Why is St. Thérèse of Lisieux a patroness for missionaries?

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux serves as the patroness of missionary activity despite never leaving her Carmelite monastery. According to her spiritual autobiography, Story of a Soul, she viewed charity as the essential element of her vocation and desired to share the love of the Church with the entire world.

In her writings, Thérèse expressed a longing to travel to every land to preach and spread the Gospel to the most distant places. She described a desire to be a missionary from the beginning of the world until the end of time.

Fulton J. Sheen, the former national director for the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, explained this connection in his book, Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s St. Thérèse: A Treasured Love Story. Sheen stated that her love for God drove her passion for the missions, noting that love is what makes a person a missionary.