St Therese of Lisieux
On her deathbed in 1897 Saint Therese said: "After my death I will let fall a shower of roses." This shower of roses was graces and miracles she bestowed on those who sought her help, symbolically represented in this icon of this holy nun. By special permission of Pope Leo XIII she was allowed to enter the Carmelite convent at Lisieux at the young age of 15. In her autobiographical "The Story of a Soul" she describes her "little way" of simplicity and perfection in the doing of small things and discharge of daily duties which has become an inspiration and a pattern of holiness to "ordinary" people. After a painful last illness, she died at the age of 26, with words of divine love on her lips. She is the patroness of France, aviators, florists, and foreign missions, and appeared many times during World War II to give miraculous help to Allied forces.
Saint of: AIDS sufferers, tuberculosis, aircraft pilots, missionaries, France.
|
