Skip to main content

Primary sourcePhotograph

Nuns in wash days at le carmel

Unknown

A lifetime photograph of Thérèse of Lisieux doing laundry with her sister Céline and other nuns at the convent washing trough.

Shows Thérèse doing everyday convent chores with her sister, illustrating the humble daily life behind her Little Way.

Ask Saint Therese about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Black-and-white photograph of a group of nuns in white wimples and dark habits washing laundry at a stone washing trough beside dark water. Several women kneel or lean over the edge, and one in the foreground scrubs cloth.
Wash day at the Carmel of Lisieux, photographer unknown. Thérèse is second from the left; her sister Céline is next to her.

About this source

What it is

This black and white photograph shows a group of Carmelite nuns doing laundry together at a stone washing trough. Thérèse of Lisieux appears second from the left, with her sister Céline beside her.

Why it matters

The image captures the ordinary, physical work that filled convent life, far removed from later images of Thérèse as a holy card saint. It fits with her own teaching of the 'Little Way', which valued small daily tasks done with love, and shows her among her community rather than alone.

Look closer

  • How does this image compare with more formal portraits of Thérèse?
  • What does this photograph tell you about daily life in the convent?
  • Why might this kind of ordinary scene have been photographed at all?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Saint Therese on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Saint Therese sources

Meet the AI Saint Therese →
Front cover of a French book titled 'Sainte Thérèse de l'Enfant-Jésus' in ornate Art Nouveau style with floral borders, a star at top, an oval illustration of saints and an angel, a quotation, and Latin motto banners at the bottom.Book

Primary source

The Story of a Soul

Thérèse of Lisieux · 1898

Document

Primary source

Act of Oblation to Merciful Love

Thérèse of Lisieux · 9 June 1895

Black and white photograph of a young woman in a dark religious veil and white collar, with a calm, slight smile, looking toward the camera. Her face fills most of the frame.Photograph

Primary source

Portrait of Thérèse of Lisieux

15 April 1895

Black and white photograph of a young woman in a pale armored-style bodice and dark fleur-de-lis-decorated skirt, holding a sword, standing beside a banner pole in front of a brick wall and ivy, with a shield bearing fleurs-de-lis and a wreath at her feet.Photograph

Primary source

Photograph of Thérèse as Joan of Arc

Céline Martin (Sister Geneviève) · 1895

Photograph of a book cover with a marbled brown and tan speckled paper binding and a beige cloth spine, with blue flecks. A small library credit in the lower right reads Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France. The cover appears worn at the edges.Book

Primary source

Histoire d'une âme, first edition (1898)

Thérèse of Lisieux, ed. Pauline Martin (Mother Agnes of Jesus) · 30 September 1898

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Saint Therese now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions