About Little Flower Basilica

The mother of St. Thérèse, St. Zélie (baptized as Azélie-Marie, but affectionately known as Zélie)—is an appealing-to-many, newer saint (canonized along with her husband, Louis, in 2015) who offers much to mull over as the mother of the dearly-loved Little Flower. 

Though Sts. Louis and Zélie did not intend to serve God as married people, they would eventually have nine children, four of them joining the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Lisieux, including St. Thérèse. What can we learn from these great saints?

As part of our masterplanning and programming process, we completed many necessary studies including various engineering studies, a capital campaign feasibility study and an economic impact study laying a strong foundation for our impending and much awaited capital campaign and for the successful restoration of our historic Little Flower Basilica.

Moving forward, our task is to lay an organizational foundation that will provide the necessary leadership structure to see the project through to a successful capital campaign and execution of our master plan.

When St. Thérèse—at the age of 22—wrote down her childhood memories by order of the prioress, she painted an intriguing piece of art at the end—a specially designed Coat of Arms to express her heart’s feelings and inspirations.

At Christmas 1886 St. Thérèse experienced a profound conversion, recounting in Story of a Soul that at midnight mass a renewal came upon her as she felt charity enter her soul” and “the happiness of receiving the strong and powerful God.”

Moving forward, our task is to lay an organizational foundation that will provide the necessary leadership structure to see the project through to a successful capital campaign and execution of our master plan.

Less than 6 months before her death St. Thérèse wrote the poem “Abandonment Is the Sweet Fruit of Love.”  Its stanzas are fertile earth for reflection.

With your generous response to the 2021 Cornerstone of Giving appeal we have received well over $100,000 towards beginning the design phase!

We return to the altar rail, this time guiding you to the opposite side of the Basilica, near the altar of the Sacred Heart. Here we see an anachronistic image of Thérèse kneeling before the Madonna and Child. Thérèse stretches out her hand as if to stroke the Child’s face.

At the encouragement of my sister, I began to ask for Thérèse’s intercession. I began to get better, and I was able to slowly return to the life I had been living before my illness. I had a relapse in 2003, but was able to overcome it.

Little Flower Basilica has the distinction of being home to first class relics of many of the Carmelite saints. In the fall of 2021, in order to celebrate All Carmelite Saints and All Carmelite Souls along with the return of many public activities, a special exhibition was held of many of these seldom seen treasures.

In collaboration with Douglas Architects of San Antonio, the friars have solidified a master plan for our Basilica Campus. We have envisioned a beautiful campus that will accentuate the strengths of our historical Basilica and monastery.

When I was first introduced to The Story of a Soul, I expected the spirituality of St. Thérèse of Lisieux to be… well, a little soft. I thought it would be a bit overly flowery.

In collaboration with Douglas Architects of San Antonio, the friars have solidified a master plan for our Basilica Campus. We have envisioned a beautiful campus that will accentuate the strengths of our historical Basilica and monastery.

Three of the altars of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower stand behind a Communion rail embellished with small mosaics of the Life of St. Thérèse. These small treasures are easily missed when the grandeur of the high altar dominates the view.

The young woman who is today glorified by the Church with the title of Saint, is a prophet of God for the men and women of today. By the example of her life, Teresa of Jesus of the Andes shows us Christ's Gospel lived down to the last detail.

Since hiring Douglas Architects of San Antonio in October of 2020, a lot of work has been done “behind the scenes” in our restoration project. The friars have been working closely with Douglas Architects, Project Control of Texas (our project managers), various engineering firms, historical preservation experts, and a capital campaign consultant to develop a master plan for the Basilica Complex.