File:Saint Thérèse of Lisieux Shrine - St John the Evangelist Cathedral (33576064408).jpg

Shrine of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux at St. John the Evangelist Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.

The shrine was erected during the 1946-1948 reconstruction of the cathedral. Artists working for Rambusch Decorating Company of New York City designed the shrine; designed and manufactured the sculpture of the saint and angels; and designed and installed the mosaics.

To the left, just out of shot, is a photograph of Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta. The stained glass window to the right represents the resurrection of Christ. The window was made in 1902 by Franz Mayer and Company in their Munich, Germany, studios.

Thérèse of Lisieux (2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), also known as Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, The Little Flower of Jesus, and The Little Flower was a French Discalced Carmelite nun who is widely venerated in modern times. Together with St. Francis of Assisi, she is one of the most popular saints in the Catholic Church.

She was a frail child, suffered from patholigical guilt over perceived sins, and suffered from epilepsy-like fits when under stress. In May 1883, she had a vision of a statue of the Virgin Mary smiling at her. On December 24, 1886, she claimed God cured her of her deep neuroses and insecurities. When she told her father of her intention to become a nun, he picked a little white flower and compared her to it.

She became a postulate at the age of 15 and a nun at 17. During her time as a nun, she was sure she could no great works of charity, teaching, or healthcare, and so focused on small and insignificant works. She contracted tuberculosis in early March 1896, and her health declined swiftly. Her final months were filled with agony, and she died in September 1897.

Within six years of her death, her works (often dictated to others from memory, without drafts) were being translated and published worldwide under the title The Story of a Soul. Pope Pius X was deeply impressed with her piety, and in June 1910 opened the investigation that would result in her beatification. Although 50 years are usually required to pass before any person can be beatified, Pope Benedict XV declared her "Venerable" in August 1921 and "Blessed" in April 1923. Pope Pius XI canonized her in May 1925.

Pope John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church in September 1997, only the fourth woman and 33rd person so declared.