Miracle of Saint Thérèse (1952)

Like Joan, Thérèse defied social conventions and expectations out of a sense of extraordinary vocation, appealing directly to the highest authority to be exempted from the rules that would have prevented her from following her calling. Like Joan, Thérèse was deeply concerned with the fates of peoples and nations; for her the battle front was the mission field, so much so that she has been named patroness of missions, even though she supported the church’s mission work only spiritually.

She was questioned, doubted, harassed, and finally she died young, an agonizing death, consumed with divine love rather than flames. It seems somehow fitting to learn, as the film tells us, that Thérèse has become France’s second patron saint after Joan of Arc.

Neither the vaguely sentimental-sounding English title Miracle of Saint Therese nor the strangely officious original French title Procès au Vatican (Cause in the Vatican) really reflects the achievement of this well-made biopic.

The film does begin and end with documentary-style footage of Thérèse’s cause for canonization. And it does include a number of small miracles, including Thérèse’s dramatic recovery at the age of eight from a life-threatening illness upon seeing a statue of Mary smile at her, and the adorning of her entry into Carmel by an unusual April snowfall.

Yet the film is neither the story of a miracle nor a treatise on Thérèse’s case for canonization, unless the miracle and the case are both Thérèse’s own life. Blending historical drama with elements of documentary, Miracle of Saint Thérèse effectively brings the saint’s story and spirituality to life.

The film offers a number of glimpses into Therese’s “little way” of spiritual childhood, including the conflict occasioned by the contrast between Therese’s insights and the accepted pieties of the day.

In one scene the mother prioress rebukes Thérèse (France Descaut) for “intemperate” presumption in aspiring to be a saint, but Thérèse replies that since it is Jesus who told us to “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect,” she sees no presumption in taking him at his word.

Later, as mistress of novices, Thérèse shocks the prioress by exempting a novice from one of the typically harsh penances of the convent, taking the view that it is better not to do a penance that injures the body and impairs one’s ability to do one’s work.

Beautifully shot in black and white, the film makes excellent use of convincing locations, sets and costumes, and is persuasively mounted throughout.