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Secondary sourcePaintingc. 1925

Thérèse of Lisieux on her Deathbed

c. 1925

A devotional painting of Thérèse's death scene, printed on a prayer card for her 1925 canonization.

A devotional image created after Thérèse's canonization to commemorate her death.

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Black-and-white image of a young woman with long dark hair lying in a bed against white pillows, gazing upward with a rays of light streaming down from the upper right. She holds a crucifix against her chest, her hands clasped over a white cloth.
Thérèse of Lisieux on her deathbed, prayer card painting, c. 1925.

About this source

What it is

This anonymous painting, made around 1925, shows Thérèse lying in bed holding a crucifix, with light streaming down from above. It was issued on a prayer card for her canonization and later published in a 1933 American book.

Why it matters

Images like this were created to spread devotion to new saints and to shape how the public imagined their final moments. It shows how the Church used art to promote Thérèse's story after she was declared a saint, rather than recording an actual historical scene.

Look closer

  • What details suggest this is an imagined, idealized scene rather than a realistic depiction?
  • Why would this image be printed on a prayer card?
  • How does the light and the crucifix shape the way viewers are meant to feel about her death?

This painting 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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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

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