St. Thérèse of Lisieux: The Little Flower Who Did Big Things with Small Acts
Thérèse of Lisieux never traveled far. She never performed a miracle anyone could see. She died when she was 24. And she's one of the most loved saints in the entire Catholic Church.
A Sensitive Kid
Thérèse was born in 1873 in Alençon, France, the youngest of five sisters. She cried easily. She got her feelings hurt. She needed a lot of reassurance. When her mother died, four-year-old Thérèse picked her older sister Pauline as her new mother figure.
Then Pauline entered a convent. Thérèse was gutted.
Her response was to decide she would join the convent too.
She Asked the Pope
The Carmelite convent had an age requirement and Thérèse was too young to meet it. Most people would have waited. Thérèse was on a pilgrimage to Rome, found herself near Pope Leo XIII, broke protocol, and asked him directly to make an exception for her.
The guards had to carry her away. But it worked. She entered the convent at 15.
The Little Way
Inside the convent, Thérèse developed what she called her Little Way. She couldn't do grand heroic things. So she did every small thing with as much love as she could.
She smiled at the nun who irritated her most. She ate whatever was in front of her without complaining. She picked the broken cup and the smallest portion, every single time. She picked up pins from the floor and offered them to God.
Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice. Here by a smiling look. There by a kindly word. Always doing the smallest right, and doing it all for love.
Fun Facts
- She's called The Little Flower because she compared herself to a small wildflower in God's garden
- She promised after her death she would let fall a shower of roses from heaven. People around the world say they've received them.
- She's a Doctor of the Church, one of only four women
- Her autobiography, Story of a Soul, has been translated into over 60 languages
- Her feast day is October 1
Want your child to get a letter from St. Thérèse? Letters from Heaven sends a hand-illustrated letter, prayer card, sticker, and saint zine to your mailbox every month.
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