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Primary sourcePhotograph1897

Thérèse Martin after death

1897

A post-mortem photograph of Thérèse taken in 1897, showing her laid out after her death.

A sensitive post-mortem photograph documenting Thérèse's death and early veneration.

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Black and white photograph of a deceased young woman lying on a white draped bier, surrounded by lilies and trailing leafy vines. Behind her are dark wooden doors and a painted inscription in French reading 'Au soir de cette vie vous serez jugée sur l'amour'.
Thérèse Martin after death, photograph, 1897.

About this source

What it is

This 1897 photograph shows Thérèse lying on a draped bier surrounded by lilies, with a French inscription behind her reading about being judged on love at the end of life. It was taken shortly after her death by an unknown photographer.

Why it matters

Post-mortem photography was a common practice in this period, used to remember the dead and, for religious figures, to preserve a record connected to devotion. This image reflects both the mourning for Thérèse and the beginnings of the attention that led to her later veneration as a saint.

Look closer

  • Why might her community have chosen to take and keep this photograph?
  • What does the inscription behind her suggest about how she was remembered?
  • How does seeing this image change your understanding of her life and death?

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.

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The Story of a Soul

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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

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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

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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

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