Posted on 26 June 2025

Located on the site of the Basilica of Lisieux since 2006, the Sainte Thérèse Wax Museum, which tells the story of Thérèse Martin, from her birth in Alençon to her death at the Carmel of Lisieux in eleven key dioramas with characters created by Grévin, needs you to continue to reach thousands of pilgrims of the whole world.

A museum almost a century old

Created in the late 30s based on an idea by a retired Royal Air Force pilot, Peter Herembrood, suggested to Mother Agnes of Jesus (Pauline, sister of Thérèse), this diorama allows us to discover, through very realistic characters, the major stages of Thérèse's family life and vocation, from her birth in Alençon to her death at the Carmel.

A space open to all thanks to your offering

Admission to the museum is free. However, your donation helps us maintain the museum on a daily basis and encourages its opening as much as possible by a sanctuary volunteer (reception, cleaning, energy, minor repairs, etc.).

donation

Support the Sanctuary: become a benefactor of the Sainte-Thérèse Wax Museum!

Are you ready to give more and contribute to the revival of a little gem of an exhibition that has been delighting pilgrims for almost a hundred years?

Depending on the amount of your donation, we will be able to:

  • Restoring wax figures with the expertise of the Grévin Paris teams
  • Create a more interactive visitor experience using more modern scenography technologies: accessories and sets, lighting effects, visual effects (projections) and sound effects (ambient noises), etc.
  • Developing a new multi-language guidance device with the stories of Saint Therese to listen to on your smartphone using QR codes.
  • Add an important scene from Thérèse's life : the grace of his “complete conversion” which took place at Les Buissonnets on Christmas night 1886.
  • Animating the space of the request to Pope Leo XIII in Rome with reconstruction of dialogues and projections of images to experience the event as if you were there!
  • Create a photo timeline on the walls to illustrate the places where Thérèse lived, from Alençon to the Carmel of Lisieux and enrich the visitor experience.
  • Edit a collector's visitor booklet inspired by the “Life in Images of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus” which was used to design the diorama
  • Renovate the video surveillance system

A conservation and modernization project valued at nearly 200 euros.

donation

Museum open every day by volunteers in July and August (except Sunday morning)
Variable hours the rest of the year.

Free access with suggested donation for the maintenance of the museum:

  • Adult: 3€
  • Child aged 12 to 18: €1
  • Free for under 12 years.