MARTIN Thérèse, Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus
Also known as: Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face
Born in Alençon on January 2, 1873 - Died in the Carmel of Lisieux on September 30, 1897
Thérèse was born in Alençon, the last of the nine children of Louis and Zélie Martin. At the end of 1877, after the death of Madame Martin, she came to live in Les Buissonnets, in Lisieux, with the whole family. After having studied at home, she will be a pupil of the Boarding School of the Bénédictines of Lisieux, where she will make her first communion. On Christmas Eve 1886, Thérèse received a very important grace of interior liberation.
She entered the Carmel of Lisieux in 1888, where 2 of her sisters were already Carmelites: Marie and Pauline. In 1894, death of Monsieur Martin, and entry of Céline into the Carmel. That same year, Thérèse began to write what would become after her death Story of a soul.
In the spring of 1896, the first blood spat: Thérèse was stricken with tuberculosis. At the same time, she began to experience deep temptations against the faith. She died on September 30, 1897, after having said: "I love you, my God, I love you!"
Beatified in 1923, canonized in 1925, named Patroness of the Missions and Missionaries in 1927, then Secondary Patroness of France in 1944, she was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1997 by John Paul II.
On December 4, 2021, UNESCO officially chose Saint Thérèse to be honored as a "woman of culture, education and peace" in 2022-2023 on the occasion of the 150rd anniversary of his birth.
