Basilica of St. Therese of Lisieux

The Story

The Basilica of St. Therese of Lisieux crowns a hillside above the Norman town where Therese Martin (1873-1897) lived, entered Carmel at fifteen, and died of tuberculosis at only twenty-four. Hidden in a cloistered convent, she left behind an autobiography, Story of a Soul, that revealed her 'little way' of confidence and love, doing small, ordinary things with extraordinary love for God. Devotion to Therese spread with astonishing speed after her death. She was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925, named a patroness of the missions, and in 1997 declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope St. John Paul II, one of only four women to receive that title. The vast Romanesque-Byzantine basilica, one of the largest churches built in the twentieth century, was raised in her honor between 1929 and 1954 as pilgrims poured into Lisieux from around the world. The sanctuary of Lisieux today embraces the basilica, the Carmel where Therese lived and where her relics are venerated in a chapel shrine, and Les Buissonnets, her childhood home. Her parents, Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, canonized in 2015 as the first married couple canonized together, are honored here as well. Lisieux is now among the most visited pilgrimage sites in France, and Therese's relics travel the world on pilgrimage tours that have drawn millions. Her 'little way' continues to teach that holiness is within reach of every soul that trusts in God's merciful love.

Church Recognition

A minor basilica and one of France's principal Catholic sanctuaries; St. Therese was canonized in 1925 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1997 in the apostolic letter Divini Amoris Scientia.

Catholic Teaching

Therese's 'little way' expresses the universal call to holiness and the childlike trust at the heart of Christian prayer; the Catechism cites her own words in its teaching on prayer (CCC 2558) and on the Church's missionary heart (CCC 826).

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Practical

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Lisieux draws pilgrims to the basilica and the Carmelite convent associated with the saint; her relics tour the world.

Go Deeper

Visit the official Sanctuary of Lisieux website at https://www.therese-de-lisieux.catholique.fr, read Story of a Soul, and see John Paul II's apostolic letter Divini Amoris Scientia declaring Therese a Doctor of the Church.