Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower — Attraction in San Antonio

CAUTION to FUTURE BRIDES considering for their wedding. I wanted to carefully & thoughtfully write this review due to my egregious interactions with Little Flower THROUGHOUT the wedding process.

Background: My family were parishioners for over 45 years, so this church has special meaning to me. Most significantly, my parents were married there. I will also say that my Mom and Dad had a MUCH different (& significantly better) experience when they married in 1980s, prior to the new management/staffing that currently exists.

Unfortunately, everything related to Little Flower, my interactions with the priest the “wedding coordinator”, and all administrative aspects (more so, lack of coordination) have been the most unprofessional, disorganized, & distressing aspects of what’s supposed to be a beautiful day.

I’ll start with the WORST for me: Wedding coordinator did not provide any coordination regarding day-of logistics, and ON WEDDING DAY, she refused to open any doors or rooms/areas for the bridal party or me, the bride. (It is my single biggest regret I did not ask Little Flower PRIOR to paying our stipend/choosing this church, in order to have them ADMIT the lack of accommodations/services). I arrived at 1:15PM for 2PM ceremony & was told to either wait outside in 95 degree weather (in view of all guests/future husband) on steps, or in a car on my wedding day. They have still refused to acknowledge this or apologize for THIS specific treatment. I had to wait in my Dad’s truck and rush to a public bathroom to finish putting my veil and shoes on prior to walking down the aisle. It is a REASONABLE expectation that a bride should be provided this information for her wedding day, & that a well-organized church would provide this service to parishioners and non-parishioners alike as a community organization that operates for a collective, public or social benefit.

To name a few other distressing aspects: they were disorganized on getting all of my documents, there was clear LACK of communications even between their own admin office and the “wedding coordinator”, and I had to spend my own time to double check their receipt of documents multiple times (they lost my certificate from my Confirmation that the Archdiocese of SA sent them and I had to have it re-sent). They were disorganized and not prepared for any meetings. All of the meetings ran over time (1 hour meeting to choose music/go over bridal party procession was 2.5 hours), and wedding rehearsal was completely disorganized & lasted 1.5 hours – longer than actual ceremony – due to her incompetence. She refused to send anything electronically beforehand (despite me requesting multiple times in email to have things sent to me beforehand for efficiency) -- instead, she writes things down and does not function within an electronic/email/technological world. She did NOT coordinate with my own wedding coordinator, with my guest priest, or with me, either prior to wedding rehearsal or during. She made continuous judgmental comments about people being Catholic or not and whether they should receive communion, who was married or divorced, etc., & spoke extremely rude to children, adults, and wedding party alike throughout wedding rehearsal – placing her hands on children and people roughly & without permission, which was noticed by many of my guests & others present. Finally, she very sternly demanded my 65 yo father with chronic health issues & other men to move heavy furniture on the wedding day. I’m assuming because they did not want to or have enough staffing available.

Unfortunately, none of their staff, to date, have exemplified what it truly means to be a Catholic. I have brought my horrible experiences to them multiple times by letters, phone, & email. They continue to blame me as “non-parishioner”, & refuse to address the lack of transparency or what ACTIONABLE CHANGES they will make to prevent the disorganization & treatment that I experienced from happening to other couples. They take no...

As a native San Antonian I took a HIGHLY recommended Basílica tour to know more about the history of the Carmelite Nuns and Friars, the Basílica's foundation ( was humbled to learn that the Carmelite friars from Torreón, Mexico who were invited by the first Archbishop of San Antonio, Reverend Arthur J. Drossaerts, to establish their church here in San Antonio, TX. after they encountered many defiances one of which was in Oklahoma were they faced opposition from the KKK) making it a future blessing for San Antonio as another example of what fruition faith had nationwide during the Great Depression.

If you visit, you will come across all around the interior of the Basílica countless marble plaques with names of nationwide donors who's proceeds at the time of the Great Depression helped fund the construction of the parish on February 22, 1926 (a year after St. Thérèse was canonized by Pope Pius XI in St. Peter's Basilica, same location were she asked Pope Leo XIII for permission to enter the Carmelite convent ) and completion of the parish was finalized in 1931. On September 13, 1987, Pope John Paul II visited San Antonio and the Shrine of the Little Flower ( a stop included along his visit were he celebrated in an outdoor area on the Northwest side of the city, the largest Holy Mass in Texas history with an estimated attendance of 350,000 people. as part of a larger U.S. tour and marked the first and only time a Pope has visited the city.) In August 27, 1998 Pope John Paul II elevated the National Shrine of the Little Flower into a Basílica, 60 years after it was constructed.

The St. Elias chapel was opened for the first time to the public during the tour. Large 8 ft and 6ft paintings of St. Teresa de Avila ( Spain) and St. Thérèse of Lisieux ( France) are on display. St. Thérèse's painting during the tour was shared the lovely fact that her sister guided the artist to make changes on the image of St. Thérèse's face to be more accurate.

The Basílica also has first class relics of St. There's in the Chapel (replica tomb) of St. Thérèse were it can be seen in a ring, an in this occasion one of the priests allowed attendees to do reverance to first class relics of St. Thérèse that were in a Silver and Enamel reliquary. In this visit the first class relics of St. Thérèse parents were on display for veneration as well.

As we encounter throughout history, the story repeats itself where in this occasion the Basílica is in preparation of renovation and has shared with the community their Historic Master Plan of Preservation that started in 2022.

Behind the exterior end of the Basílica you can find their Little Flower Gift shop were its a must to check out. They have a variety of items for all ages as also, provide you with holy water for any holy water bottle. In the photo is a small St. Thérèse stained glass window holy water bottle (glass) and a bookmark with a rose petal. More variety can be found thru books, medallions,...

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower located on N zarzamora near Bandera Rd. is one of the most awesome displays of beauty i have ever witnessed! The golden domes and majestic stance beckoned me closer to take in its history and obvious importance. This catholic church is listed on the national list of historic places and is 1 of 84 minor basilicas in the us, and 1 if 4 in Texas. It was established in 1929 during the depression. It was established under the name of Our Lady of Mt Carmel and St Therese Parish and was completed in 1931. When i opened the doors to the church, i was so overwhelmed by its beauty and sense of spirit that tears literally came to my eyes. It was truly an experience ive never before had. it was so worth the visit. It is definitely beautiful, but you can feel God in this room. I joined in on one of their Sunday masses and again i felt...