St. Therese and World War I | St. Therese Church

ST. THERESE AND WORLD WAR I

In 1914, when the First World War broke out, St. Thérèse appeared some forty times to soldiers in various battlefields in France. The soldiers said she spoke to them matter-of-factly, resolved their doubts, helped them overcome their temptations, and calmed their fears. Thousands of French soldiers carried her photo and invoked her as “my little sister of the trenches,” “the shield of soldiers,” “the angel of battles” and “my dear little Captain.” A soldier wrote, “In fact, that gentle Saint will be the great heroine of this war.” Another commented, “I think of her whenever the cannons thunder.”

Countless were the artillery pieces and planes named after her; whole regiments were consecrated to her. Medals of the saint given to the soldiers miraculously stopped rifle bullets like real shields, saving the lives of the soldiers who carried them (some of these medals are now preserved in the cloister in Lisieux).

Before she died, she had told Mother Agnes, “I had a dream there were not enough soldiers for a war against the Prussians. You said, 'We need to send Sister Thérèse.' I answered that I would prefer to fight in a holy war, but I went all the same."

Click on the picture above (of St. Therese appearing to a soldier) to read some of the many letters that soldiers fighting in WWI sent to the Carmel in Lisieux. These, of course, were about eight years before her canonization.

By Fr. Dwight Longenecker

The First World War broke out just 17 years after her death. There were some 40 recorded apparitions of Thérèse to soldiers on the battlefield. She appeared holding a cross or sometimes a sword. The soldiers reported that they saw her, spoke to her — and she to them. She helped them with temptations, calmed their fears and protected and converted them.

The stories were recorded and published in 1920, just before her canonization. The Laudem Gloriae blog records how the French soldiers called her “my little sister of the trenches,” “my war patroness,” “the shield of soldiers,” “the angel of battles” and “my dear little Captain.”

A soldier wrote, “In fact, that gentle Saint will be the great heroine of this war.” Another commented, “I think of her when the cannon thunders with great roar.”

More astoundingly, the men of the French military named artillery pieces and planes after Sister Thérèse. Whole regiments were consecrated to her, and witnesses said relics of the saint miraculously stopped rifle bullets like real shields, saving the lives of the soldiers who carried them.

In our modern world, where warfare is total and Christians seem wary of war, Thérèse reminds us that we are all engaged in a fight to the death. Our adversary — the devil — stalks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). St. Peter reminds us to, therefore, be alert and awake — never letting down our guard; and if we need a patroness in battle, a guide and guard, we can rejoice that in a world of massive military might it is a fearless little child who takes our hand and wins our hearts and leads us to victory.

Father Dwight Longenecker is the author of St. Benedict and St. Thérèse — The Little Rule and the Little Way. Visit his blog, browse his books and be in touch at DwightLongenecker.com.