Born to a pious and loving middle-class French family on the 2^nd  of January 1873 at Alençon in Normandy, Therese was the smallest of six sisters. Her father, Louis, was a watch maker; her mother, Zélie, died of cancer when Therese was only four. Both parents have been declared Venerable by the Catholic Church.

She was cured from an illness at age eight when a statue of the Blessed Virgin which was put at the foot of the bed by her sister smiled at her. This miraculous healing and the spiritual maturity that followed paved the way to her vocation. At the unprecedented early age of 15, she felt a very strong calling to enter the convent.
 

Our fulcrum is God, our lever: prayer…prayer which burns with love. With that we can lift the world! - St. Therese

Initially the Church authorities refused to allow a girl, who was so young, to enter holy orders. However Therese’s mind was made up and her determination led her to the Vatican to personally petition the Pope. Her heart’s desire was soon after fulfilled when she joined the Carmelite convent of Lisieux, in which were two of her sisters.

Life at the convent was not without its hardships. The austerity of the environment was made more unbearable by the harsh attitude which some of the nuns took towards her. However, Therese sought always to respond to criticism and gossip with a loving attitude. This was the “little way” which Therese sought to follow. Her philosophy was that, what was important was not doing great works, but doing little things with the power of love.
 

For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy. - St. Therese

Therese succumbed to tuberculosis at the young age of twenty four. She was canonised by Pope Pius XI on May 17, 1925, only 26 years after her death. In 1997, Pope John Paul II declared St. Therese a Doctor of the Catholic Church.

St. Therese of the Infant Jesus and the Holy Face
Jesus’ little flower