A snapshot of the front cover of the book

Prominent authors to launch new book on St. Thérése at Knock Shrine

Bestselling author Colm Keane and his wife, former RTÉ newsreader Una O’Hagan, will launch their new book, The Little Flower, St. Thérèse of Lisieux: The Irish Connection, at Knock Shrine Bookshop on Sunday, September 30.

They will sign copies of the book from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the day.

The book features accounts of St. Thérèse’s suffering as a nun, the bullying she experienced at school, and details of her tragic death from tuberculosis aged 24. Miracles including cures from cancer, arthritis and infertility are included.

Her blueprint for a good and fulfilling life – her “Little Way” – is explained.

Mayo connections are also featured in the book, among them the story of Cardinal Dennis Joseph Dougherty, Archbishop of Philadelphia, who was one of St. Thérèse’s greatest admirers.

Cardinal Dougherty, who died in 1951, was the son of Patrick Dougherty and Bridget Henry, who left their homes near Ballina for Pennsylvania during the Great Famine.

The Cardinal, who was nicknamed “Dinny” by his parents, rose from the coalfields of Schuylkill County to become spiritual leader of more than one million Catholics in the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

Appointed Archbishop in 1918, he became internationally known as a scholar, administrator and confidant of Popes.

He was also a big admirer of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, having first heard of her in 1912.

The following year, 1913, he visited the Carmelite convent in Lisieux, which the Little Flower had entered at the age of 15 and where she had died aged 24. There he met Mother Agnès, sister of the future saint.

Dougherty paid further visits to Lisieux and was present at the Little Flower’s beatification in 1923.

Known for his fundraising skills, he was appointed to the Committee of Patronage set up to aid in the construction of the new Basilica of St. Thérèse in Lisieux.

It was in that role, and because of his significance as a churchman, that he was invited to Lisieux to consecrate the first part of the basilica in 1932. Sadly, he was unable to see the finished product. He died in 1951, aged 85, from the effects of a stroke.

The Little Flower, St. Thérèse of Lisieux: The Irish Connection is written by Colm Keane and Una O’Hagan.

Colm has published 27 books, including seven No.1 bestsellers, among them Going Home, We’ll Meet Again and Heading for the Light.

Una O’Hagan is a former newsreader with Radio Telefís Éireann. She has anchored all the main news bulletins and interviewed Nelson Mandela, among others.