History of the Canonization of Saint Thérèse

On May 17, 1925, Pius XI, surrounded by 23 cardinals and 250 bishops, processed to the canonization [Mass] of Thérèse. Among the 50,000 faithful who came to Rome, only 5,000 were able to enter St. Peter’s Basilica and hear the pope pronounce the solemn formula declaring that the humble Carmelite of Lisieux could henceforth be called: “Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus.”

Two miracles were required at the time of Thérèse’s canonization process to move from beatification to canonization. Once these miracles were authenticated, the pope could proclaim the canonization and authorize and recommend the veneration of this new saint in the universal Church.

In Thérèse’s case, the two miracles chosen for her canonization were:

• The healing of Sister Gabriela Trimusi, from the Poor Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Parma, Italy), from tuberculosis of the vertebrae (1923);
• The healing of Maria Pellemans (a Belgian who came on pilgrimage to the tomb of Blessed Thérèse) from intestinal tuberculosis. She had suffered from her illness since 1919.

Maria Pellemans sent her testimony to the Carmel of Lisieux:

It was in the parlor of the Carmel that I conceived the desire to ask for my healing, so that I could realize the dream of my life, to become a Carmelite. (…) Despite my extreme fatigue, I wanted to return to the tomb. As soon as I was there, a very sweet and supernatural feeling completely enveloped me… A heavenly sense of well-being penetrated my soul and body, I felt as if I were in another world, flooded with an ocean of peace. (…) Filled with such extraordinary emotion, I thought to myself: I am surely healed! (…)

On Tuesday, March 27, we returned home. My father, very moved, could not believe my healing. The doctor, having heard of the miracle, came to visit me. He examined me thoroughly, then, shaken as well, he concluded:

“I don’t understand, I find you completely changed, this cannot be explained naturally, as the stomach and intestines were incurable… Yes, if this transformation persists, it could be said that it is a great miracle.”

Guy Gaucher, O.C.D.

History of the Canonization of Saint Thérèse

Note: The Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux share this account from Antoinette Guise Castelnuovo concerning the “miracle of Gallipoli“:

Another miraculous event was the subject of a canonical investigation due to the stir it caused, both locally and among Sister Thérèse’s friends: it is the miracle of Gallipoli. Accounts tell that Thérèse appeared to the prioress of a poor Carmelite monastery in Apulia in 1910. She provided material assistance to her community and confirmed the validity of her spiritual path by telling Mother Carmela: ‘My way is sure, and I was not mistaken in following it.’ Gallipoli has since become a place of pilgrimage and an important center for spreading Thérèsian spirituality in Italy.

We always refer to the website of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux for the vast majority of our quotes concerning Saint Thérèse, Saint Zélie, and Saint Louis Martin. If you would like to purchase English translations for the collected works of St. Thérèse, please visit the website of our Discalced Carmelite friars at ICS Publications. 

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: Photographer Jason Shallcross captures an image of creamy white roses. Image credit: Jason Shallcross / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/09/23/guy-miracles/

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