Icon of Joan of Arc by Brother Robert Lentz.

Available at Trinity Icon Stores

The canonization ceremony of St. Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc was Declared to have practiced heroic virtue, and thus given the title "Venerable," in 1894, in the lifetime of St. Therese, who called her "my dear sister."  She was declared blessed in 1909.  Her canonization took place at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on May 16, 1920, fiveyears and one day before Therese's.  Pope Benedict XV, who in 1921 would declare that St. Therese had practiced heroic virtue, presided at the ceremony.  Estimates of the number of pilgrims in Rome range from 25,000 to 60,000.  Newspapers report that many pilgrims had to sleep in the basilica and that many women fainted from the crush during the ceremony.  (It is said, however, that the celebration for Therese far outshone that for Joan). 

Photographs

Click on photographs of the canonization ceremony at the New Liturgical Movement Web site to see good photos. 

Newspaper articles

• A good eyewitness account is at An Australian and St. Joan of Arc: Father Brauer of Manly College Describes the Canonization Ceremonies.  (1920, September 30). Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), p. 7. Retrieved May 17, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115600407.

• On May 17, 1920, The Times of London offered a British analysis of the canonization and of Joan's sainthood in "St. Joan of Arc" 

• If you read French, La Croix offers "Fete incomparable: La Canonization de Jeanne d'Arc," a marvelously detailed account on May 18, 1920.

Contemporary reflection on St. Joan and St. Therese

"St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Joan of Arc," by Maureen O'Riordan.  I furnish some background on Therese's relationship with Joan, guide you to her texts about Joan, and present a few themes to empower your own reflection.

"St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Joan of Arc?" - an article about a lecture by Dr. Mary Frohlich, RSCJ, presented at the Washington Theological Union in 2007.  Superb; excellent background about the role played by Joan in France during the lifetime of Therese and afterward.  With thanks to the Internet Archive.

Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity January or February 1903

This morning, June 20, 2016, at a public consistory, Pope Francis announced the canonization of five saints, including Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, a  young Carmelite mystic of Dijon, France (1880-1906) who was an early and fervent disciple of  Therese.  Elizabeth will be canonized on Sunday, October 16, 2016 in Rome. This is a day of thanksgiving for all who love Therese.

 The Canonization Miracle for Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity

Marie-Paul Stevens, the Belgian woman whose cure was accepted as the miracle necessary for the canonization of Elizabeth of the Trinity. Photo Credit: Carmel of Dijon

Click here to read the story of the miracle approved for the canonization of Elizabeth of the Trinity, with a few lines about Elizabeth's life and Therese's influence on her.

 To know more about Elizabeth of the Trinity:

 Light Love Life - Elizabeth of the Trinity: a Look at a Face and a Heart

edited by Fr. Conrad De Meester and the Carmel of Dijon; translated Sr. Aletheia Kane, O.C.D. Editorial Assistant: Fr. John Sullivan, O.C.D.  A beautiful photographic album lavishly illustrated with photos of Elizabeth and her milieu, enriched with texts that will attract those new to Elizabeth and her old friends.  A marvelous introduction for her new friends, a treasure for her old friends. 

Two Sisters in the Spirit, by Hans Urs von Balthasar, S.J., the distinguished Jesuit theologian, shows how Therese and Elizabeth each complement the contemplative life of the other.  edited by Fr. Conrad De Meester and the Carmel of Dijon; translated Sr. Aletheia Kane, O.C.D. Editorial Assistant: Fr. John Sullivan, O.C.D.

Elizabeth's Writings

Fr. Conrad De Meester, O.C.D., who has interpreted Therese so brilliantly, edited in three volumes the critical edition of Elizabeth's writings.  "Vol. I: General Introduction and Major Spiritual Writings" and Volume II, Letters from Carmel have been published in English.  We are awaiting publication of the third volume in English.

Elizabeth's letters from Carmel are at once profound and accessible.  I can't recommend them highly enough.  

For a biography in English, consult He Is My Heaven:  The Life of Elizabeth of the Trinity by Jennifer Moorcroft.

To celebrate the 90th anniversary today of the canonization of St. Therese, which took place on May 17, 1925, the Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux has posted photographs from 1925 of the canonization celebrations at Rome and at Lisieux.  Please click  to see the interior of the Lisieux Carmel decorated for the canonization of the young woman who, only 28 years before, had walked these halls as a hidden member of this little community.  See also the exterior of St. Peter's Basilica, illuminated with lamps for the first time since 1870, and photos of the canonization ceremony taking place in the interior. 

To recreate the events of May 17, 1925 still more vividly:

Read a description of the canonization of St. Therese in John Beevers' book Storm of Glory.  (Thanks to Hathitrust for digitizing it).

Read the Bull of Canonization and the homily of Pope Pius XI

St. Therese always longed to visit the Holy Land, and she corresponded with the Carmel in Jerusalem.  How fitting that her Carmelite sister, Mary of Jesus Crucified (Mariam Baouardy), together with three other 19th-century nuns, is being canonized in Rome today.  Read Pope Francis's homily in which he speaks of Sister Mariam as "a means of encounter with the Muslim world."  May these two women join with all the saints in interceding for peace in Palestine and throughout the whole world.

Little Carmen with her parents and Mgr Jacques Habert, bishop of Seez, in Valencia, Spain in May 2013. Courtesy of the Shrine at Alencon.

Please read my English translation of the press release from the Shrines of Alencon and Lisieux reporting that Pope Francis has approved the healing of little Carmen as the miracle necessary for the canonization of Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin. This communique, issued March 18, 2015, contains information about Carmen's healing never published before.