Image, Authenticity, and the Cult of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, 1897-1959" -  a doctoral thesis by Sophia Deboick for the University of Liverpool.  Fascinating to anyone interested in the history of the retouched and authentic images of Thérèse. 

"The first substantial piece of research placing Saint Thérèse in the context of the history of modern French popular religious culture, this thesis provides an insight into the creation of a commercial, devotional cult at the beginning of the twentieth century and the nature of Catholic visual culture in France in the years between the Dreyfus Affair and the Second Vatican Council." (from the abstract).

This month with the Martin family

Thérèse was born January 2, 1873.

Baptized January 4, 1873.

On January 6, 1888, Léonie left the Visitation at Caen, where she had spent six months trying her vocation.  Thus, she was at Les Buissonnets for the last three months of Thérèse's life there.

On January 10, 1889, Thérèse received the habit of Carmel.

On February 5, 1895, Céline received the habit of Carmel.  Click and scroll down to read the homily about Louis Martin preached by the priest who presided on that occasion.

On February 12, 1889, Louis Martin was hospitalized at a psychiatric institution, the Bon Saveur at Caen.  Thérèse called this day "Our great treasure."  

A happy new year!  2012 is an historic year for the lovers of St. Thérèse of Lisieux.  I have the great joy of announcing that the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux today launched the preview of their long-awaited Web site for Saint Thérèse.  For details of the historic archival materials now visible on the Web, see the first article below.  Visit the Archives site.

We congratulate and thank the Carmel of Lisieux and all the partners who worked with the Archives to accomplish this historic achievement, which makes the treasures of the Archives available to the world.  We thank God that the archives have been digitized and ask God's blessing on those who contributed to the accomplishment. Through this Web site, may God draw souls along the "way of confidence and love" Thérèse walked in the earthly milieu now visible to all of us.

With wishes for a year of grace,          

The Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux invite you to the preview of their long-awaited Web site, which was launched today.  This magnificent site, the fruit of years of work, opens to you the doors of the Archives so that you can discover the treasures they contain, to know everything about Thérèse.   To begin to delve into its treasures, please visit
Please note that as of today there is only one English page, which is at http://archives-carmel-lisieux.fr/english/  It displays a countdown suggesting that the full English site will appear in 61 days.  To register for e-mail updates, please visit that page.  But even if you do not read French, you can view today the photos of Thérèse's family and the places they lived, the Carmelite community, the works of art by the Martin sisters and St. Thérèse, and the works of art she loved at http://archives-carmel-lisieux.fr/carmel/  The site is a marvel of detail and authenticity.

You are receiving this notice a little in advance of the site's grand opening because you are close to Thérèse.  The site has not yet been migrated to its permanent server, so the connection might be slow, or a page might be unavailable.  The French site will become fully functional at the beginning of next week.

Please return regularly.  As documents are translated into English, more jewels will be added.

On Sunday, January 15, 2012, Dr. Frances Renda, editor of A Call to a Deeper Love: the Family Correspondence of the Parents of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885, was interviewed by Fr. Benedict Groeschel for EWTN about the life and spirituality of 
Louis and Zélie Martin.  The hour-long show will be rebroadcast on Saturday, January 22, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. EDT.  This interview was the first national TV publicity for the English translation of the letters of Zélie and Louis Martin. 

In the summer of 2011, while Dr. Renda was teaching St. Thérèse at the Institute for Spirituality in Santa Fe, she was interviewed by Ed O'Donnell for SpiritualityTV about the spirituality of Saint Thérèse.  Watch the interview below.    

Through the partnership of "Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway" and Angels of Our Lady Religious Store in Phoenixville, Pa., more than 300 copies of A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Letters of The Parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885 have been distributed.  Although most orders have been from the United States, we have also sent the book to the United Kingdom, Croatia, India, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries.  We are proud to have contributed to the launch of this important book, and we thank you for your generous orders.