Carmelites
Ordo Fratrum Beatissimæ Virginis Mariæ de Monte Carmelo ( Latin for 'With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts') | |
General Headquarters | Curia Generalizia dei Carmelitani Via Giovanni Lanza, 138, 00184 Rome, Italy |
---|---|
Mícéal O'Neill, OCarm | |
Patron saints | Our Lady of Mount Carmel Elijah |
Parent organization | Catholic Church |
Website | ocarm |
The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (
Names
The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel are also known simply as the Carmelites or the Carmelite Order. To differentiate themselves from the Discalced Carmelites (founded in 1562), who grew out of the older order but today have more members, the original Carmelites are sometimes known as the Carmelites of the Ancient Observance and very rarely the Calced Carmelites (discalced being a reference to some religious orders going barefoot or wearing sandals instead of shoes).
History
Spiritual origin
The Carmelite Order is one of the few monastic orders, if not the only one, not to refer to a charismatic founder, but to a prophet of the
Hermit and monastic life on Mount Carmel
Before the presence of the Carmelites, in the 6th century Byzantine monks built a monastery dedicated to Saint Elijah in a valley a few kilometers south of the present monastery. This was destroyed in 614 by the Persians of Khosrow II. Around 1150, a Greek monk from Calabria established a community of about ten members among the ruins of the ancient Byzantine monastery which he rebuilt and renamed Saint Elijah.
Foundation of the Order on Mount Carmel
Tradition indicates that the order was founded in 1185, but that is based on the story of a pilgrim in the Holy Land, the interpretation of which remains questionable. The oldest (and most reliable) written accounts of the presence of Latin hermits on Mount Carmel date back to 1220 and another text from 1263 (See Steinmann 1963, p. 24). During the Third Crusade, a group of hermits led by Berthold of Calabria began to inhabit the caves of Mount Carmel following the prophet Elijah. This first monastery was located in the east–west facing valley located 3.5 km (2.2 mi) south of the current monastery, and east of the "Haifa Sde Yehoshua Cemetery".
At the beginning of the 13th century, their leader was supposed to be
The first act of the Order of Brothers of The Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel was to dedicate a chapel to the Virgin Mary under the title of Mary, Star of the Sea (in Latin: Stella Maris). Elisabeth Steinmann considers it probable that the hermits of Mount Carmel also settled in some cities of Palestine (
The rule of St. Albert was not approved by a pope until 30 January 1226 in the bull Ut vivendi normam of
At the end of the first crusade led by
Jerg Ratgeb painted a fresco retracing the life of the Carmelites at the beginning of the 16th century, on the walls of the refectory of the Carmelite monastery in Frankfurt.
From hermits to friars
Back in Europe, the hermits of Carmel encountered many difficulties. Their
Gradually, during the 13th century, Carmelite hermits returning from Mount Carmel resettled throughout Europe, e.g. in Cyprus, Sicily, Italy, England, and southern France. Some dates and locations are known:
- in 1235, Pierre de Corbie and his companion settled in the Duchy of Hainaut (Valenciennes);
- in 1242, Carmelites settled in Aylesford, Kent, England;
- in 1244, Carmelites disembarked in Marseille, France, and settled in caves in Aygalades;
- in 1259, Carmelites settled in Paris, France; and
- in 1274, Carmelites settled in Dublin, Ireland.
However, the new settlements of the Carmelites in the European cities were very different from their eremitical life on Mount Carmel. In addition, they faced hostility from the secular clergy and even from other mendicant orders, who saw them as competitors.
According to tradition, the prior general of the Carmelites, Simon Stock, worried about the very difficult situation of the order, which was still threatened with dissolution by the Catholic Church, intensely prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary to aid the order. In 1251, Our Lady of Mount Carmel appeared to him accompanied by a multitude of angels and holding in her hand the Scapular of the Order. In his vision, Mary said
Receive, my dear son, this scapular of your Order, as the distinctive sign of the mark of the privilege that I have obtained for you and the children of Carmel; it is a sign of salvation, a safeguard in perils and the pledge of peace and special protection until the end of the centuries. Whoever dies in this garment will be preserved from eternal fires.
