Faithful to gather for relics of St. Therese

St. ThÀerÁese of Lisieux died young and left no great monuments.

But faithful people still gather in awe around a gilt-and-wooden box holding her bones, the last earthly traces of the Roman Catholic nun considered one of the most revered saints of modern times.

A reliquary containing the bones of St. ThÀerÁese will arrive in the Puget Sound area Friday at the end of a four-month tour of the United States. The tour is part of a worldwide evangelism mission that has attracted millions hoping to experience God through contact with the saint many Catholics call "Little Flower."

Devotion to relics is an ancient tradition going back to the early Christians, who sometimes stashed saintly remains in church altars. Veneration of bones and other relics of a saint's life may not be as common as it once was, but St. ThÀerÁese occupies a special place in Catholicism.

She was a French Carmelite nun who was 24 when she died of tuberculosis in 1897. She espoused what she called her "little way" to God - a common-sense philosophy of doing all things, even little ones, with great love. Her philosophy became popular through an autobiography, "The Story of a Soul." She was canonized in 1925.

St. ThÀerÁese, known as the special patron saint for missionaries, is said to have inspired Mother Teresa, whose work with the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta was based on the Little Flower's dream of evangelizing throughout the world.

For Catholics, bones and hair are the most highly venerated relics, said Betty Lamantea, a lay member of the Carmelite order who is coordinating the visit of the relics in the Seattle Archdiocese, which covers Western Washington.

"The second class would be something the person had worn, like a habit, and the third class would be something that has touched the other relics," she said.

About 400 members of the Carmelite order in Washington, including 10 cloistered nuns from St. Joseph's Carmelite Monastery in Shoreline and two hermit nuns from Newport, Pend Oreille County, near Spokane, are expected to be on hand. The cloistered and hermit nuns rarely leave the confines of their monasteries, Lamantea said. The hermit nuns run retreats for other Carmelites.

The reliquary will be on display Friday at St. Joseph Church in Vancouver, Wash., and St. Cecilia Church in Stanwood; on Saturday at St. James Cathedral in Seattle and St. Theresa Church in Federal Way, and on Sunday at St. Joseph's monastery.

From Seattle, the relics will be taken to Salt Lake City and Honolulu before continuing the world tour in the Philippines. ------------------------- St. ThÀerÁese of Lisieux

A drama about the life of St. ThÀerÁese of Lisieux will be presented at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Holy Rosary Church, 4139 42nd Ave. S.W., Seattle. Suggested donation is $5.

Here is a schedule for public veneration of the relics of St. ThÀerÁese:

Saturday

St. James Cathedral, 804 Ninth Ave., Seattle. Doors open 9 a.m.; reception and procession, 11 a.m., veneration, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

St. Theresa Church, 3939 S.W. 331st St., Federal Way. Parish grounds open 3 p.m.; children's procession, 4 p.m.; veneration, 4-8 p.m.

Sunday

St. Joseph's Carmelite Monastery, 2215 N.E. 147th St., Shoreline. Doors open 9:30 a.m.; reception and procession, 10 a.m.; veneration until 3:45. There will be an invitation-only Mass at 5 p.m.; veneration will resume from 7-9:30 p.m.