Roses from heaven will fall over the Shrine of St. Therese Lisieux, the Little Flower of Jesus, onSunday during the 85th annual Shower of Roses.

The event is held at the former Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 1 E. Garibaldi Ave., in the New Columbus section of Nesquehoning.The festival restarted in 2012, four years after the Allentown Diocese closed Our Lady of Mount Carmel, folding it, along with Sacred Heart and Immaculate Conception churches, into a new church, St. Francis of Assisi, which was closed last July. St. Joseph of the Panther Valley in Summit Hill now serves the shrine.The day starts at 11 a.m. with homemade ethnic foods, a spaghetti dinner and entertainment available at the Madonna Hall behind the shrine.At 1 p.m. there will be a Mass in the shrine, celebrated by the Most Rev. Alfred Schlert, bishop of Allentown, and the crowning of the Rose Queen.At 3 p.m., the devotees will process around the Little Flower development while reciting the rosary. A benediction will be held at 4 p.m., with the Shower of Roses taking place at 5 p.m., weather permitting.The Rose Queen will change into Carmelite habit during the benediction to represent St. Therese during the rose drop. She will be standing on the stairs of the shrine as the roses fall down over the attendees.The roses represent the belief that when someone's prayer is answered by St. Therese, that person will smell the fragrance of roses, or find a rose in an unusual place. The belief is thought to have come from St. Therese's promise to send a shower of roses to earth as proof of God's existence. St. Therese was canonized in 1925.Before the Shower of Roses, the shrine will hold an Exposition of the Holy Eucharist at 6 p.m., followed by the Novena to St. Therese and Benediction at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.For more information on the Shower of Roses, call shrine director Sheree Strauss at 570-669-6075, St. Joseph of the Panther Valley Parish office at 570-645-2664 or visit

www.shrineofsainttherese.com.