Following this vision, and the spread of the Scapular, the Order of Carmel endured and spread rapidly. The historicity of these events is disputed because of the lack of contemporary written records for the period in question; the earliest extant written records are from approximately 150 years later), and some documents contradict this narrative.
In the bull Paganorum incursus of 27 July 1247, Pope
In 1247, the Carmelites asked Pope
The last great uncertainty for the survival of the order occurred in 1274. During the sanota vacillationis session of 17 July 1274, the
After the General Chapter of the Order of 1287 in Montpellier, France, the Carmelites replaced the white and brown striped, or barred, coat of their habit with a white cloak, because of which cloak they therefore colloquially were denominated "White Friars".
The assimilation of the Carmelites as a mendicant order in 1326 by Pope
Mitigation of the rule
The mitigation of the Rule came after the great epidemic of the Black Death in the middle of the 14th century, which brought about a collapse of the European population accompanied by a decrease of members of monastic orders.
During the chapter of Nantes, a majority of Carmelites asked to appeal to Pope
The letter, dated 15 February 1432, indicated that
Many professed members of the Order can no longer observe the rule because of its severity and rigor, both because of the fragility human than by weakness of the body.
Two Carmelites were sent to convey this request to the Pope. The Pope responded in 1435 with the bull Romani Pontificis, dated 15 February 1432, the date of the petition. Addressed to the Prior General, Jean Faci, the bull granted the Carmelites permission to freely and lawfully stay and walk "in their churches, and in the cloisters of these and in the places adjoining them at the appropriate times", moreover, it granted the faculty to eat meat three days a week, except during Advent and Lent and on other days when this was prohibited by general law.
Pope
Pope
Attempts of reforms
The advantages of the new rule were sometimes frowned upon in certain monasteries which wished to return to the old rule of 1247. The convents of La Selve (near Florence), Mantua and Géronde (Switzerland) thrived because of their tendency to observe the ancient observant rule. The Carmelites of Mantua obtained from Pope Eugene IV the bull Fama laudabilis, in 1442, which allowed them to be a separate congregation, governed by a vicar general and only distantly subject to the prior general. While influential during the 15th century, the "Reform of Mantua" subsequently became of marginal influence. Finally, this mitigation introduced around 1465 was definitively incorporated into the regulation of the Order of the Great Carmelites in 1783 by Pope Pius VI.
John Soreth, a friar from the Carmelite Convent of Caen, who served as Prior General in the years 1451-1471, tried to convince his subjects to lead a more rigorous religious life by developing seeds already sown and promoting movements that already existed. His motto was "Return to the Rule of Saint Albert". In his early decrees he protested against privileges and exemptions, seen as a major cause of the decline of the order.
The constitutions of the order dating from 1362 were revised and the text approved by the general chapter of Brussels in 1462. They insisted on
The divine office, the vow of poverty, silence and solitude, the custody of the convent and the cell, studies, work and the visits of the superiors.
The reform took hold in some of the convents, the "observant convents", and the "mixed convents". John Soreth hoped that his reform would gradually be imposed in all the houses of the order, but this attempt at reform remained largely unfulfilled since the prior general who followed him favored a return to a mitigation of the rule, and met with the approval of Popes Pius II and Sixtus IV.
In 1523 Pope
In 1499, the Reform of Albi aimed at a return to a more strict observance and in 1513 was approved as a "Congregation of Observance". However, this reform was suppressed in 1584 by Pope
In 1603, Henri Sylvius, Prior General of the Order, went to France at the request of the king
By the middle of the 17th century, most of the French provinces had adopted the reform, which had already won over the convents of Belgium (1624) and Germany. Its constitutions were definitively affirmed in 1635.
In 1645, during the general chapter held in Rome, the provincial of Touraine, Léon de Saint-Jean, was appointed a member of a committee to further revise these constitutions with a view to having them adopted by all the reformed convents of the order.
Foundation of Carmelite Nuns
From the Middle Ages, women close to the communities of Carmelite friars were drawn to their life of prayer. Thus, in the Low Countries some
On 7 October 1452, Pope
Foundation of the Third Order
John Soreth played an extremely important role in the founding of the Third Order of the Carmelites. Pope Nicholas V supported this action in his bull Cum Nulla, too.
In France, there were many Carmelite fraternities of the Third Order before the Revolution. Many died during the French Revolution, but a few evolved and organized themselves into a religious congregation of apostolic life.
