Sanctuaire Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux

What Sanctuaire Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux does

Sanctuaire Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux, operated by Association Sainte Thérèse (a French Association loi 1901 non-profit), is the canonical Catholic pilgrimage shrine dedicated to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (canonized 1925, Doctor of the Church 1997), located at 31 rue du Carmel, Lisieux, Normandy. Its core offerings are the Basilica, the Carmel (with Thérèse's shrine and relics), Les Buissonnets (the Martin family home), the Musée de Cire (wax museum with Maison Grévin figurines), the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre, and supporting visitor infrastructure. The sanctuary serves Catholic pilgrims and the faithful globally, with secondary audiences including youth (via the Pôle jeunes), couples and families, priests and religious, organized group tours, and cultural/heritage tourists.

The technology stack is a conventional multilingual web platform (five languages: French, English, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish) hosted on OVH, built by IRIS Interactive, with online payment via Société Générale. Notable digital features include live-streamed Basilica masses on YouTube, a five-episode MOOC ('Cheminer avec Thérèse'), an interactive SVG site map, a QR-code smartphone audio tour (Pixi), and an e-commerce shop for souvenirs and subscriptions. The business model is donation- and offering-led: free admission to the Basilica and museum with voluntary donations at exit, mass offerings, candle deposits, prayer intentions, and legacies as the primary revenue stream, supplemented by e-commerce (made-to-order printed/embroidered items, no right of withdrawal), 3€ Scriptorium writing kits, subscription to the Revue Thérèse de Lisieux magazine, and fees for organized pilgrimages, retreats, and pilgrim houses (maisons d'accueil). The sanctuary operates with a very small staff of 10 employees, leveraging volunteers and the broader Catholic institutional ecosystem.

Name

Sanctuaire Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux

Legal name

Association Sainte Thérèse

Website

https://therese-de-lisieux.catholique.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sanctuaire Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux is a Catholic pilgrimage shrine in Lisieux, France, serving global pilgrims through the Basilica, Carmel, Les Buissonnets, and a multilingual digital platform with live-streamed masses, e-commerce, and spiritual formation programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Pilgrimage and Sanctuary Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Places of Worship & Religious Facilities Operations (Cemeteries, Retreat Centers, Pilgrimage Sites) (BPAGAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Group Travel (Church/Mosque/Temple) Organizers (THAKAHAH), Devotional & Prayer Publishing (Devotionals, Prayer Books, Meditation Guides) (MPAJAHAB), Sermon, Homiletics & Ministry Resource Publishing (Preaching Aids, Pastoral Resources) (MPAJAHAD)

Keywords

• Catholic pilgrimage services
• Religious heritage tourism
• Spiritual retreats
• Devotional publications
• Sanctuary visits

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisieux

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Offerings: Visitors and supporters make financial donations, offer masses, deposit candles, and submit prayer intentions. The sanctuary also accepts legacies (faire un legs au Sanctuaire). These form the primary voluntary income stream.
2. E-commerce Sales (Souvenirs and Prayer Aids): Sale of religious souvenirs, prayer supports, and printed/embroidered items. The CGV states these are made-to-order printed or embroidered products, for which no right of withdrawal applies. Prices are indicated in euros including all taxes.
3. Subscription to Review (Revue Thérèse de Lisieux): Sale of annual or periodic subscriptions to the printed Revue Thérèse de Lisieux, a spiritual magazine published by the sanctuary.
4. Scriptorium Experience Kits: Writing kits (3€ offering) for the SCRIPTORIUM [re] Prendre la plume immersive exhibition, which includes writing materials and access to the scriptorium space.
5. Pilgrimage and Group Visit Services: Organized group pilgrimages, youth programs, and group stays facilitated by the sanctuary's dedicated group services and youth pole.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

The Sanctuaire Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux is a Catholic pilgrimage complex that operates the Basilica, the Carmel with Saint Thérèse's relics, the Martin family home (Les Buissonnets), a wax museum, and Saint-Pierre Cathedral. It provides daily masses, confessions, prayer intentions, candle deposits, spiritual retreats (for priests, couples, fiancés, youth), guided tours, and hosts immersive exhibitions such as Scriptorium and the Pixi miniature show. It also runs an e-commerce shop for religious souvenirs, publishes the Revue Thérèse de Lisieux magazine, and offers digital content including live-streamed masses and a five-episode MOOC on Saint Thérèse's spirituality.

