Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway

Update, January 5, 2020: I regret to report that the documentary has been removed from Youtube.

 An historic moment for the pilgrimage of the reliquary of St. Therese in the twenty-first century: "St. Therese: The Irish Visit (2001), the beautiful film made iwhen her relics, arrived on pilgrimage in Ireland, were venerated by three million people, 75% of the population of the country, has just been released online.The film is an hour and twenty-three minutes long, and worth every second.  Witness the historic departure of the relics from Lisieux in the care of the great apostle of St. Therese in ireland, Fr. Joseph Linus Ryan, O. Carm.; their arrival in Ireland, the preparation of the "Theresemobile" by Mr. Patrick Sweeney; and the reception at churches and monasteries all over Ireland, as well as the grand farewell and the return to Lisieux.  "Ireland has come closer to herself during this visit," one person said.  The profound spiritual power of Ireland's encounter with St. Therese in 2001 cannot be expressed in words, but this documentary is a window for you on that deep experience of prayer and contemplative encounter.  This beautiful film was produced by Power Pictures and the Louis and Zelie Martin Foundation in association with RTE. I thank them for making it available online.

The release of this documentary online is a great personal joy to me because the late Father Ryan was a good friend to me and magnanimously supported my work in the United States and online.  Thanks to the Internet, I had the joy of being the first to inform him that, in an interview in January 2008, Cardinal Saraiva Martins had announced that Louis and Zelie would be beatified that year.  Since, as Msgr. Lagoutte, then Rector of the Shrine at Lisieux, said, "Ireland has led the world in promoting the Cause of Louis and Zelie," I wrote to congratulate Fr.  Ryan.  To my surprise, he had known nothing of the announcement, but was overjoyed.  He called me that evening, and, when I asked what he was doing up in the middle of the night, he said "Oh, it's a big night here;we're telling everyone." May God reward him and his devoted partners in Ireland and in France. 

• Learn more about the visit of the reliquary to Ireland in 2001.
• See the site of the National Office for St. Therese in Ireland.