Currently the Third Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel has a large number of fraternities in many countries. Following the return of the Carmelites of the Old observance to France in 1989, at the request of the laity, fraternities began to be formed. The first fraternity was established in the diocese of Toulon in 1992. A second was in Nantes in 2001.
Teresian reform
Reform in Spain began in earnest in the 1560s, with the work of Teresa of Ávila, who, together with John of the Cross, established the Discalced Carmelites. Teresa's foundations were welcomed by King Philip II of Spain, who was most anxious for all Orders to be reformed according to the principles of the Council of Trent (1545–1563). But she created practical problems at the grassroots level. The proliferation of new religious houses in towns that were already struggling to cope economically was an unwelcome prospect. Local townspeople resisted direction by the nobility and diocesan clergy. Teresa tried to make her monasteries as self-sufficient as was practicable, and accordingly restricted the number of nuns in each community.
The Discalced Carmelites also faced much opposition from unreformed Carmelite houses, as when Carmelites from Toledo arrested and imprisoned John of the Cross in their monastery. Only in the 1580s did the Discalced Carmelites gain official approval of their status. In 1593, the Discalced Carmelites had their own superior general styled praepositus general, the first such being Nicholas Doria. Due to the politics of foundation, the Discalced friars in Italy were canonically erected as a separate juridical entity.
After the rise of
Carmelite nunneries were established in
Papebroch controversy
From 1681 to 1693 there appeared between twenty or thirty pamphlets castigating Papebroch and his work. The series culminated in the large quarto volume signed by Sebastian of St. Paul, provincial of the Flemish-Belgian province of the Carmelite Order, which made serious charges against Papebroch's orthodoxy. Learning that steps were being taken to obtain a condemnation from Rome of the Acta Sanctorum, the Bollandists responded. Conrad Janninck replied first with open letters to Sebastian of St. Paul. The two letters were printed in 1693, followed by a more extended defense of the "Acta", published by Janninck in 1695. Papebroch published his rebuttal in 1696, 1697, and 1698 in the three volumes of the "Responsio Danielis Papebrochii ad Exhibitionem Errorum".
When Rome did not issue a condemnation the adversaries of Papebroch had recourse to the tribunal of the Spanish Inquisition, which in November, 1695, issued a decree condemning the fourteen volumes of the Acta Sanctorum published up to that time and branding it heretical. Janninck was sent to Rome not only to prevent the confirmation by Rome of the decree of the Spanish Inquisition, but also to secure the retraction of the decree. In December, 1697, he received the assurance that no censure would be passed against the volumes condemned in Spain. On 20 November 1698, Pope Innocent XII issued a brief that ended the controversy by imposing silence on both parties. Whether it was judged prudent in Rome not to enter into conflict with the Spanish tribunal, or whether the latter prolonged the affair by passive resistance, the decree of condemnation made in 1695 was not revoked until 1715, the year following the death of Papebroch.
Modern history
Leaders of the Carmelite Order meet from time to time in General Congregation. The most recent General Congregation took place in Fátima, Portugal from 18 to 30 September 2016.[10] Since the 1430s, the Congregation of Mantua had continued to function in its little corner of Italy. It was only at the end of the 19th century that those following the reform of Tourraine (by this time known as the "strict observance") and the Mantuan Congregation were formally merged under one set of constitutions. The friars following Mantua conceded to Tourraine's Constitutions but insisted that the older form of the habit – namely their own – should be adopted. In a photograph of the period Titus Brandsma is shown in the habit of Tourraine as a novice; in all subsequent images he wears that of the newly styled ancient observance.
The French Revolution led to the suppression of the order, with the nuns dispersed into small groups who lived out of view in private houses. At the peak of the persecution, a Carmelite convent, now known as the Martyrs of Compiègne, were executed by guillotine. After the end of the disturbances, the wealthy heiress Camille de Soyécourt who became later the Carmelite Thérèse-Camille de l'Enfant-Jésus did much to restore the Carmelite life in France.[11] The secularization in Germany and the repercussions on religious orders following the unification of Italy were strong blows to the Carmelites.[citation needed]
By the last decades of the 19th century, there were approximately 200 Carmelite men throughout the world. At the beginning of the 20th century, however, new leadership and less political interference[who?] allowed a rebirth of the order. Existing provinces began re-founding provinces that had become defunct. The theological preparation of the Carmelites was strengthened, particularly with the foundation of St. Albert's College in Rome.
