Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Therese Church

The National Shrine of the Little Flower (officially named Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Therese Church) and adjacent monastery were constructed in 1931 by the Discalced Carmelites, a Catholic religious order known for its prayer and missionary activities.

Bishop Arthur J. Drossaerts, impressed with the order's successful missionary work with the poor in Oklahoma, invited the Discalced Carmelites to San Antonio in 1923. On February 22, 1926, Drossaerts established a new parish in the West End district of San Antonio where the Carmelites would serve 150 families. A modest building was constructed to house a chapel and school at Zarzamora and Kentucky Streets. Encouraged by his visit with the family of St. Therese in Lisieux, France, the Vicar Provincial of the Discalced Carmelites in the United States moved forward with a plan to build a shrine to this saint, called the "Little Flower." San Antonio was selected as the site, and in 1927, an international campaign was undertaken to raise almost $600,000 to construct and furnish the church and monastery. Charles Lester Monnot Sr. of Oklahoma City, a prominent church designer, was chosen as architect for the shrine. Monument maker and artist, Louis Rodriguez, was selected to design many of the church's decorative features including the statue of St. Therese topping the church, the altar and railings, and inset mosaic tile panels. Wooden statues were carved in Spain and marble works in Italy and the works dismantled and shipped to San Antonio where they were reassembled by Rodriguez. Decorative iron gates separating the tomb chapel from the main sanctuary and baptistry from the narthex and side aisle were designed by Charles Monnot and manufactured by San Antonio's Voss Metal Works under the direction of master metal smith Theo Voss. Concrete floor tiles in the monastery were manufactured by San Antonio's Aztec Art Tile Company. The completed building dominated the skyline of western San Antonio and its grand scale and elaborate interior decoration were unsurpassed in local ecclesiastical design. Begun in October 1929, just two weeks before the stock market crash, the church was dedicated in September-October 1931 in the midst of the Depression. The National Shrine of the Little Flower meets Criterion C (local level) in the areas of Architecture and Art as a fine and intact example of 20th century church design by noted church architect Charles M. Monnot, Sr., and as a building that incorporates the artistry of Louis Rodriguez, Voss Metal Works, the Aztec Concrete Tile Company, and the Emil Frei Stained Glass Company, all skilled practitioners of their crafts. The building continues to dominate San Antonio's West End, today a commercial and residential neighborhood, and retains a remarkable degree of integrity.