Product overview

The Sanctuaire Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux is a Catholic pilgrimage complex operated by Association Sainte Thérèse, offering a unified portfolio of spiritual services and religious tourism experiences. The core offering comprises the historic Basilica, Carmel convent (with Thérèse's shrine), the Martin family home (Les Buissonnets), a wax museum with Pixi figurines, and Saint-Pierre Cathedral. Supporting services include daily masses, confessions, spiritual retreats for various groups (priests, couples, fiancés), guided tours including dome visits and nighttime tours, online prayer intention submission, a nine-day novena devotion, and religious souvenirs. The sanctuary also hosts immersive exhibitions such as SCRIPTORIUM focused on Thérèse's letters, and publishes the Thérèse de Lisieux magazine. Accommodation for pilgrims is available through sanctuary-operated houses. The digital presence enables virtual visits, live broadcasts of services, and online spiritual resources including a five-episode video course on Thérèse's life.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Basilique Sainte-Thérèse

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Diocèse de Bayeux et LisieuxcoreOthersThe sanctuary operates within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Diocèse de Bayeux et Lisieux. The Archbishop of Rouen (currently Monseigneur Dominique Lebrun) presides over major sanctuary events and ordains priests. The sanctuary's religious activities (masses, confessions, retreats, processions) are conducted under the authority of the diocese.
• Sanctuaire d'Alençon (Sanctuaire Louis et Zélie)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Alençon sanctuary, located where Louis and Zélie Martin lived for 19 years of their married life, is the complementary pilgrimage destination to Lisieux. Both sanctuaries together form the Martin family spiritual circuit. The sanctuary's website explicitly cross-promotes Alençon as part of the overall sanctuary experience and heritage.
• Office du Tourisme de LisieuxminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe sanctuary is cross-listed with the Lisieux Tourist Office, which refers visitors and tourists to the sanctuary as a key heritage destination in Normandy. The sanctuary links to the tourist office site for broader area visit information.
• Pixi (Ateliers Pixi, Normandie)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPixi, a Normandy-based specialist in collectible figurines, created the 21-scene immersive miniature exhibition 'Pixi au cloître: la petite histoire de Sainte Thérèse' displayed in the cloister of the Basilica. This is a signature experiential offering of the sanctuary, combining heritage storytelling with contemporary collectible art.
• Maison Grévin (Grévin Paris)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Musée de Cire Sainte-Thérèse (wax museum) uses Grévin-style wax figurines, initiated at the suggestion of a retired pilot to Mother Agnes of Jesus in the late 1930s and established on the Basilica grounds since 2006. The wax figures depict key scenes from Saint Thérèse's life and were created by Grévin artisans.
• Diocèse de Bayeux et Lisieux - Various Priests and ChapelainscoreOthersPriests associated with the sanctuary include the Rector of the sanctuary (who delivers regular Sunday homilies), chapelains such as Père Rémy Houette, and visiting prelates including Mgr Celestino Migliore and Archbishop Dominique Lebrun. The sanctuary serves as a priestly formation and retreat center.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sanctuaire de Fátima: The Portuguese Catholic sanctuary built around the 1917 Marian apparitions at Cova da Iria, attracting several million pilgrims annually. Comparable as an internationally significant Marian-themed Catholic shrine with basilica, apparition site, multilingual services and group-pilgrimage infrastructure.
• Knock Shrine: An international Catholic pilgrimage and apparition shrine in County Mayo, Ireland, with basilica, museum, hospitality and multilingual outreach. Comparable as a mid-sized Catholic sanctuary dependent on pilgrim footfall, donations, retreats and group bookings.
• Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe: The most visited Catholic shrine in the world, located near Mexico City and dedicated to the Marian apparition to Juan Diego. Comparable in scale and function as a globally significant Marian pilgrimage complex with basilica, museums, accommodation and multilingual services.
• Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes: France's most visited Catholic pilgrimage sanctuary, dedicated to the Marian apparitions of 1858. Directly comparable as a multi-site Catholic pilgrimage destination offering masses, processions, healing pools, accommodation and multilingual digital outreach in France.
• Sanctuaire de La Salette: A French Marian apparition sanctuary in the Alps operating a basilica, pilgrim accommodation and retreat programs. Comparable as a small-to-mid-sized French Catholic pilgrimage site dependent on donations, retreats and group visits.
• Sanctuaire d'Alençon: The complementary French sanctuary dedicated to Louis and Zélie Martin, parents of Sainte Thérèse, in Alençon. Closely comparable because it is operated as part of the same Martin family pilgrimage circuit that Lisieux promotes, with overlapping audience and shared spiritual proposition.
• Sanctuaire de Paray-le-Monial: A French Catholic pilgrimage complex associated with the devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Visitation monastery. Comparable as a French monastic-pilgrimage site combining basilica visits, retreats and group hospitality under a religious non-profit structure.
• Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de La Garde (Marseille): A major basilica and pilgrimage site in Marseille serving both Catholic devotees and cultural tourists, with museum, treasury and panoramic visitor experiences. Comparable as a French religious-heritage site combining free devotional access with paid experiential tourism.

Regional players

• Pèlerinages Diocésains de France: A French diocesan organization that aggregates, packages and retails organized pilgrimage trips to domestic and international Catholic sites. Comparable as a regional French intermediary that competes for the same organized-pilgrimage customers through tour-operator relationships.

Broad incumbents

• Catholic Church of England and Wales - Shrine Network: The institutional English and Welsh Catholic network coordinating national shrine operations and pilgrimage promotion. Comparable as a broader coordinating umbrella for Catholic shrine management, donor relations and pilgrimage logistics in a different national jurisdiction.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sanctulisieux
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC3NOtNPWxtSc86IzXTXezUw/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/sanctuairetheresedelisieux
• Instagraminstagram.com/saintethereselisieux
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sanctuaire-de-lisieux

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sanctuaire Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux