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On Sunday, September 29, 2024, in Brussels, Pope Francis beatified Venerable Anne of Jesus (1545-1621), a Spanish companion of St. Teresa of Avila who bravely defended Teresa's legacy and the constitution of the Order and who established the Carmelite Reform in France and in Belgium.  In 1896, she appeared to St. Therese in a consoling dream which Therese recounts in her memoir, Story of a Soul. 

An Interpretation of St. Therese's Dream

 In The Hidden Face, Ida Gorres interprets this dream.  She pairs it with Therese's earlier dream in which Mother Genevieve of St. Teresa, who founded the Lisieux Carmel, said to Therese three times:  "To you, I leave my heart."   Gorres writes:  "Therese had the consolation of knowing herself to be in accord with the great tradition of the Order, with its founders and with the deceased nun who had established the Lisieux Carmel."  Gorres then recounts the dream in which Mother Anne of Jesus appeared to Therese, and writes:  "Between these two dreams lay Therese's life in the convent: nine years of complete obedience with deep commitment and simple fidelity to the ideal of the Order as represented by its saints." 

The Hidden Face, by Ida Friederike Gorres (New York, New York: Pantheon, 1959, pp.  236-237.

A Short Video and an Article about St. Therese's Dream and about Mother Anne's life:

• For a brief and lively account of the dream and of Anne's life and  extraordinary gifts, please see Jennifer Sokol's story "Miraculous Vision: How St. Therese's Dream Pointed to Blessed  Anne's Beatification" in the Natioinal Catholic Register, September 29, 2024.

Pope Francis's homily at the Mass of Beatification

• For the remarks of Pope Francis about Blessed Anne of Jesus, see the last three paragraphs of his homily at the Mass during which he beatified Mother Anne of Jesus, who founded several monasteries of Discalced Carmelite nuns in Belgium and died in Brussels in 1621

 A  documentary in French by KTO-TV about Blessed Anne of Jesus:

On October 15, 2023, Pope Francis issued "C'est la confiance," his Apostolic Exhortation for the Jubilee Year of St. Therese of Lisieux.  He remarks:

Saint Therese is one of the best known and most beloved saints in our world. Like Saint Francis of Assisi, she is loved by non-Christians and nonbelievers as well. In addition, she has been recognized by UNESCO as one of the most significant figures for contemporary humanity. [3] We would do well to delve more deeply into her message as we commemorate the 150th anniversary of her birth in Alençon (2 January 1873) and the centenary of her beatification. [4] Yet I have not chosen to issue this Exhortation on either of those dates, or on her liturgical Memorial, so that this message may transcend those celebrations and be taken up as part of the spiritual treasury of the Church. Its publication on the liturgical Memorial of Saint Teresa of Avila is a way of presenting Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face as the mature fruit of the reform of the Carmel and of the spirituality of the great Spanish saint.

Read the whole text at https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/20231015-santateresa-delbambinogesu.html

On Tuesday, October 3, 2023, at 6:00 p.m., I will have the honor of speaking on Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, St. Therese's parents, and on the Martin family for the Center for Carmelite Studies at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. This is part of a series of events the Center is sponsoring in honor of the 150th jubilee of St. Therese's birth and her recognition by UNESCO. Everyone is welcome.

I will have the honor of speaking on "A Map of the Way of Confidence and Love of St. Therese of Lisieux" in the chapel of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and the Shrine of Saint Katharine Drexel at 18th Street and the Parkway in Philadelphia on Sunday, October 1 at 5:30 p.m.  Questions and answers will follow.  Everyone is welcome to come, and, if you wish, to remain for the Sunday evening Mass in the Basilica at 6:30 p.m.  Please pray that the event draws souls to God.  Thank you.

See the event on the Basilica's Web site at https://cathedralphila.org/memorial-of-saint-therese/

 St. Zelie Martin, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Louis Martin. Courtesy of the National ShrineThe Society of the Little Flower is sponsoring a special visit of the relics of St. Therese of Lisieux and of her parents, Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, from September 17 through October 1, 2023 at the National Shrine of Saint Therese in Darien, Illinois.  The reliquaries will remain at the National Shrine during this whole time.  The public may venerate them every day from 9:00 a.m. through 8:00 p.m.  For details about the schedule and access to the Masses and conferences, which will be recorded and posted soon after they happen, please visit the Society of the Little Flower's Web site.

From Darien, the relics will travel to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, where they will be on pilgrimage from October 4 through October 15, 2023.  For their itinerary, please see this page on the Web site of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Let's pray that this visit of the relics of this holy family to the United States may unleash a flood of graces.