We went to A Lenten Penitential Prayer Concert. A Dedication to Our Lady of Sorrows presented by the Albuquerque All City Women’s Catholic Liturgical Choir at St. Thérèse and the Infant Jesus Catholic Church last night. The concert included a service with the Stations of the Cross — the first time I’ve attended a service with the stations of the the cross. After the concert I was talking to Father Vincent who gave me the history of the church. Built in 1954, St. Thérèse and the Infant Jesus Catholic Church just happens to be one of four shrines in the world for Thérèse of Lisieux. The full name of the of the church is the Shrine of the Little Flower, St. Thérèse and the Infant Jesus Catholic Church.
I learned that they have some of the bones of St. Thérèse in the marble under the statue in the first photo, in marble at the main alter, and a bone fragment in a small gold reliquary the priest takes out of its nook to venerate St. Thérèse. They also have rare statues of her, and various other relics such as her choir robe. One of the first priests at the church was French and he designed the stained glass and statuary — he had the stained glass made in France and the statues carved by craftsmen in the Italian Alps. Father Vincent said the Church cost over $3 million dollars to build in 1954, and he was estimating it would cost about $18 million to build today. I looked around at the quality of the construction, the marble, stained glass and statuary, and told him that from my experience with construction costs, I thought it would cost around $30 million to build church like it today.
St. Thérèse was a French Carmelite nun who died of tuberculosis at the age of 24 in 1897. known as “The Little Flower”, Roman Catholics love her for what’s considered the simplicity and practicality of her approach to a spiritual life. St. Thérèse was beatified in 1923, and canonized in 1925. She was named co-patron of France with Joan of Arc in 1944, and Pope John Paul II made her the 33rd Doctor of the Church in 1997. A collection of her autobiographical manuscripts called “The Story of a Soul” became very popular in the early 1900’s, which ended up making her one of the most popular saints in the 20th century.
Off Center & Not Even 
You always find some of the most interesting things and then tell us the story about them. I knew nothing of this church or the story of its saint. Beautiful images, as always. Very nice to wake up to this morning.
Thanks! I knew the church was there, as I’ve driven past it a few times over the years, but it was just another Catholic Church until last night. It’s very nice inside with beautiful stained glass, mosaics and statues.
The mosaic behind the statue is lovely.
Thanks, Julia!
Thanks for all the history of the church–you didn’t just hear a concert you also sought to learn all about the history of the church–very interesting. I too had seen the church for years but had no idea it more than a church–it is a shrine.
Dear Timothy,
Thank you very much for the details about the Church of St. Therese and the Infant Jesus Catholic Church. To learn more about St. Therese, I would be very pleased if you’d visit my Web site, “Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway” at http://www.thereseoflisieux.org
Thank you for the web link, Maureen. Excellent website. Do you know if “l’Histoire d’une Ame” is available in French? I found English translations on Amazon, but none in French so far.
Searching through your site, I see that the Archives Du Carmel de Lisieux has l’Histoire d’une âme on line in French. We would still like to get the book in French.
Thank you for visiting and for your compliment; I just saw your two messages. Oh, yes, “Story of a Soul” is available in French, in print, under the title “Histoire d’une Ame.” I believe you might order it from Amazon Canada to save on shipping. I recommend either the 2005 edition by Conrad De Meester, OCD, who worked from the original manuscripts, at http://www.amazon.ca/HISTOIRE-DISPOSITION-ORIGINALE-AUTHENTIQUES-PR%C3%89SENT%C3%89S/dp/2866794176/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1394426917&sr=8-3&keywords=Histoire+d%27une+ame, or the 1992 “new centenary edition” by a team of Theresian scholars led by Guy Gaucher, OCD at http://www.amazon.ca/HISTOIRE-DUNE-%C3%82ME-MANUSCRITS-AUTOBIOGRAPHIQUES/dp/2220036731/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1394426917&sr=8-7&keywords=Histoire+d%27une+ame Both editors are leading scholars of St. Therese, and both books have introductions and notes packed with fascinating information that is not available online.
Thank you so much, Maureen. I never thought about using Amazon Canada. I just ordered the 2005 edition. We’ll have it in about a week.
Wonderful post and images! Thanks so much for coming to our concert….and for immortalizing some of the beauty of the church in your photos and writing. Excellent.
Thanks! I originally had your video on it, but I took it off the post when I removed it from Youtube. Several people saw the video and heard your beautiful voice while it was up!
Awww. Thanks, Tim
Wonderful. Books are more costly both in France and in Canada than they are in the United States, but I believe you can expedite your order and save some shipping by ordering from Canada. Please let me know what you think of Fr,. Conrad’s book. All good wishes, Maureen
I’m also going to get an English version. I’ll let you know what we think.
Please do. Thank you.
[…] Churches in Provence and Paris and really liked the French services. We went to a service at St. Thérèse in early March that Suzette sang in, and we liked the church. St. Thérèse was French, the church has stained […]