Made public today was a Letter by the Pope, written in Latin and dated June 11, in which he appointed Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, archbishop of Krakow, Poland, as his special envoy to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the consecration of the Basilica of Lisieux on July 11.

John Paul II recalls in the letter that on October 19, 1997 he proclaimed St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897), also known as St. Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Little Flower, as a doctor of the Church. The Discalced Carmelite was the third woman to be proclaimed a doctor of the Church after St. Catherine of Siena and St. Teresa of Avila.