Where Knowledge Meets Character & Bright Futures
St. Teresa's Academy was established in 1982 by the Catholic Diocese of Meerut. The Institution is
owned by the Catholic Diocese of Meerut, a body registered under the Societies Registration Act,
1960. The medium of instruction is English and the pupils are prepared for Indian School Certificate
Examination taken at the end of Class XII. Therefore, with regard to the syllabus, the school is
guided by the policies and programmes of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination,
New Delhi. St. Teresa's Academy is a minority Educational Institution recognised by the National
Commission for Minority Educational Institution Act 2004, covered under Article 30 of the
Constitution of India.
ST. TERESA OF THE CHILD JESUS
(1873-1897)
THE PATRONESS OF THE SCHOOL (OCTOBER
1)
The
school is named after the immortal ST. TERESA OF THE CHILD JESUS. Born on 2
January 1873, Marie Francoise Teresa was the last of nine children of a devout family in
Alencon, France. Both her parents, Louis and Zelie Martin, had at one time felt drawn to the
religious life, but in their stead, God accepted five of their offspring as religious.
Little Teresa tried, from her 9th year onward, to follow her sisters into the Discalced
Carmelites at Lisieux. Even at 14, the Bishop considered her too young, and so, on a Jubilee
visit to Rome, she personally implored Pope Leo XIII to intercede on her behalf. She was
barely 15 when the Mother Prioress finally admitted her on 9 April
1888.
St.
Teresa of the Child Jesus—as she came to be called—was favoured by signal graces and
advanced constantly and rapidly in holiness, so that at the age of 22, she was appointed
novice mistress. A childlike simplicity, utter humility, constant self-sacrifice, and a
boundless love of God and trust in Him were some of her most outstanding virtues. "From God,
who is so mighty and so compassionate, one can never ask too much."
She
believed that one will obtain from Him exactly in proportion to one's reliance upon Him. But
it was through her "Little Way" of performing perfectly the small duties of everyday life
for the love of God that she has become the model and inspiration of countless ordinary
folk. She revealed it in her now world-renowned autobiography, The Story of a Soul, which
she had to write under obedience. Not to be conspicuous in anything, not to complain, not to
reveal that she was ailing, to show a special friendliness towards those who were
unsympathetic to her, and to answer pointed remarks with a winning smile—these were some of
her axioms.
During
her 9½ years of convent life, she remained so self-effacing and natural that she passed
unnoticed and was misunderstood by most of her confreres. Her special task, she felt, was to
assist the Church’s priests and missionaries with prayers and sacrifices. After a martyrdom
of both mind and body, and having offered herself in sweet resignation and heroic patience
as a victim of God's merciful love, Teresa died of consumption on 30 September 1897 at the
age of 24.
"There
is just one thing to be done here below: to love Jesus and to save souls for him, so that he
may be more loved!"
Beatified in
1923, the Little Flower, as she has also come to be popularly known, was canonized
on 17 May 1925 by Pope Pius XI. She is the Patron Saint of aviators, of Russia, and,
with St. Francis Xavier, of all Catholic missions. She was also declared Doctor of
the Church by Pope John Paul II in 1997.