci, deposui ut supra.

6. Interrogation of Sister Marie of the Trinity

I. [Presentation of the witness]:

My name is Marie‑Louise Castel, in religion Sister Marie of the Trinity and of the Holy Face, of the Carmel of Lisieux, born in Saint Pierre‑sur‑Dives, August 12, 1874.

II. [Does the witness have writings of the Servant of God in his possession and, if so, where does he keep them?]:

I have 16 pieces including 7 tickets, 1 prayer and 8 poems.

III. [Does the witness have other writings?]:

There are other writings from the Servant of God addressed to different sisters, I don't know the details.

IV [Are they autograph or apograph writings? Printed or not, and if so, which ones?]:

I have the autographs of these pieces, we [18v1 had them copied for the trial; they were imprinted, but not all, in the story of his life.

V. [What care was taken to research the writings of the Servant of God and can we think of finding others?]:

I keep with love all that I received from her.

VI. [Have any writings been lost, and if so, under what circumstances? Fraud? Chance?]:

I didn't lose anything, except for an insignificant little note that I cut into pieces to give autographs to different people.

[The witness listens to the reading of his testimony, approves it and signs it]:

SISTER MARY OF THE TRINITY AND OF THE HOLY FACE, rcind., deposui ut supra.

7 Interrogation of Sister Martha of Jesus

I. [Presentation of the witness]:

My name is Désirée‑Florence Cauvin, in religion Sister Marthe of Jesus, converse of the Carmel of Lisieux, born in Giverville, Eure, on July 16, 1865.

II [19r] [Does the witness have writings of the Servant of God in his possession and, if so, where does he keep them?]:

I have 4 prayers, one on humility, one on Jesus at the tabernacle that she composed for me at my request, one on the Holy Trinity, one entitled "Look of love towards Jesus" that she composed for me help to practice virtue. I also have two notes, one which she wrote to me during her retirement, the other for the anniversary of my birth; finally a poem for my birthday.

III. [Do other people have other writings?]:

I generally know that there are others in the house.

IV. [Are these autographs or apographs? Printed or not, and if so, which ones?]:

The pieces I have were written by Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. Our reverend mother had them copied. Several were printed in the story of his life, but those that were not important were not printed.

V. [What care was taken to research the writings of La Serrante de Dieu and can we think of finding others?]:

We all searched with the greatest care in the house, it is quite impossible to find others.

Vl. [Have any writings been lost, and if so, under what circumstances? Fraud? Chance?]:

Even during the Servant of God's lifetime, I burned several small notes from the Servant of God, and I regret it bitterly.

[19v][The witness listens to the reading of his deposition approves it and signs it]:

SISTER MARTHE OF JESUS, deposui ut supra.

8. Interrogation of Sister Marie-Madeleine du Saint-Sacrement

I. [Presentation of the witness]:

My name is Mélanie Lebon, in religion Sister Marie‑Madeleine of the Blessed Sacrament, lay sister of the Carmel of Lisieux, born in Plouguenat, Côtes‑du‑Nord, on September 7, 1869.

II. [Does the witness have writings of the Servant of God in his possession and, if so, where does he keep them?]:

I received from Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus a poem entitled: “The story of a shepherdess who became queen”, for the day of my profession. She also made me a little notebook of pious aspirations for each day of my retirement. I keep the little notebook in our cell. Poetry must be in the hands of our Reverend Mother Prioress.

III. [20r] [Do other people have other writings?]:

I don't have any others, but there are some in the community, I don't know which ones or who keeps them.

IV. [Are these autographs or apographs? Printed or not, and if so, which ones?]:

My plays were written by the Servant of God herself. We copied them. The "Story of a shepherdess, etc." was printed. in the book of his life, but the little notebook has not been printed.

V. [What care was taken to research the writings of the Servant of God and can we think of finding others?]:

I know that our sisters have looked hard, that's of course, especially our Reverend Mother Prioress and Sister Geneviève, of course we won't find anything else.

VI [Have any writings been lost, and if so, under what circumstances? Fraud ? Chance ?]:

I don't know or have heard of any being lost or destroyed.

[The witness listens to the reading of his testimony, approves it and signs it]:

SISTER MARIE MADELEINE, deposited ut supra.

SESSION IV [Session 4: - May 25, 1910, at 8 a.m.]

9 . Interrogation of Marie‑Léonie Martin

I. [Presentation of the witness]:

My name is Marie‑Léonie Martin, [21v] in religion Sister Françoise‑Thérèse, of the monastery of the Visitation of Caen, sister, by nature, of the Servant of God, born in Alençon on June 3, 1863.

II. [Does the witness have writings of the Servant of God in his possession and, if so, where does he keep them?]:

Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus wrote me letters. I have 14 of which the first is dated from Carmel on August 13, 1893 and the last on July 17, 1897.

I also have a small note, undated. Finally, I have a poem by her entitled "My joy." With the permission of our most honored mother, I kept these coins in our cell

III. [Do other people have other writings?]:

I don't have any others, but there are many in the Carmel of Lisieux and it is said in her life that she also wrote to my cousin Jeanne Guérin.

IV. [Are these autograph or apograph writings? Printed or not, and if so, which ones?]:

The pieces I have were written by Sister Thérèse herself; our very honored mother communicated them to Canon Deslandes, notary, with a copy that she had made. I was given the genuine [22r] coins back after verification.

Some fragments of these letters have been printed in the most recent edition of the History of his life.

[Have any writings been lost, and if so, under what circumstances? Fraud? Chance?]:

I received, either in society or since my entry into the Visitation, a certain number of other letters which I burned without attaching any importance to them and I regret it today.

A certain number of letters written, either to his father, or to relatives, or to others, must also have disappeared for the same reason, that no importance was attached to them, or else because they contained intimate details of family life, but these destructions predate the ordinance of the Bishop relating to the search for the writings of the Servant of God, and do not suppose any bad intention.

[The witness listens to the reading of his testimony approves it and signs it]:

SISTER FRANÇOISE THERESE, deposui ut supra.

 [Session 5: - May 26, 1910, at 10 a.m.]

10. Interrogation of Marcelline Anne Huse

 [23V] I [Presentation of the witness]:

My name is Marcelline Anne Husé, in religion Sister Marie Joseph of the Cross, lay nun of the Benedictine monastery of the Blessed Sacrament of Bayeux, born in Saint-Samson, diocese of Laval, on July 19, 1866.

He. [Does the witness have writings of the Servant of God in his possession and, if so, where does he keep them?]:

Having been a servant with Monsieur Guérin, uncle of the Servant of God, I met Sister Thérèse there, then a child. Because of these relations, she wrote me a letter dated from the Carmel of Lisieux on September 28, 1890, on the occasion of her profession. I keep this letter in our cell.

III. [Does the witness have other writings?]:

I don't have any others.

IV. [Are these autographs or apographs? Printed or not, and if so, which ones?]:

I have the letter itself written by Sister Thérèse, I communicated it to Canon Deslandes (delegated notary) who had a copy made. This letter has not been printed.

V. [Do other people have other writings?]:

I do not know.

Vl. [24r] [Have writings disappeared by fraud or by chance?]:

I had received another letter from the Servant of God, during my vocation to religious life (1889); it was a small note which I did not keep.

[The witness listens to the reading of his testimony approves it and signs it]:

SISTER MARIE JOSEPH DE LA CROIX rel. ind., filed with supra.