Valentina di Giorgio
In the context of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the 100th anniversary of her Canonization, the relicts of the Patroness of the Missions and one of the four women Doctors of the Church, will be in Rome from June 6-16. On June 7 the Saint’s relics will be in Saint Peter’s Square during Pope Francis’ General Audience. The news was anticipated by I-Media, which reports that the presence of the relics is in response to a request of the Pontifical Russian College (known as the Russicum), an ecclesiastical institution for the formation of Catholic clergy of Russian and Ukrainian origin.
According to statements of the Vicar General of the Bayeux-Lisieux diocese, Father Olivier Ruffray, also present in Saint Peter’s Square that day will be the relics of Saint Thérèse’s parents, Saints Louis and Zélie Martin.
Pope Francis has dedicated his most recent catecheses to examples of apostolic zeal. It might be that in the June 7 General Audience he addresses the life of the French Carmelite as yet another of those testimonies.
On January 17 of this year, ZENIT reported that the Lisieux Shrine invited the Holy Father to visit France in the context of the jubilee of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the 100th anniversary of her Canonization,
Also planned for the jubilee is a reception in the French Embassy to the Holy See and a Mass in the church of Saint Louis of the French in Rome.
