St. Therese’s Jardin D’Amour in Tayabas celebrates her feast day on Oct. 1

MANILA, Philippines - On Oct. 1, 2014, businesswoman Amor Baldovino went to the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese (MCST) in Tayabas, Quezon. It was the feast day of St. Therese de Lisieux. Born Marie-Francoise Therese Martin, the discalced Carmelite nun is also known as The Little Flower of Jesus or The Little Flower.  

Filipinos like to choose their patron saint based on the traits they admire in them when the saints were ordinary people like us, and for Baldovino, St. Therese embodied a life of “simplicity and practicality in her approach to the spiritual life.”

She personified quietness — but also steely resolve that she showed even as a young girl. When she wanted to become a Carmelite nun at 14, the head superior of the convent told her she was too young, so Therese went to the bishop, who told her the same thing. Her family took her to Rome for a pilgrimage and when they had an audience with the Pope, Therese — against protocol — beseeched him to let them accept her into the Carmelite Convent. The Vicar General was so impressed by her courage and resolve that Therese was soon accepted, joining her sisters Pauline and Marie who were already in the convent. 

It is against the background of her life that the feast day of St. Therese was celebrated last year in Quezon. Baldovino was walking around the grounds when she heard a beautiful voice calling out her name.

“Even today, when I tell the story, I get goose bumps all over,” says Baldovino. “I heard a very beautiful voice calling out to me, saying, ‘Amor, make me a garden, a garden of love. Make my statue all white, not wearing the Carmelite habit.’”

And then a very specific request: “I do not want my statue elevated on a podium so that people would look up at me. I want it at ground level so people could touch me.”

Thus began construction of a rose garden that Baldovino called Jardin D’Amour. (or Garden of Love) on the grounds of the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese convent with the focal point being a life size-statue of St. Therese.

For the past year, the garden of St. Therese has welcomed the faithful from all walks of life and all who want to take refuge in a peaceful place to reflect and meditate.

Since it was opened to the public, parishioners and visitors have strongly felt that St. Therese has manifested herself through various blessings and intercessions in their lives.

Jardin D’Amour is open daily to all from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be a concelebrated Mass at 10 a.m. on Oct. 1, St. Therese’s feast day, at MCST and it’s open to the public.