The ideal of Carmel is a life of prayer and union with God. The first Carmel in the United States was founded in 1790 by Carmelites from Belgium. Ann of Jesus, founded Teresian Carmels in France and Belgium. When she died at Alba de Tormes on October 4, 1582, at the age of 67, she had founded 16 Carmels for nuns.Īfter the death of the holy reformatrix, two of her daughters, Bl. She spent the last years of her life traveling throughout Spain, founding one Carmel after another.
She extended the reform to the Carmelite Fathers with the help of St. In spite of much opposition and many difficulties, she founded the Carmel of St. With a few companions, she decided to return to the Primitive Rule. However, she realized that the lack of a strict enclosure, together with frequent worldly conversations in the parlor, seriously hindered a true life of prayer. Teresa de Ahumada entered the Carmel of the Incarnation in Avila, where she lived for more than 20 years as a good religious. Teresa of Avila, who reformed the Order and caused the spirit of contemplation to blossom again. Little by little, relaxation crept into the Order and the Rule was mitigated, i.e., its primitive austerity was softened.
John Soreth established the Carmelite observance for women, and for this reason he is considered as their founder. Simon Stock, General of the Order, received the Holy Scapular from the hands of our Blessed Mother as a pledge of her protection over the Order. It was at that time that they were given the name of Carmelites. The Saracen invasion forced the Brother Hermits to leave Palestine and seek refuge in Europe. Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, wrote a Rule for the "Brother Hermits of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel." This Rule only codified the form of life that the Hermits had spontaneously adopted. Pius X, in his Encyclical Ad Diem Illum, wrote "Mary was the object of the thoughts of Elias when he was contemplating the cloud rising from the sea."Ĭarmel, being a place of solitude and very suitable for a life of prayer, became the refuge of the disciples of Elias and Eliseus, who were known as "the Sons of the Prophets." At the time of the Crusades, hermits from the Occident also came to dwell in the natural grottoes so numerous on Mount Carmel. The Church has always seen in this little cloud a prophetic image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At his prayer, a small cloud rose from the sea and grew until it covered the entire sky, pouring forth a salutary rain upon the thirsty ground. During a terrible drought, Elias went up on Mount Carmel to implore God's mercy over His people. Tradition traces the origin of the Order back to the Prophet Elias, who first frequented the holy mountain.
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