Vatican City, Apr 6, 2011 / 11:20 am
Though just 24 at the time of her death, St. Therese of Lisieux left a lasting imprint on earth through the “highest form of science,” the science of love.
Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the “science of the saints” --a deep and masterful love of God--in his April 6 general audience in St. Peter's Square.
Continuing his series on the “doctors” of the Church, the Pope said St. Therese led a “very simple and hidden life” yet became known and loved universally through her writings.
Therese was the youngest of nine siblings when she was born in 1873 in Alencon, France. Driven to pursue a vocation to the religious life, she made a pilgrimage to Rome at 14 years old with her father and a sister to ask permission to enter the Carmelite convent of Lisieux.