The five-day visit begins with a welcome ceremony at 5:45 p.m. on Friday, followed by Mass with Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller at 6 p.m. and public veneration from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The basilica will then remain open for veneration Saturday through Monday from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Tuesday from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Tuesday there will be a 6 a.m. Mass with mariachi before the relics\u2019 departure at 8 a.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This marks the first time the relics have been in San Antonio since 1999, when an estimated 75,000 people visited the basilica. This year, organizers are expecting close to 100,000 people to visit over the five days, said Father Gregory Ross, a priest at the basilica.\u00a0<\/p>\n The estimate came from \u201cthe increase in publicity through social media these days, and the growth in San Antonio itself. There are just more people here than there were in 1999,\u201d Ross said.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said the basilica is working with the City of San Antonio and a private security firm to manage the crowds and ensure visitors can pray and venerate safely.\u00a0<\/p>\n The relics of St. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se have traveled the world since 1997, when the centennial of her death inspired a global pilgrimage. Before coming to San Antonio this year, Ross said the relics visited cities along the West Coast and in the Detroit area.\u00a0 <\/p>\n What\u2019s special about the relics\u2019 visit to San Antonio is that the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower is the first national shrine dedicated to St. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se in the United States.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s almost a sense that, you know, she\u2019s coming home to be with us for a few days, and we expect a lot of people who are devoted to St. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se to pass through the basilica,\u201d Ross said.<\/p>\n After the San Antonio visit, the relics will visit Lafayette, Louisiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; St. Louis, Missouri; Holy Hill, Wisconsin; Washington, D.C.; and Miami, Florida \u2014 sites connected to the Discalced Carmelite Order, the community to which St. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se belonged, Ross explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n The relics\u2019 home base is in Lisieux, France, where St. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se lived, died and was buried.<\/p>\n Nicknamed \u201cThe Little Flower,\u201d St. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se is most known for her autobiography, \u201cThe Story of a Soul,\u201d written at the request of her sisters. Ross said it\u2019s one of the most popular books of Catholic spirituality.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShe called herself the little flower of Jesus,\u201d Ross said. \u201cIn other words, she was just one of those little, kind of unremarkable, so to speak, in the eyes of the world, flowers, just like everybody else. And yet, she says God loves each one as if they were the only one.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The relics\u2019 journey around the globe coincides with the 100th anniversary of St. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se\u2019s canonization and 2025 being declared the Jubilee Year of Hope by Pope Francis before his death.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSt. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se is really a messenger of hope. She lived constantly with that, putting all her hope in the Lord \u2026 so this visit really is a great event to have during this Jubilee Year of Hope,\u201d Ross said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The relics of the Saints Louis and Z\u00e9lie Martin, St. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se\u2019s parents, will also be available for veneration in a small museum space in the basilica\u2019s basement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ross encourages visitors to park at Wonderland of the Americas Mall, where VIA will provide a $2.50 round-trip shuttle to the basilica throughout the visit. Handicap parking spaces will be available at basilica, but general parking nearby will be limited. <\/p>\n \u201cWe really need to make sure people plan their visit so that they don\u2019t end up just driving around without a place to park,\u201d Ross said.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n Find the full schedule of events and more information at the basilica\u2019s website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Are you doing your part?<\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019ve read unlimited<\/strong> of unlimited<\/strong> articles this month. That\u2019s right \u2014 we\u2019re committed to providing free, fair journalism for all.<\/p>\n But without donor support, our nonprofit newsroom can\u2019t do its job to inform and empower your community.<\/p>\n Are you in? Your donation of any amount will help keep articles like this one accessible to all San Antonians.<\/strong><\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761417552_736_Follow-us-on-Instagram.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CentenaryReliquary_\u00a9Sanctuarye-of-Lisieux-1.jpg\")
The relics of St. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se of Lisieux on display.
\n Credit: Courtesy \/ Little Flower Basilica staff from Sanctuary of Lisieux<\/p>\n