‘Little Flower’ in Cebu

A wooden chest with the mortal remains of St. Therese of the  Child  Jesus  will arrive in Cebu today.

The reliquary of one of the most beloved saints in the Catholic Church is expected to land at the Benito Ebuen Airbase in Mactan at 7 a.m.

Marie Françoise Thérèse Martin was 15 years old when she entered the Carmelite convent. She encouraged spirituality through simple means, later refered to as “The Little Way.”

The French nun, also known as “The Little Flower of Jesus” or simply, “The Little Flower”, is the patron of missions.

Her traveling relics, composed of bone fragments, arrived in Manila last December from the Basilica of St. Therese in Lisieux, France, for a four-month tour of dicoeses in the Philippines.

Today a welcome Mass will be officiated by Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak at the Air Force Chapel in Mactan before the relics will be brought in a motorcade to the Central Command in Camp Lapu-Lapu , barangay Lahug, Cebu City.

At 12 noon, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma will preside over a Mass at the Central Command Chapel where the saint’s remains will stay overnight.

Early morning tomorrow, the relics will be brought to the Police Regional Office, passing by the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus in Lahug.

At 8:30 a.m., the relics will be brought to the Carmelite Monastery in  Mabolo passing by the San Carlos Seminary College.

St. Therese’ relics will stay for four days at the monastery. At 7 p.m. on Thursday, a grand procession will bring the reliquary to the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral where Archbishop Palma will preside over a 9 p.m. Mass.

After the Mass, the relics will be brought back to the Carmelite Monastery.

It will depart for Bohol at 7 a.m. Friday.

The last time her relics were  brought to Cebu was in February 2008

Known for her childlike devotion, St. Therese often offered flowers to Jesus Christ.

She never left the convent, but the influence of the young nun, born in 1873, has reached far beyond  with her reflections written down in “The Story of a Soul”.

‘I want to spend my Heaven doing good on earth,’ she once said.

She died of tuberculosis at the age of 24. The nun was later declared one of the doctors of the Catholic Church.