Therese Guérin was born in Alençon (France) in 1873, into a deeply Christian family. Her parents, Louis Martin and Celia Guérin, were canonized in 2015. After the early death of her mother, Therese moved with her family to Lisieux, where she grew up in an ardent love for Christ.
Her four sisters entered Carmel, and St. Therese of the Child Jesus was also able to enter the Carmelite Order at the age of 15, by a special permit of Pope Leo XIII.
Already in the Carmel of Lisieux, she lived in prayer, silence and daily dedication until her death in 1897. From her cell, she discovered a path to holiness: the "little way" of trusting love, made of simplicity, hidden sacrifices and filial abandonment to God.
"Story of a soul".
Her autobiography, "Story of a Soul," became a spiritual classic. In it she teaches that holiness consists in living with love every moment and trusting limitlessly in God's mercy. She died at the age of 24, offering her life for the salvation of souls.
Pius XI canonized her in 1925, and she is the universal Patroness of the Missions (even though she has never been a missionary in an external way). In 1997 St. John Paul II declared her Doctor of the Church.
Pope Francis wrote in a Exhortation apostolic work dedicated to her, that her "little way" continues to illuminate the path of the Church. "Cést la confiance" ('It is trust') is the title, which evokes the first words in the original French of a phrase taken from Teresa's writings. Which in its complete form says: "It is trust and nothing but trust that must lead us to Love!".
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