Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway

The "family reliquary" of St. Therese and Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, entrusted by the Magnificat Foundation to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, venerated during the Magnificat Day of Faith in Philadelphia, November 9, 2013 Relics of St. Therese of Lisieux and her parents, Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, to visit Minneapolis and Chicago in the autumn of 2023

The Shrine at Lisieux has announced that the "Centenary Reliquary" of St. Therese of Lisieux and the traveling reliquary of Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin will jointly visit the American Midwest in the autumn of 2023.  According to the Shrine's Web site, the relics will be in the Chicago area from September 16 to October 2, 2023.  On October 3, 2023, they will travel to the Minneapolis area, where they will remain until October 16, 2023. I am sure that, when the itineraries are ready, the dioceses which are hosting the visits of the reliquaries will announce the local details.

Composite photo of Sts. Louis and Zelie with three-year-old St. Therese against the background of Notre Dame Church in Alencon. Photo credit: Shrine of Sts. Louis and Zelie at Alencon.

Important Anniversaries for the Martin Family

We are blessed that the relics are visiting the United States in this decade, during which we will celebrate many important anniversaries for the Martin saints:

• October 19, 2022 is the 25th anniversary of  St. Therese's proclamation as a Doctor of the Church.
• January 2, 2023 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of St. Therese on January 2, 1873.  In view of that anniversary, Therese has been recognized by UNESCO during 2022-2023 as a woman who contributed to the values of peace and culture.
• March 26, 2023 is the centenary of the solemn translation of the body of St. Therese from the municipal cemetery at Lisieux to her shrine at the Carmel (March 26, 1923).
• April 29, 2023 is the centenary of the beatification of St. Therese on April 29, 1923.
• August 22, 2023 is the bicentennial of the birth of St. Louis Martin in Bordeaux on August 22, 1823.
• May 17, 2025 is the centenary of St. Therese's canonization on May 17, 1925.
• December 14, 2027 is the centenary of St. Therese's proclamation as co-patron of missions.
• September 30, 2029 is the centenary of the laying of the cornerstone of the Basilica of St. Therese in Lisieux on September 30, 1929.

These anniversaries offer many opportunities for the Church to educate about the spirituality of Sts. Louis and Zelie and St. Therese. to reflect on how they inspire us, and to pray over their lives and their texts. 

Photos of the two reliquaries

The Shrine's photos of the reliquaries are under copyright.  Click to see the centenary reliquary (so called because it began to travel in 1997, the year of the centenary of the death of St.  Therese).  Click to see the traveling reliquary of Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, which is a smaller replica of the reliquary in which their bodies repose in the crypt of the Basilica at Lisieux.

A call to prayer

The "centenary reliquary" of St. Therese has been on pilgrimage throughout the world since 1997.  It visited the United States for about three months at the end of 1999 and was received by large and devout crowds.  The reliquary of Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin has been on pilgrimage since 2015; I believe that 2023 marks its first visit to the United States.  Let's begin to pray that the visit of the relics of the first saints canonized as a couple and of their daughter, a Doctor of the Church, will offer many opportunities for prayer, healing, evangelization, and receiving a flood of graces.