Marie Francoise Therese Martin was born at Alencon in Normandy, France, on January 2, 1873.

Born to a middle-class French family, Therese's father, Louis, was a watchmaker, her mother, Zélie, who died of cancer when Therese was four years old, was a lace maker, and both have been declared Venerable by the Church.

Therese was cured from an illness at age eight when a statue of the Blessed Virgin, affectionately named "Our Lady of the Smile", smiled at her.

After much struggle, Saint Therese became a Carmelite nun at age 15 in the Carmel of Lisieux.
She received the name "Soeur Therese de l'Enfant-Jesus", or Sister Therese of the Child Jesus. Today, she is usually called "Saint Therese" or "The Little Flower". Spanish speaking countries give her the loving name of "Santa Teresita."

Saint Therese defined her path to God and holiness as "The Little Way," which consisted of love and trust in God even in the little, ordinary actions of the day. At the direction of her sister, Mother Agnes -- even though it was not what she personally desired to do -- she wrote her famed autobiography Story of a Soul.

Saint Therese died of tuberculosis on September 30, 1897. After her death, her autobiography circulated among the different Carmelite convents at that time and, soon, there were thousands of people reading her story and benefiting from her way of life. Later, many people attributed miracles in their lives to her powerful intercession and Pope Pius XI declared her a saint on May 17, 1925. Pope John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church in 1997.