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100 years of Saint Thérèse: Canonized May 17, 1925

Figurka świętej Teresy z Lisieux

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Kathleen N. Hattrup - published on 05/17/25
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Pope Pius XI canonized the Little Flower in 1925. She's become one of the most popular saints around the world, beloved even by popes.

Pope Pius XI died just months before the start of World War II, on February 10, 1939, after a papacy that lasted almost exactly 17 years. He had been elected February 6, 1922, and became the first sovereign of Vatican City State, when it was created in '29.

His papacy is associated with a number of memorable things, including writing a social encyclical on the 40th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum, and establishing the feast of Christ the King. It was in excavating for his tomb that bones of St. Peter were found.

But perhaps his act that most influenced the Church in the coming decades was performed on May 17, 1925: the canonization of the little Carmelite from France who would become the only Doctor of the Church named by John Paul II (in 1997), Thérèse of Lisieux.

In fact, Pius XI called her the star of his pontificate.

Here are some elements to help us consider the legacy of St. Thérèse

1The Little Way combatted a heresy of her time

2Following her footsteps

3Pope Francis' devotion to her

4Virtues she inspires

5Things she teaches us

All of these articles are only a very small selection from our ample archives. To find more inspiration from St. Thérèse and many little-known stories, check here.

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