theleaven.com | vol. 35, no. 10 | october 11, 2013
Father Andrew Small, OMI, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States carries the relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux to the altar during a prayer service on Oct. 7. The relics included St. Thérèse’s writing desk, pen and inkwell. Accompanying Father Small is Father Ric Halvorson, director of the archdiocesan office of the Propagation of the Faith.
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t was an extraordinary, possibly once-ina-lifetime opportunity: to draw near to the very desk, quill pen and inkwell used by St. Thérèse of Lisieux. On Oct. 8, local Catholics had the opportunity to venerate these second-class relics of St. Thérèse at Church of the Nativity in Leawood. The rare opportunity was made possible by the generosity of the Carmelite Sisters of Lisieux, France, and the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States.
A little glimpse into
The Little Way Leaven photos by Lori Wood Habiger
Susan Hervey, above, a member of Church of the Nativity and a third-order Carmelite, views the relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. This is the first time the relics have been allowed to leave the monastery in France where St. Thérèse lived. Father Andrew, left, gives a little background about the relics during a prayer service at Nativity.