Thérèse of Lisieux

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (born Marie Françoise Thérèse Martin) was a French Carmelite nun. Born in Alençon in 1873, she entered the Carmel of Lisieux at the age of 15 in 1888. There, she lived a simple life of prayer and self-offering, developing her 'little way' of spiritual childhood, based on complete trust in God and the performance of daily duties with great love. Afflicted with tuberculosis, she died in 1897 at the age of 24. Her writings, especially her autobiography 'Story of a Soul' (published posthumously), achieved immense success and profoundly influenced modern Catholic spirituality. She was canonized in 1925 and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II in 1997, thus becoming the youngest Doctor of the Church.