{"nrhp_refnum":"98000843","name":"Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Therese Church","other_names":["National Shrine of the Little Flower"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"906 Kentucky","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Antonio","county":"Bexar County","state":"TX","lat":29.446085109000023,"lon":-98.52536000199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-07-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Beaux Arts-style limestone church, also called the National Shrine of the Little Flower, with an adjoining Discalced Carmelite monastery, both built in 1931 at 906 Kentucky on San Antonio's west side, Texas. The church was designed by Charles Lester Monnot.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the shrine as a regional, eclectic Beaux Arts church built by the Discalced Carmelites to honor St. Therese of Lisieux. It grew from the Carmelites' ministry to San Antonio's Mexican and Hispanic west side community. It also has notable interior artistry, including marble altars, mosaics, carved statuary, wrought iron gates and stained glass. The buildings retain a high degree of integrity.","narrative":"Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Therese Church, known as the National Shrine of the Little Flower, and its adjoining Carmelite monastery occupy a half city block on San Antonio's west side. Completed in 1931, both buildings are clad in gray Bedford, Indiana limestone over steel and concrete frames. The cruciform church rises to a 118-foot campanile and a large octagonal dome, mixing Mediterranean and Spanish motifs with Classical detailing in a regional Beaux Arts manner. Inside, carved Carrara marble altars, mosaics, a large wooden statuary group made in Valencia, Spain, wrought iron gates, and stained glass use the rose, symbol of St. Therese, as a recurring theme. The Discalced Carmelites came to the city at the invitation of Bishop Drossaerts to serve the largely Mexican west side, and Father Raymond Gomez envisioned a national shrine to the saint. Both buildings still serve their original religious uses and retain a high degree of architectural integrity.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Charles Lester Monnot (architect, per drawings); Louis Rodriguez (altar designs, sculptor); Theo Voss (ironwork)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Beaux Arts","criteria":[],"status_note":"Buildings continue in their original religious uses; the Shrine is in good condition and the monastery in fair condition, with foundation stress from hydrostatic pressure.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.53122-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/55/9711/40971155/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/98000843.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000843/d90bc1a7ec-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000843/d90bc1a7ec-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Zereshk","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Basicilica_Minor_SA5.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Zereshk</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Basicilica_Minor_SA5.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971155","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_the_National_Shrine_of_the_Little_Flower","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4867415"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/bexar-county/our-lady-of-mount-carmel-and-st-therese-church-98000843/"}