Evening star., 1925-05-24
The Little Flower, Friend of Poilus,
Raised to Sainth0od by the Church
Death -Jnprec nted iton Given

4 the letters are dated. The soldiers
/ called ThereSe a modern Joan of Arc
| leading them to battle. They semed to
see her very face on the fields of war.
| There is story told of a colonel who
after an engagement, went to Lisieux
! in sore perpleXity and told the reVer-
end mother that she had better keep
that young nun" off the battlefield.
What was his amazement when his
eye fell upon the picture of Little
| ThereSe, who had been in heaven
many years. 1t was her face, he said,
that he had seen.
| 60 Rome listened to the thousands
of fervent appeals, and in the
midst of magnificent ceremonies the
| Little Flower was made a saint
! Therese's life was as humble and
| simple as her name implied From
! happy, affiuent home in Lisieux, where
| her family lived, she entered the clois-
| terS of the Carmelite Convent, after
! her father, who so dearly loved her.
| took her all the way to Rome to get
| permission. The convent had refused
!
There was nothing extraordinary
| about her life there. But SO great
was her simple love of God, so bound
! less was her trust in Him that all who
came near her felt her sanctity. At a
| request of the sisters she wrote her
autobiography, which was call THE
Story of a Soul" II has been de-
! scribed by a great churchman as the
! enthrallinG narrative of the growth in
sanctity of a living human soul" It's
appeal was amazing. Written in a.
tiny nook of France, it was soon being
| translated in every language and read
| in every corner of the world.
1t was not the story of life of
| perfection which the Little Flower
told, but one of strivings and everyday
| failinEs of such simplicity that her
| gains seemed within the reach of all.
! When she died she promised she
| would let fall d shower of roses, and
| that she would not rest from helping
others until the end of the world. I'm
mediately after her death her words
! bade fair to come true. A lay sister
| praying was instantly cured of cere-
bral anemia. A heavy odor of violetS
| Suffused the cell of another nun. De
votion to the little dead sister spread.
| Soon stories of her kindly and gra-
cious intercessions came from many
parts of the world. No prayer seemed
too trivial, no human need too humble
for her regard.
The church beatifies and canonizes
only those whose lives have been
| marked by the practice of heroic vir-
tue. and only after this has been eS-
| tabliShed beyond doubt. Two first
| class" miracles must be proved to the
satisfaction of the high dignitaries of
! the church. The term "frst-class
| miracle" means one that was imme-
diate and coutld not have happened
by any natural means. Tests of medi-
cal science are applied to the evil
| dence. Physicians as well as prelates
serve on the board of inquiry,
1.-THE processes preliminary to can
onization are lengthy and they
cost thousands of dollars. The first
step is the formal inquiry instituted
by the bishop of the diocese in which
the candidate for the church's highest
honor has lived and died. The bishop,
if his investigation proves satisfactory,
sends his report to the Congregation
of Rites at Rome. Thereupon
promoter fidei' is appointed by this
body. He is the official popularity
known. .as the devils advocate" He
endeavorS in every way to disproVe
the claims for sanctity that are made,
so that proof may be undisputably es-
tablished
| Beatification comes a s a step before
canoniZation. The difference between
the two is that the first carries merely
the right of the heatitied one to be
venerated in certain restricted places.
Canonization is u precept of the
church which commands universal
veneration.
No more beautiful or stirring cere
monies could be imagined than those
with which Rome raises her favorite
children to sainthood. The great
baslica of ST. Peters is illuminated
with thousands of lights. They run
up the length of the pilasters and
burst into dazzling brilliance from
magnificent chandeliers. Huge electric
clusters form gigantic bouquets of
light Myriads of candles flicker on
the priceless affairs handed down for
centuries in the church. The pillars
are hung with banners of beautiful
silk.
In the tribunal of royalties sit kings
and queens. The Ambassadors of
Spain and of Chile and other Catholic
countries can be distinguished by their
stately regalia. Crowds of the highest
and the lowliest degrees throng the
church
And high up above, radiant from in
Vulnerable surrounding lights, hangs
d painting of the child of the church
who is to be honored.
Silver trumpets announce the ar
rival of the Pope. The Papal Guards
enter in their brilliant uniforms. The
chamberlains bearing swords form the
guard of honor. The voices of the
choriSters of st. Julen's Chapel in
tone. From in the morning until
, in the afternoon the ceremony lasts.
Then the momentous pronouncement
90 is made. The church has sent another
n soul to join that golden choir made
f great by the presence of st. Francis
of Assist, st. Anthony. st. Cecilia, st.
Thomas and those other noble men
d and women of other ages whom the
y world reveres.
"All this brought to blaze on the
head of one creature''-and in this
case it is the Little Flower" whom
s the poilus loved.