Digital Missionary Support Initiative (DMSI)
We professionalize digital missionary programs, including reputation management and media relations, docent outreach and interfaith dialogue, and historical research and narrative building. Now serving Archdiocese of Chicago’s Shrine of All Saints, home for one of the largest collections of Christian relics in the world. Find us online using hashtags #SacredAndShared #ChicagoCatholic
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Historical Research & Narrative Building
This lock of hair from “Doctor of the Church” St. Thérèse of Lisieux is an authenticated relic preserved at the Archdiocese of Chicago Shrine of All Saints. Believers report that it emits a scent of roses.
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Is there a scientific explanation for the scent of roses?
The lock of hair is a “dead” fiber, has no growth, and are non-living, keratinized cells. This is because it is no longer connected to a host (body), and a lock of hair has no hair follicles from which to grow.
The scent is not synthetic. If perfume or scented oil were used, the humidity and warmth created by the chemicals would quicken the hair’s degradation. As of today, the relic is well preserved.
The fragrance is not a unique occurrence. After St. Thérèse’s death at the age of 24 in 1897, reporting and sightings were documented about roses, their fragrance, or symbols of roses. Roses appear to be the saint’s signature.
In short, there is no available scientific explanation. Believers smell the scent of roses and the faithful attribute it to St. Thérèse’s promise on her deathbed in 1897 to “send down a shower of roses from the heavens” to “do good on earth.”
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Does the Catholic Church validate ‘relic miracles’ like this?
The Catholic Church does not believe in ‘relic miracles’ but that relics are sacramental vehicles for God’s healing and miracles. See Vatican’s instruction “Relics in the church: Authenticity and preservation.”
How is being proclaimed “Doctor of the Church” different from being canonized as a saint?
The title “Doctor of the Church” (or “Doctor of the Universal Church”) is an official recognition bestowed on saints who significantly advanced Catholic teachings and faith. It’s kind of like having a spiritual Ph.D. for the faithful. Among the 38 saints with this distinction, Saint Thérèse is one of four women Doctor of the Church.
See Pope Leo XIV’s 2025 address to digital missionaries who “nourish Christian hope in social networks and online spaces”
