Skip to main content

Primary sourcePhotographbefore 1881

Thérèse Martin as a Child

Unknown · before 1881

A rare early photograph of Thérèse Martin, around age eight, before she entered the convent.

Shows Thérèse as a child, offering a rare glimpse of her life before entering the convent.

Ask Saint Therese about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Black-and-white studio portrait of a young girl with curly dark hair pulled back, wearing a dark dress with white lace collar, cuffs, and a lace-edged front panel, holding a braided cord. Dark backdrop behind her; a partial figure stands at left edge.
Unknown photographer, Thérèse Martin as a child, before 1881.

About this source

What it is

This is a black-and-white studio photograph of Thérèse Martin as a young girl, taken before 1881 when she was about eight years old. The photographer is unknown. It shows her with curly hair, wearing a dark dress with a lace collar and holding a braided cord, with another figure partly visible at the edge of the frame.

Why it matters

Photographs from Thérèse's childhood are rare and give a glimpse of her family life before she became a Carmelite nun. Images like this help historians and believers picture the ordinary girl who later became known worldwide as a saint.

Look closer

  • What does her clothing suggest about her family's life at the time?
  • Who might the partial figure at the edge of the photo be?
  • Why do you think this photo was kept and preserved?

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