By 2001, the membership had increased to approximately 2,100 men in 25 provinces, 700 enclosed nuns in 70 monasteries, and 13 affiliated Congregations and Institutes. In addition, the Third Order of lay Carmelites count 25,000–30,000 members throughout the world. Provinces exist in Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Hungary, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Portugal and the United States. Delegations directly under the Prior General exist in Argentina, France, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Lebanon, the Philippines and Portugal.
Carmelite Missions exist in
Monasteries of enclosed Carmelite nuns exist in Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand (in Christchurch since 1933), Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. Hermit communities of either men or women exist in Brazil, France, Indonesia, Lebanon, Italy and the United States.
The
Several Carmelite saints have received significant attention in the 20th and 21st centuries. In 1970, Teresa of Avila became the first woman to be named a
Raphael Kalinowski (1835–1907) was the first friar to be canonized in the order since co-founder John of the Cross. The writings and teachings of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, a Carmelite friar of the 17th century, continue as a spiritual classic under the title The Practice of the Presence of God. Other non-religious (i.e., non-vowed monastic) great figures include George Preca, a Maltese priest and Carmelite Tertiary. The Feast of All Carmelite Saints and Blesseds is celebrated on 14 November.[17]
Carmelite spirituality
Habit and scapular
Sacramental garments |
General |
---|
Specific scapulars |
|
Catholicism portal |
In 1287, the original way of life of the order was changed to conform to that of the
A miniature version of the Carmelite scapular is popular among Roman Catholics and is one of the most popular
Visions and devotions
Among the various Catholic orders, Carmelite nuns have had a proportionally high ratio of visions of Jesus and Mary and have been responsible for key Catholic devotions.
From the time of her clothing in the Carmelite religious habit (1583) until her death (1607), Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi is said to have had a series of raptures and ecstasies.
- First, these raptures sometimes seized upon her whole being with such force as to compel her to rapid motion (e.g. towards some sacred object).
- Secondly, she was frequently able, whilst in ecstasy, to carry on working e.g., embroidery, painting, with perfect composure and efficiency.
- Thirdly, during these raptures Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi gave utterance to maxims of Divine Love, and to counsels of perfection for souls. These were preserved by her companions, who (unknown to her) wrote them down.
In the Carmelite convent of
In the 19th century, another Carmelite nun, Thérèse of Lisieux, was instrumental in spreading devotion to the Holy Face[23] throughout France in the 1890s with her many poems and prayers. Eventually Pope Pius XII approved the devotion in 1958 and declared the Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus as Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday) for all Catholics. Therese of Lisieux emerged as one of the most popular saints for Catholics in the 20th century, and a statue of her can be found in many European and North American Catholic churches built prior to the Second Vatican Council (after which the number of statues tended to be reduced when churches were built).
In the 20th century, in the last apparition of the
Many Carmelites have been canonized by the Catholic Church as saints. 14 November is the Feast of All Carmelite Saints,[25] and 15 November is the Commemoration of All the Departed of the Carmelite Order.
See also
- Enclosed religious orders
- Dialogues of the Carmelites
- Ipswich Whitefriars
- Anglican religious order § Carmelite orders
- List of Carmelite saints
- List of Carmelite saints and beatified people
Notes
- ^ Annuario Pontificio per l'Anno 2022. Citta del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2022. p. 1388.
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Carmelite Order". New Advent. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ Not until the late fourteenth century was 'B', the prior of the earliest known community of Carmelites, expanded to read Brocard. See Keith J Egan, "The Spirituality of the Carmelites", in Jill Raitt with Bernard McGinn and John Meyendorff, eds, Christian Spirituality: High Middle Ages and Reformation, (London: SCM, 1989), p. 50. See also Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- ^ Carmelite Nuns of Great Britain, Our History, accessed 19 December 2019
- ^ Chapter The "Vitae Formula" of Saint Albert
- ^ Smet, Joachim. The Mirror of Carmel: A Brief History of the Carmelite Order. Carmelite Media. pp. 230–232.
