Thérèse

Thérèse is a work which holds many special meanings for Clement. It was a birthday gift his long-time best friend, whom he has known since the second grade and with whom he has largely shared his journey of faith. Upon her confirmation into the Catholic Church, she took the name Thérèse, inspired by her patroness, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, also known as "The Little Flower." St. Thérèse's short life on Earth was vastly influential, and she is recognized as a Doctor of the Church for her teachings on the necessity of humility, known affectionately as "the Little Way."

Roses are especially associated with St. Thérèse, who once promised that she would "let fall a shower of roses" from Heaven. This rose was obtained from a rose garden dedicated to Cistercian martyrs at the Monastery of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia. The stem of the rose terminates in a shape which resembles an inverted τ (tau), a letter in the Greek alphabet associated with the Cross and which was adopted as a symbol of the Order of Friars Minor, or the Franciscans. Clement's best friend, before adopting St. Thérèse as her patron saint, strongly considered adopting St. Francis as her patron.

Thérèse is particularly special because it is a third-class relic of St. Thérèse, having been touched to a relic from her corpse in the custody of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit. As such, it is truly a rose from Heaven.