Science reveals a surprising trace of St. Thérèse’s faith
Scientists examined St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s kneecap relic in Honfleur, France, and identified enthesopathies on the upper surface where the quadriceps tendon attached. The wear pattern, described as a “patella tooth sign,” suggests repeated strain likely caused by the frequent kneeling and rising in her daily prayer routine at the Carmel of Lisieux. The study offers a physical perspective on Thérèse’s life, complementing her spiritual legacy of the Little Way and the emphasis on ordinary acts of faith. The article notes Pope Francis’s 2023 apostolic exhortation that highlighted Thérèse’s brief, ordinary life and charity in small daily actions. The relic, preserved in a glass and gilded-metal reliquary, is housed in the Church of St. Catherine in Honfleur, France.
29 days ago
A scientific examination of one of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s kneecaps has identified bone changes that may reflect the repeated kneeling, genuflections, and prostrations that formed part of her daily Carmelite routine. The finding offers a physical trace of the ordinary practices associated with her “Little Way,” although researchers cannot prove that prayer alone caused the changes.
The patella was preserved as a relic in the Church of St. Catherine in Honfleur, France. It came from St. Thérèse’s remains, which were exhumed in 1923 before her beatification.
Dr. Philippe Charlier, a French physician, anthropologist, and paleopathologist, examined the upper surface of the kneecap, where the quadriceps tendon attaches to the bone. The study identified enthesopathies, or changes at a tendon’s attachment point, including a jagged feature known as the “patella tooth sign.”
St. Thérèse died of tuberculosis in 1897 at age 24, making the degree of wear notable for someone so young. The article links the changes to the demanding prayer routines at the Carmel of Lisieux, where the sisters’ movements were carefully prescribed.
These practices included kneeling on one or both knees, genuflecting, kissing the ground, and lying fully prostrate with the arms extended in the form of a cross. Thérèse followed this routine from the age of 15, when she entered the Carmel, until her death nine years later.
According to Charlier, repeatedly kneeling and rising could have placed enough strain on the quadriceps to leave visible changes where the tendon met the patella. The study does not establish a definitive causal link, however; the interpretation is based on a single bone and a retrospective assessment.
The finding is presented in connection with Thérèse’s spirituality, which emphasized trust in God and love expressed through ordinary, repeated actions rather than dramatic achievements. Pope Francis described her life in a 2023 apostolic exhortation as brief and “completely ordinary,” while highlighting her practice of charity in the smallest details of daily life.
The kneecap cannot reveal what Thérèse believed or felt during prayer. It does, however, suggest that her spiritual routine involved sustained physical effort: kneeling, standing, walking through the convent, performing chores, and responding to the community’s daily schedule.
The study does not uncover a previously unknown event in Thérèse’s life. Instead, it potentially documents the cumulative bodily effects of practices she performed repeatedly over many years.
The relic therefore provides a material connection between Thérèse’s physical existence and the spirituality for which she became known: a life shaped by numerous small actions, repeated faithfully over time.
Investigate the Catholic Church’s teachings on the sanctity of physical relics
The Catholic Church teaches that physical relics deserve reverence because of their connection with Christ and the holiness of the saints, not because the material objects possess divine power. Their veneration is ordered toward God, who sanctifies human persons and grants grace through the intercession of the saints.
The Church principally recognizes:
Relics may also concern the mortal remains of a Servant of God or Venerable whose cause is still underway. However, such remains may not receive the public cult reserved for beatified or canonized persons.
The theological basis is the dignity of the human body. During earthly life, the saint’s body was not merely biological matter but:
“the living temple of the Holy Spirit and the instrument of their holiness.”
The Church’s reverence also reflects two doctrines:
The Ukrainian Catholic Catechism expresses this connection by teaching that divine grace transforms not only the soul but also the body, which will participate in communion with God in the resurrection.
Thus, relics are honored as material reminders of a person whose entire life—body and soul—was brought into communion with God. The honor ultimately terminates in God, the source of the saint’s holiness.
Catholic theology distinguishes adoration, which belongs to God alone, from veneration, which may be offered to saints and sacred things associated with them. Relics are not gods, magical objects, or independent sources of grace.
The Church’s traditional teaching, summarized in the Council of Trent, holds that the bodies of the saints should be honored because they were members of Christ, temples of the Holy Spirit, and destined for resurrection. It simultaneously requires that “every superstition” and “filthy lucre” be removed from their veneration.
Accordingly, kissing a reliquary, venerating a relic in procession, decorating it with flowers, or bringing it to the sick can be legitimate devotional practices when they express Christian faith and seek the saint’s intercession. These practices must be conducted with dignity and faith.
Relics have a particular place in Catholic worship. The Roman Missal permits relics of saints to be placed beneath an altar, including relics of non-martyrs. This signifies that the sacrifice of the saints derives from and is united to Christ’s sacrifice, the source of the Church’s holiness.
The relics themselves, however, must not be placed on the altar table, or mensa, because that is reserved for the Eucharistic sacrifice and, above all, for the Body and Blood of Christ.
This distinction is important: relics honor the saints, while the Eucharist is Christ himself sacramentally present.
The Church does not treat every alleged bone, cloth, or object as genuine. Relics may not be publicly exposed for veneration without an ecclesiastical certificate guaranteeing their authenticity. Significant relics are ordinarily preserved in sealed urns; smaller relics should, where possible, be kept in sealed cases.
The diocesan bishop or eparch normally has competence over procedures involving relics preserved in his territory, but must first obtain the consent of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
The Church’s concern for authentication protects both the faithful and the dignity of the saints. Historically, ecclesiastical authority has rejected the public display or sale of unverified relics and has required approval before newly discovered relics receive public veneration.
The Church expressly warns against:
The Directory on Popular Piety further states that doubtful relics publicly displayed for veneration should be discreetly withdrawn with pastoral prudence.
The purpose of relics is not curiosity or possession but remembrance, imitation, and intercession. They remind Christians that holiness is embodied in concrete human lives and that grace can transform ordinary existence. The faithful may ask the saint associated with a relic to intercede for healing, but the healing itself comes from God, not from an autonomous power in the relic. The Church permits such practices only when they are motivated by faith and carried out with dignity.
The Church regards the physical relics of saints as worthy of reverence because the saints’ bodies were temples of the Holy Spirit, instruments of holiness, members of Christ, and destined for resurrection. This reverence is not worship, does not attribute magical power to matter, and must remain governed by authenticity, ecclesiastical oversight, respect for the human body, and freedom from superstition and commerce. Through relics, the Church proclaims that Christian holiness embraces the whole person and that God’s grace is preparing the human body for eternal glory.