Icilio Federico Joni (1866-1946) 1927

The Chapel of the Holy Sacrament contains, above the altar, a painting of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, "the greatest Saint of modern times" according to Pope Pius X. Crowned by a host of angels, Thérèse is clothed in the typical habit of the Discalced Carmelites. in her left hand she holds a crucifix, the sign of her perfect love for Christ, while in her right hand she has a bunch of roses, the symbol of the many graces that she promised to give to humanity. “After my death I shall let fall a shower of roses. I shall spend my heaven doing good on the Earth. No one will call upon me in vain.” The underlying predella portrays the Saint in the very act of uttering her last words on her deathbed, holding the crucifix to her chest: "My God, I love You!" When she passed away on the evening of September 30th 1897, an expression of joy appeared on her face and from the sky that very “shower of roses” that Thérèse had promised began to fall, an anticipation of the miracles that she would perform. Saint Thérèse soon accomplished her first miracle: on June 24th 1923 a seriously ill Carmelite nun from Parma, who had prayed to her intensely, received the grace and was healed. For this reason in 1927 Thérèse of Lisieux was proclaimed Saint and, from that day, because of her message of love and the many miracles performed, the devotion to the . . .