SW News: As the French commune of Lisieux prepares to celebrate the feast of one of its most notable residents-St Therese of the Child Jesus-the sanctuary where her remains are enshrined has embarked on a project to renovate the house where the saint grew up.
The sanctuary of Lisieux has come up with a 7 million-euro project to revamp Les Buissonnets, the residence of St Teresa during her childhood. The project aims to give a new look to the mansion without spoiling its antiquity.
As part of the project, two buildings will also be built next door in a contemporary style for the pilgrims who come to visit the 19th-century home of the Carmelite saint. The buildings can cater to as many as 300 pilgrims and they will include spacious rooms, a reception center, lounge and cafeteria. It will also include a period garden.
One of the most popular Catholic saints, St Therese was born on January 2, 1873 to Louis Martin and Marie Guerin in Alencon, who are the only Catholic couple to be canonized together. At the young age of 15, she joined the Cloistered Carmelites of Lisieux and led a life of extraordinary sanctity and prayer. She contracted tuberculosis and died after nine years on September 30, 1897. She was canonized on May 17, 1925 by Pope Piux XI. Therese was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope St John Paul II on October 19, 1997.