Thérèse Martin, a young French Carmelite, died of tuberculosis on October 1, 1897, at the age of twenty-four, only nine years after entering the convent in Lisieux. Her short life was lacking in outward drama. And yet her name quickly became known around the world. She was canonized in 1925, and in 1997 declared a Doctor of the Church.

What accounted for this impact was the posthumous publication of her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, in which she outlined her spirituality—truly a science of sanctification —which she called “the Little Way.” It consisted of performing her everyday duties and enduring each petty ordeal or suffering in the presence and love of God. In this spirit, everyday life was transformed into an arena of holiness and a step along the path to sainthood.

In her memoir, Thérèse described such ordinary ordeals as enduring cold, mediocre food, and the irritation of being splashed with water while doing the laundry. But in her last months, as she experienced excruciating suffering of body and soul, her sacrifices—offered for the salvation of others in greater need—rose to the highest level.

In the years following her death, she was credited with a great number of miracles. It was remembered that she had said, “After my death I will let fall a shower of roses. I will spend my heaven in doing good upon earth.”

“My vocation is love. . . . In the heart of the Church, who is my Mother, I will be love.” 

—St. Thérèse of Lisieux