Although she spent a good part of her life in a cloistered convent in Lisieux, St. Thérèse (1873-1897) is world patroness of missions and a doctor of the Church. Her remains are now on the way back to France.
Thursday afternoon, her relics were carried in the Sports Palace, on the shoulders of members of the Order of Malta. The public broke out in cries of joy.
Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello, the apostolic nuncio, concelebrated Mass with representatives of the Mexican bishops´ conference, presided over by Archbishop Luis Morales Reyes.
In his address, Archbishop Morales Reyes contrasted the prevailing hedonism and materialism with John Paul II´s proposal, according to whom the health of Mexican society depends on the health of the family.
Thérèse Martin´s thought helped to revolutionize 20th-century spirituality, as she was able to convey that holiness consists in confident abandonment, like that of a child, in the hands of a loving God.
The last stage of the relics´ «pilgrimage» in Mexico was in Yucatan, where more than 70,000 faithful venerated the remains.
