The information included on this page does not necessarily represent the official teaching or position of the Discalced Carmelite Order.
The following link gives a short description of the devotion St Therese had for the Holy Face of Jesus, written by the Carmelites of Boston: Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus
The following is from the depositions for the process of her beatification:
'The Holy Face was the mirror in which Therese saw the soul and heart of her Beloved. The Holy Face was the meditation book from which she drew her sighs of love.
She had an image of it always before her in her office book and in her stall during her prayer. There was a copy attached to the curtains of her bed during her illness; the sight of it helped her to endure her long martyrdom.'
I am a Daughter of the Church, P. Marie-Eugene, OCD, V, p 436
Veneration of the Holy Face of Jesus has its beginning during the Passion. This devotion originated with the sacred image of Our Lord that miraculously appeared on the veil of Veronica, as she broke through the crowds to wipe Jesus' face. Tradition has it that Veronica later brought this miraculous image to Rome by Roman ambassadors looking for a cure. She later entrusted the veil to St. Clement, the third Bishop of Rome, who stored it in the catacombs. Upon the legalization of the Christians, the veil was first placed in St Peter's Basilica. This relic was transferred by Pope Boniface IV, who purified a pagan temple and consecrated it and dedicated it to the Mother of God on May 13, 608, and called the new church Saint Mary of the Martyrs. This relic was exposed every year on May 13th. In 1625, Urban VII returned the veil to St Peter's Basilica.
In 1843, Our Lord, in visions to Sister Marie of St Peter, a Carmelite nun in Tours, France, requested that a devotion to His Holy Face be established. According to Sister Marie, Our Lord stated "All who honor My Holy Face in a spirit of reparation thereby perform for me the services of the pious Veronica".
Soon after the death of Sister Marie in 1848, at the age of 31, there were riots that resulted in the killing of the prime minister of the Papal States, which forced Blessed Pope Pius IX to flee from Rome. In January 1849, from his exile, he ordered public prayer to be offered in all the churches of Rome to implore God's mercy. Veronica's veil was brought out, covered with an outer veil, and was exposed for public veneration. On Epiphany, January 6, 1849, the third day of a three-day exposition, an image appeared, and lasted 3 hours. This image was appeared to be illumined, and expression of the face was of great pain. Church bells were rung, and artists were called to draw this image. After the miracle of the Holy Veil, copies of the drawn image of the Holy Face were made, and would be touched to the original Veil, a relic of the Holy Cross and the Sacred Lance. A holy man named Leo Dupont, a friend of Sister Marie of St Peter, received an image from the Carmelites. He venerated this image, and always kept oil lamp burning besides it. Miracles soon followed the application of the oil from this lamp to the sick. These miracles accumulated to such a point that Pope Pius IX stated that Leo Dupont was perhaps the greatest miracle worker in Church history.
Pope Leo XIII approved the devotion to the Holy Face and elevated the confraternity to an Archconfraternity on October 1, 1885. Louis Martin and his daughters Marie, Leonie, Celine and Therese, were registered a members of the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face.
Other resources for devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus, can be found below:
Holy Face Devotion
League of St Martin
Carmelites of the Holy Face of Jesus
The following is from the depositions for the process of her beatification:
'The Holy Face was the mirror in which Therese saw the soul and heart of her Beloved. The Holy Face was the meditation book from which she drew her sighs of love.
She had an image of it always before her in her office book and in her stall during her prayer. There was a copy attached to the curtains of her bed during her illness; the sight of it helped her to endure her long martyrdom.'
I am a Daughter of the Church, P. Marie-Eugene, OCD, V, p 436
Veneration of the Holy Face of Jesus has its beginning during the Passion. This devotion originated with the sacred image of Our Lord that miraculously appeared on the veil of Veronica, as she broke through the crowds to wipe Jesus' face. Tradition has it that Veronica later brought this miraculous image to Rome by Roman ambassadors looking for a cure. She later entrusted the veil to St. Clement, the third Bishop of Rome, who stored it in the catacombs. Upon the legalization of the Christians, the veil was first placed in St Peter's Basilica. This relic was transferred by Pope Boniface IV, who purified a pagan temple and consecrated it and dedicated it to the Mother of God on May 13, 608, and called the new church Saint Mary of the Martyrs. This relic was exposed every year on May 13th. In 1625, Urban VII returned the veil to St Peter's Basilica.
In 1843, Our Lord, in visions to Sister Marie of St Peter, a Carmelite nun in Tours, France, requested that a devotion to His Holy Face be established. According to Sister Marie, Our Lord stated "All who honor My Holy Face in a spirit of reparation thereby perform for me the services of the pious Veronica".
Soon after the death of Sister Marie in 1848, at the age of 31, there were riots that resulted in the killing of the prime minister of the Papal States, which forced Blessed Pope Pius IX to flee from Rome. In January 1849, from his exile, he ordered public prayer to be offered in all the churches of Rome to implore God's mercy. Veronica's veil was brought out, covered with an outer veil, and was exposed for public veneration. On Epiphany, January 6, 1849, the third day of a three-day exposition, an image appeared, and lasted 3 hours. This image was appeared to be illumined, and expression of the face was of great pain. Church bells were rung, and artists were called to draw this image. After the miracle of the Holy Veil, copies of the drawn image of the Holy Face were made, and would be touched to the original Veil, a relic of the Holy Cross and the Sacred Lance. A holy man named Leo Dupont, a friend of Sister Marie of St Peter, received an image from the Carmelites. He venerated this image, and always kept oil lamp burning besides it. Miracles soon followed the application of the oil from this lamp to the sick. These miracles accumulated to such a point that Pope Pius IX stated that Leo Dupont was perhaps the greatest miracle worker in Church history.
Pope Leo XIII approved the devotion to the Holy Face and elevated the confraternity to an Archconfraternity on October 1, 1885. Louis Martin and his daughters Marie, Leonie, Celine and Therese, were registered a members of the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face.
Other resources for devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus, can be found below:
Holy Face Devotion
League of St Martin
Carmelites of the Holy Face of Jesus