- ^ Bremond, Henri (1930). A Literary History of Religious Thought in France from the Wars of religion Down to Our Own Times; Vol. 2 [II], The Coming of Mysticism (1590–162). Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. p. 275.
- ^ Smet, Joachim. The Mirror of Carmel: A Brief History of the Carmelite Order. pp. 233–235.
- ^ Asunción Lavrin, Brides of Christ: Conventual Life in Colonial Mexico. Stanford: Stanford University Press 2008, pp. 359–371.
- ^ Order of Carmelites, General Congregation Final Statement (Internet Archive Copy), accessed 2 May 2022
- ^ Mère Saint-Jérôme (1851), La Vie de la Révérende Mère Thérèse Camille de Soyécourt, carmélite (in French), Vve Poussielgue-Rusand, p. 309, retrieved 16 February 2017
- ^ Hofmann, Paul (28 September 1970). "Theresa Named Doctor of Church, First Such Honor for Woman". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ ""Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway" Blog – Saint Therese of Lisieux".
- ^ O’Riordan, Maureen. "Doctor of the Universal Church". Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
- ^ O’Riordan, Maureen. "Writings". Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
- ^ "The Carmelite Martyrs of Guadalajara". 2 June 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ "All Carmelite Saints (Feast) – The Official Website of the Carmelite Order".
- ^ EWTN "History of the Scapular" [1]
- ISBN 978-1-59276-441-9p. 155
- ISBN 978-0-87973-979-9, p. 128
- ^ Serpa, J. J. Gonçalves; Venerável Madre Mariana da Purificação: Carmelita Calçada de Beja. Colecção: Almas heróicas de Beja; 230 pp.; Gouveia: 1960.
- ^ Santa Ana, Frei Joseph Pereira de; Vida da Insigne Mestra de Espírito, a Virtuosa Madre Maria Perpétua da Luz, Religiosa Carmelita Calçada; Lisboa: Oficina de Antonio Pedrozo, 1742.
- ^ O’Riordan, Maureen. "Therese and the Holy Face of Jesus". Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
- ^ Haffert, James Mathias; Mary in Her Scapular Promise. AMI Press, 1954.
- ^ "The Carmelite Ordo | The Website of the Carmelite Order". ocarm.org. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
References
- Steinmann, Anne Elisabeth (1963). Carmel vivant. Paris: Éditions Saint-Paul. OCLC 34042182.
- Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religion
- Copsey, Richard and Fitzgerald-Lombard, Patrick (eds.), Carmel in Britain: studies on the early history of the Carmelite Order (1992–2004).
- "The Carmelite Order" by Benedict Zimmerman. The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908.
Further reading
- T. Brandsma, Carmelite Mysticism, Historical Sketches: 50th Anniversary Edition, (Darien, IL, 1986), ASIN B002HFBEZG
- J. Boyce, Carmelite Liturgy and Spiritual Identity. The Choir Books of Kraków, Turnhout, 2009, Brepols Publishers, ISBN 978-2-503-51714-8
- W. McGreal, At the Fountain of Elijah: The Carmelite Tradition, (Maryknoll, NY, 1999), ISBN 1-57075-292-3
- J. Smet, The Carmelites: A History of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, 4. vol. (Darien IL, 1975)
- J. Welch, The Carmelite Way: An Ancient Path for Today's Pilgrim, (New York: 1996), ISBN 0-8091-3652-X
External links
- Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
- Order of the Discalced Carmelites
- Index of Carmelite Websites
- Carmelite Hermitage
- Meditations from Carmel
- "Sayings of Light and Love" – Spiritual Maxims of John of the Cross
- The Carmelite history and vocation
- "Mystical Brain" by Isabelle Raynauld (2006) – a documentary film about five Carmelite Nuns who volunteered to have their brains scanned while they meditated by recalling mystical experiences
Provinces of the Carmelite Order
- Carmelites of the Province of the Assumption, British Province (founded c. 1241; refounded 1969)
- Carmelites of the Most Pure Heart of Mary Province, USA/Canada/Peru/Mexico/El Salvador (founded 1890)
- Carmelites of the North American Province of St. Elias (founded 1931)
- Carmelite Province of Blessed Titus Brandsma of the Philippines (founded 1968)