Pope Francis announced that an apostolic letter about St. Therese of Lisieux, popularly known as St. Therese of the Child Jesus, will be published on October 15.
In a report by the Catholic News Agency on September 2, the Holy Father made the statement before journalists who were on board the papal flight to Mongolia on August 31.
He first expressed his intention of writing a document during his general audience at St. Peter’s Square last June 7 as he joined the faithful in prayer before St. Therese’s relics to mark the saint’s 150th birth anniversary and centenary of her beatification this year.
That same day in the afternoon, the Pope entered the Gemelli Hospital in Rome for his laparotomy procedure.
Aside from the apostolic letter, he also granted a Jubilee Year in her honor which started during her 150th birth anniversary last January 2 and will end on January 7, 2024.
Born in Alencon,France on January 2, 1873 as Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin,St. Therese was the youngest child of watchmaker Louis Martin and jeweler Azélie-Marie Guérin who both intended to become monk and nun, respectively, before knowing each other in 1858.
St. Therese died at the age of 24 on September 30, 1897 and was beatified on April 29,1923 by Pope Pius XI.
She was canonized almost two years later, May 17, 1925. (Lem Leal Santiago/RCAM-AOC)
