Relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux to visit Shrine

ROYAL OAK — For the first time in 25 years, the relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, a Catholic saint known as “the Little Flower” and revered for the spirituality of “the Little Way,” will be visiting the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak, 2100 12 Mile Road.

The relics will be at Shrine Oct. 1-8, beginning on her feast day. The days also coincide with Shrine’s 100-year anniversary as a parish, according to a press release sent out by Shrine. 

The reliquary containing some of her bones first came from France to the U.S. in 1999 and drew more than 1 million people in 25 states, according to the press release. 

According to the tour’s U.S. coordinator, the Rev. Donald Kinney, a Discalced Carmelite priest at the Carmelite House of Prayer in California, “It is a special blessing that the reliquary will be visiting the U.S. during the 100th year anniversary of her canonization and for the Jubilee year of the church,” the press release says. 

“There have been great crowds and great blessings everywhere,” Kinney said in a prepared statement. “Such continued worldwide acclaim is unprecedented in the history of the Church. St. Thérèse continues to be loved as ‘the greatest saint of modern times.’”

The tour is making 40 stops in 11 states with the first being in Royal Oak. 

The Rev. John Bettin, the rector of the National  Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica, said that St. Thérèse holds a special place in the hearts of those at Shrine, because she is the parish patroness. 

“St. Thérèse, called ‘the Little Flower,’ is one of the most venerated saints in the top five within the Catholic Church around the world, and so there’s a great devotion to her in our parish,” Bettin said. “One of the things I think that attracts all people, but especially the common people, if you will, is the fact that St. Thérèse, one of the things quoted that we have, is that she believes in showing God’s great love in little ways. And that’s something that we can all do, really, in our daily lives.”

Thérèse Martin, the saint, was born in Alençon, France, Jan. 2, 1873. Her “Little Way” has been described as a spiritual childhood and a desire to do little things with great love, according to the press release. 

“We thought it was time to have her back here, to sort of revive the spirituality of our family here at Shrine, and maybe encourage people to show God’s great love in little ways in their daily lives, for not only our parishioners, but all the pilgrims and guests and visitors that we’ll have for that week,” Bettin said. 

Mass and venerations will be held Oct. 1-8 with the opening Mass taking place on Oct. 1.

“Here at the Shrine of the Little Flower we always have a feast day on Oct. 1, because that’s the feast day of St. Thérèse,” Bettin said. “We will have several masses on that day as well as the whole week when we will be celebrating her arrival here and her presence here in the relics.”

Bettin said that the Mass will be a regular Catholic Mass that people are used to but there will be some additional appearances from former priests and rectors. Veneration will be taking place between Mass’ throughout the day. 

“Venerate means in the presence of the relics, to honor the relics, and usually that’s done with prayer,” Bettin said. “Some people like to touch, so we are going to allow them to touch either religious articles such as a picture of her or medal of her to the relics, and then that becomes what we call a third-degree relic.”

Anybody can call to a saint at any time to ask for them to intercede, according to Bettin, but having the actual remains at Shrine brings a different kind of special connection to the saint. 

“We experience things through our five senses. And so by having her physically here or remains here, it helps us to draw closer to her and asking her to intercede and pray for us, like I said, is it absolutely necessary? No, because you know she can intercede for us through prayer, only by us calling to mind her and her beautiful life of virtue,” he said. “But again, there’s something, you know, with us as human persons with five physical senses that helps us to better understand and appreciate her presence with us in that way.”

Bettin emphasized that this is a rare opportunity and said that all should take advantage of it.

“This is a great opportunity for our parishioners, our guests, our pilgrims, our visitors, and anyone who would like to come to share in this most beautiful spiritual experience with one another,” he said. “We’re looking for a very joyous and prayerful and spiritually enriching experience for everyone, and that we can all draw closer to God, to Jesus Christ, through this beautiful saint and in demonstrating God’s great love in the little ways that we can treat one another in our everyday lives.”

For more information and to register for Mass and veneration times, visit shrinechurch.com/relics.