Lisieux - Basilica of St. Thérese, Zélie and Louis Martin, and the Carmelite Convent

St. Thérese was canonized a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1925. Pius XI encouraged the town of Lisieux to build the basilica, "very big, very beautiful, and as soon as possible!". That same year it was commissioned by the local bishop to build a basilica to honor the new saint. The Basilica suffered little damage during the bombings  of WWII and the church was consecrated in 1951. 

The Basilica of St. Thérese

The upper basilica

Votives were lit all around the relic

St. Thérese's relic

There were lots of notes asking for healing from St. Thérese and
notes of thanksgiving at Mary's statue

The bell tower with pictures of Blessed Louis and Zélie Martin 

When we finished walking around the church we went down to the crypt. The crypt is entirely covered in marble and mosaics. All the mosaics represent the important stages in St. Thérese's life: Baptism, First Holy Communion, the miraculous healing at Les Buissonnets, profession, and her death in 1897. 

The crypt holds the reliquary of Blessed Louis and Zélie Martin who are the parents of St. Thérese. They were declared Blessed in 1994 by Pope John Paul II. I have read one book about Zélie Martin and I really enjoyed learning about her life and how she made so many sacrifices for her children's education. She really is a remarkable mother. Joe and I also have another God-daughter named Zélie R after Blessed Zélie Martin so this was another special time where we lit a candle and prayed for our beautiful God-daughter Zélie and her family. On a side note the last time I was in France in 1995 it was with Zélie R's mother in college. ;-)

The tomb of Blessed Louis and Zélie Martin

The votives around the tomb

Looking down at the alter 

I love this picture of the whole Martin Family showing the 5 daughters that 
all went into the convent and the 4 children that died young. 

Our next and final stop in Lisieux was the Carmelite Convent where Thérese and three of her other sisters entered. This convent was founded in 1838 and Thérese entered in 1888. They prayed together for 6 hours everyday, 2 of which were spent in contemplative prayer. They had two hours for communal recreation and fasting was severe. They rose at 5.45am in the morning, even in the winter! They went to bed around 11pm.

Carmelite Convent

This is a picture of St. Thérese's tomb with the original statue from her room that smiled at her. Some of her remains have been inserted into the figure which represents her on her death bed. Almost all the relics are enclosed in a casket underneath the reliquary. Every year on the last Sunday in September, the relics are brought in procession through Lisiux. 

This was a plaque that was put on the door into 
St. Thérese's cell at the convent, "Sr Thérese of Infant Jesus".

You can walk through the same threshold and walk on
the same tiles that St. Thérese walked on every day at the convent.

In 1896, Thérese became sick but did not tell anyone until she became so sick a year later everyone knew it. Her pain was was so great but she tried to remain smiling and cheerful. She died of tuberculosis in 1897, at 24 years old. Her sister Pauline put together Thérese's writings and sent copies to other convents. Thérese's "little way"of trusting Jesus to make her holy and making small sacrifices appealed to Catholics everywhere. 


Now we are off to the gift shop….and then back on the road again to Bayeux, France where we are spending the night.