THE silent nave of St Teresa's Church seems alive with a sense of expectation as we open the door and a shaft of morning sunlight floods inside.

Father Tom Finnegan leads the way along the aisle, passing a series of atmospheric photographs of the 19th century Carmelite nun who would go on to become a saint just 30 years after her untimely death – and eventually give her name to this very church.

For centuries the faithful have travelled the world in pilgrimage to honour the mortal remains of the Catholic world's numerous saints and martyrs.

But Saint Teresa is different. For the past 10 years, she's been on a world tour. Enclosed by her strict Carmelite order in life, her relics have travelled thousands of miles in death. Rather than wait for pilgrims to travel to her – she has been travelling to them.

Next month she comes to England and Wales for the first time – a tour that takes her around the country's finest Catholic cathedrals, to convents that would have seemed familiar to her in life, and even to Wormwood Scrubs prison.

But when she comes to Bristol, she won't be heading to the relative grandeur of Clifton Cathedral – she will be visiting the Filton church that was one of the first in the world to take her name, when it was built shortly after the end of World War II.

The 400-seat capacity church will never have seen crowds like it. Thousands are expected to turn up to pay homage to the relics of Saint Teresa – or St Thérèse of Lisieux to give her proper title.

As we reach the Sanctuary, before the altar, Father Tom points out the place where the mahogany casket containing the beatified bones will be placed, so pilgrims can file past and call upon the saint to intercede in the health of their loved ones.

"St Teresa is a particularly inspiring individual for the Catholic community," Father Tom explains, as he stands in front of a life-sized photograph of the saint, who seems to look down upon our conversation with patient eyes.

"She was one of the first saints ever to be photographed in life – her sister was a keen photographer, at a time when photography was in its infancy – so we're lucky enough to have pictures of her from throughout her short life.

"She was born in Lisieux in Normandy in 1873, the youngest of nine children – of whom just five survived to adulthood. Her four elder sisters also became nuns.

"She lost her mother to breast cancer when she was four years old, and this had a profound effect upon her. Afterwards she adopted one of her elder sisters as a mother figure, but she left to join a convent when Thérèse was 10 years old. It devastated the young girl to such an extent that she had what today we would call a mental breakdown.

"Shortly afterwards Thérèse decided that she also wanted to join a religious order, but the abbess and the local bishop said she was too young.

"But at the age of 14 she was lucky enough to join her wealthy father on a visit to the Vatican, where they had been granted an audience with the Pope.

"She was supposed to approach the Pope, kiss the papal ring, and then depart silently. But being a bit precocious for a 14-year-old, she decided to talk to the Holy Father.

"She told the Pope about her great desire to join a convent, and he said that if it was God's will for her to become a nun, then it would happen. Not long afterward the papal audience, the local abbess in Normandy changed her mind, and agreed to allow Thérèse to join the convent."

The young girl then lived the austere life of a Carmelite nun for the rest of her life.

"She contracted TB at around the age of 22, and two years later she died," Father Tom says. "While she was on her deathbed, the prioress of the convent – who happened to be her elder sister – noticed that there was something special about Thérèse, and she asked her to write a short autobiography."

The book that Thérèse wrote before her death was called The Journey Of A Soul. The simple book outlined, with a poetic turn of phrase, how Thérèse believed God's love empowered everyone on Earth.

"It was one of the turning points that shifted religion away from the fear of God and to concentrate on the love of God," Father Tom explains.

It was published shortly after her death, and became an almost immediate best-seller across the Catholic world – its innocent beauty appealing to Catholics from all walks of life. The book, now commonly known as The Little Way, continues to inspire hundreds of thousands of Catholics across the world.

"It reassures us that everyone, no matter what their station in life, is capable of making the world a better place through the most simple actions," he says.

On her deathbed, Thérèse had promised to spend her time in heaven doing great work – sending down "roses" to Earth from heaven.

As her book's success developed after her death in 1897, miracles of her intercession in the health of people who were believed to have been terminally ill, began to be reported. It was the starting point for beatification, which eventually came in the late 1920s.

"She remains a powerful force in the lives of many Catholics," Father Tom says.

"But when we visit her relics, the key thing to realise is that the experience is bringing us closer to Jesus Christ – it's not about venerating Saint Teresa herself – she reminds us of the presence of God."

The relics will arrive in a specially commissioned hearse at 2.30pm on Wednesday, September 23.

"I will lead a welcome liturgy, then there will be a period from 3.15pm to 6.30pm for private prayer and reflection.

"At that time we will allow the queue to approach the relics, and people will be able to file past and, if they wish, to touch the Perspex casing over the mahogany casket.

"Throughout the entire time that the relics are here, we will have people in constant prayer – one either side of the relics – to remind people of the holy nature of the occasion."

There will be a special mass at 7pm, followed by a further opportunity for private prayers and veneration of relics from 8.30pm to 11.30pm.

This will be followed by an all-night vigil, until a final mass is given at 9am on the Thursday morning, shortly after which the relics will leave Bristol as the saint continues her journey.

"It's going to be a very special occasion," Father Tom says. "It's very difficult for us to predict how many people will come to see the relics, but we will have loud speakers set up outside the church so those who can't get in are able to hear the mass.

"When Saint Thérèse came to Ireland a few years ago, almost half the population of the entire nation came out to see her – two million people in a country of 4.5 million. It's truly remarkable just how much she means to people's lives, and for us, it is a great honour to be able to play host to her relics in this very special way."