Born in Alençon, France in 1873, Thérèse Martin made a trip to Rome at the age of 15 to make a personal request of Pope Leo XIII for special permission: entering the Carmelite monastery of Lisieux.

The Holy See, through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical Academy for Life, has offered guidance on the question of whether it is morally acceptable to receive a vaccine that has been created with the use of morally compromised cell lines.

O venerable St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus,
who promised to bless us with a shower of roses,
we ask that during this time
you shed the fragrance of your roses.

-Fr. Luis Gerardo Belmonte-Luna, OCD

Greetings in Our Lord Jesus Christ! As our new community of friars gets settled in here at the Basilica, please allow me this opportunity to assure you of our prayers for you and your families as we begin our service to you here at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower. - Fr. Gregory Ross, OCD, pastor and rector