Pope Pius XI declares St. Thérèse of Lisieux patroness of missions

Pope Pius XI declared St. Thérèse of Lisieux the patroness of missions in 1927. This declaration came one year after the Pope established World Mission Sunday and two years after he canonized her as a saint.

Although St. Thérèse never left her Carmelite monastery, she expressed a deep desire to spread the Gospel to all lands and people in her spiritual autobiography, Story of a Soul. In the text, she described her vocation as being driven by charity and a desire to be a light to souls by preaching the name of God.