St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower

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Feast day: October 1  ·  1873 – 1897  ·  Patron of missionaries and florists

She died at twenty-four in a quiet French convent, certain she had done nothing great. Within decades St. Thérèse of Lisieux — the “Little Flower” — was one of the most popular saints in the world and a Doctor of the Church, because of the “Little Way” she discovered: the path of doing small things with great love.

Who was St. Thérèse?

Thérèse Martin was born in 1873 and entered the Carmelite convent of Lisieux at just fifteen, joining her own sisters there. Her hidden life of prayer would have left no mark on history but for the autobiography she wrote under obedience, The Story of a Soul, published after her death. In it she set out her “Little Way” — the conviction that holiness is not reserved for great deeds but is found in the smallest acts done with love and trust, like a child in the arms of its father.

She suffered greatly, in body and in a long darkness of faith, yet kept her confidence in God’s love to the end. She died of tuberculosis in 1897, promising, “I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth” and that she would “let fall a shower of roses.” Canonized in 1925, she was named a Doctor of the Church in 1997 — one of only four women so honored.

Patron saint of missionaries and florists

St. Thérèse is the patron of missionaries — though she never left her cloister, she is co-patron of the missions for the love with which she prayed for them — and of florists and France. Devotion to her is marked by the “shower of roses”: many who ask her intercession report receiving a rose, or the unexpected scent of roses, as a sign that their prayer has been heard.

The Prayer to St. Thérèse

A traditional prayer asking the Little Flower’s intercession and her promised roses:

O Little Thérèse of the Child Jesus, please pick for me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me as a message of love. O Little Flower of Jesus, ask God to grant the favors I now place with confidence in your hands [mention your intention].

St. Thérèse, help me to always believe, as you did, in God's great love for me, so that I might imitate your "Little Way" each day. Amen.

Frequently asked

What is St. Thérèse the patron saint of?

St. Thérèse of Lisieux is the patron of missionaries (though she never left her convent), of florists, and of France. She is one of only four women named a Doctor of the Church.

When is the feast day of St. Thérèse?

October 1. She is also remembered for the 'shower of roses' she promised to send from heaven as a sign of her intercession.

What is the 'Little Way' of St. Thérèse?

Her path to holiness: the conviction that sanctity is found not in great deeds but in doing small, ordinary things with great love and childlike trust in God. It made holiness accessible to everyone and is the heart of her teaching as a Doctor of the Church.

What is the 'shower of roses'?

St. Thérèse promised that after her death she would 'let fall a shower of roses' — spend her heaven doing good on earth. Many who ask her intercession report receiving a rose, or the scent of roses, as a token that she has heard them.

More saints: St. Joseph · St. Teresa of Ávila · all saints & prayers