St. Therese had a simple yet powerful message that still resonates in the hearts of millions today. She died at the age of 24, believing that her life was really just beginning for God, promising to spend her heaven doing good on earth. Her promised “Shower of Roses” began and has become a torrent in the Church ever since.
She was born Marie Françoise Therese Martin on January 2, 1873, in Alencon, France. Raised in a family strong in Christian faith and virtue, at the age of fifteen she entered the Carmelite Order of nuns in Lisieux, France, the vocational path three of her older sisters had taken.
She became Sister Therese of the Child Jesus. Wanting to proclaim and live God's love in some fashion, she accepted God's plan for her instead. Describing herself as "a very little soul, who can only offer very little things to our Lord," she did her best to exemplify His love through her simple day-to-day routine.
When at the age of twenty-three she became seriously ill with tuberculosis, she realized her true mission would begin after her death. So that others might know and trust in the power and goodness of God's love as she did, she promised, "I will spend my time Heaven doing good on earth. I will shower roses from Heaven till the end of the world."
On 30th September 1897, she died at the age of twenty-four. In 1925 she was canonized St. Therese of the Child Jesus at St. Peters Basilica in Rome by Pope Pius XI. Her feast day is celebrated on the 1st Sunday of October every year.