Happy Feast day to all members of the Carmelite Family

ACTIVITIES OF THE MEMBERS
OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

Fr. Joseph Chalmers, Prior General

• Various news

A few days after the celebrations in Naples, I left for Krakow where our Polish Carmelites were holding a special celebration in honour of Our Lady. This was to be the centre of a number of celebrations to mark the Marian Year. A Polish bishop from near Warsaw celebrated the Mass that evening. At the end of the Mass, I carried the Blessed Sacrament in procession. There was a very good representation of our Discalced Carmelite brothers. For the occasion, the Polish Province have printed a beautiful book of Carmelite Marian devotion and produced a fine medal. There seemed to be great interest in the Marian Year and in the Scapular. My visit was very brief but I managed to have a short meeting with the four newly ordained priests and one new deacon in the Polish Province. That was followed by an interview for television.

I returned to Rome in early June to prepare for various commitments. On 9 June, along with several members of the Curia community, I went to St. Albert’s for the celebration of the closing of the academic year. As usual we said goodbye to a number of Carmelites who have completed their studies and who will be returning to their Provinces. The Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, who have been staying at CISA for a number of years, will have enough room in their own house next year for those who are studying in Rome. We have been very happy to house the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate. They were very helpful to the Order as we set up our foundation in India. The celebration in CISA was also a goodbye to the General Council as we finish our mandate in September.

In the middle of June I attended the beginning of the joint O.Carm-OCD. Mariological Seminar in Sassone, Rome. This was for experts from both Orders and hopefully the papers will be published in due course. This was one of the planned events for the Marian year, which hopefully will help all of us to deepen our devotion to Our Lady and to live it more profoundly in daily life.

After that I set out on a long trip to Latin America and the United States. Many months ago I accepted invitations to speak at Scapular Congresses in Recife and Chicago and a Congress on the Rule in Texas. From those beginnings the itinerary grew and grew. So, I plan to visit Trinidad, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Brazil and the U.S.A., returning to Rome on 31 July. Unfortunately I will not have much time to get over jet lag as I have agreed to attend a meeting in Nairobi. We will leave from Rome on 2 August. This meeting is to put the final touches to our new foundation in Kenya. Carmelites from India will staff this new foundation. We already have several Kenyan students in the Order and through our tertiaries, our "Donum Dei" Missionary Family and our cloistered nuns in Kenya, there is quite a bit of interest in the Carmelite life. I have high hopes for this foundation and also for the other new foundation in Cameroon, which is being finalised also over the summer.

I hope that everyone has a good summer, except those in Australia where they are enjoying winter. I look forward to meeting the Provincials and delegates at the General Chapter in September. Please keep the Chapter in your prayers that it may bear abundant fruit for the whole Order.

2001 GENERAL CHAPTER PRAYER

O God, Most Holy Trinity, through your grace
the Church gave birth to the Order of Carmel
so that we might live in fraternity and prayer, and,
after the example of Mary and Elijah,
be a prophetic presence in our world.
We ask you to send the Holy Spirit
upon the Order as we prepare to celebrate a new General Chapter.
We pray that this be a grace-filled event
for the whole Carmelite Family.
May our gathering renew in each of us
an openness to follow Jesus Christ with love and fidelity,
living the spirit of the Carmelite charism.
We ask you, Most Holy Trinity, to send your blessing upon us all
through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother and Patroness of Carmel! Amen.
 

THE CARMELITE MARIAN YEAR

• General Commissariat of Portugal

• Province of Pernambuco

• a liturgical phase of celebrations, during which, besides the traditional Novena in honour of the Blessed Virgin of Carmel, a series of initiatives will be held to add to the fervour and solemnity of the commemorative festivities,
• another phase dedicated to reflection and study to examine the themes of "Consecrated like Mary to the service of life and hope" and "Do as he tells you".

• "Mary and baptismal consecration", by Mgr. Antonio Muniz, O.Carm., bishop of Guarabira.
• "A full life in Mary and with Mary", by Fr. Tito Figueroa de Medeiros, O.Carm.
• "Mary, Mother and Model of Hope", by Fr. Carlos Mesters, O.Carm.
• "Life in the Spirit with Mary", by Mgr. Vitale Wilderink, O.Carm.
• "Mary in the heart of the Church in the third millennium", by Fr. Clodovis Boff, OSM.
• :Mary, Mother of wayfarers", by Mgr. Rafael, OSB.
• "The Scapular, symbol of consecration", by Sr. Marlene Frinhani, General Superior of the Carmelite Sisters of Divine Providence.

• O.Carm-OCD Meetings in Andalusia (Spain)

Provincial meetings:

The first meeting in San Fernando (Cádiz) was held on 26 May 2001. The meeting not only celebrated the 750^th anniversary of the Scapular, but also the first congress of the Brotherhood of the Virgin of Carmel, the centenary of the proclamation of the Virgin of Carmel as Patroness of the Navy and the 50^th anniversary of the crowning of the Virgin of Carmel in San Fernando. Besides the OCD Provincial of Andalusia, Fr. José Fernández Marin, and the O.Carm. Provincial of Betica, Fr. Rafael Leiva Sánchez, present at the meeting were O.Carm-OCD religious and lay persons from Carmelite confraternities. This was truly a fraternal and Carmelite meeting. In his conference on Carmelite Marian Devotion, Fr, José Luis Zurita, OCD, expressed his joy in seeing the two Orders reunited by the Virgin of Carmel. After the conference there was a fraternal meal. The Eucharist, presided by the two Provincials and by the Prior of the convent, Fr. Francisco Javier Jaén, OCD, was solemn. Both Provincials, in welcoming the Pope’s message to the Carmelites, invited those present to continue united in this Carmelite Marian ideal which is common to all.

Local meetings:

Cádiz – For the Carmelite Marian Year and the month of May, special celebrations of "the Saturdays" were held in the church of the Discalced Carmelites of Cádiz. On 5 May, Fr. Miguel Barbero Moreno, O.Carm., Prior of the convent of Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), presided at the Eucharist assisted by Fr. José Peralbo Ranchal, Master of novices, and the novices of the Provinces of Betica and Arago-Valentina. On 11 May, in the same church, Fr. Ismael Martínez Carretero, O.Carm. gave a conference on "The Carmelite Scapular, tradition and history".

Seville – In June, the Carmelite Confraternities affiliated to the convent were invited to the church of Buen Suceso, O.Carm., for "the Saturdays". On Saturday, 16 June, Fr. Pedro Urdiales Campos, OCD, Prior of the convent of the Holy Angels of the Discalced Carmelites, presided at the Eucharist. Fr. Jaime Andrade Bermudo, O.Carm. gave a conference on "Mary in the Carmelite Family", Fr. Rafael Leiva Sánchez, O.Carm., Provincial of Betica, talked on "The Spirituality of the Carmelite Scapular", and Fr. Luis Mª Ruano Ramírez, O.Carm. gave "Pastoral reflections on the Carmelite Scapular".
 

CARMELITE CLOISTERED NUNS

• Ostuni (Brindisi), Italy

• Estepona (Malaga), Spain

CARMELITE PUBLICATIONS

ABELA, Serafin, O.Carm.,
St. Elias College - L-Iskola tal-Patrijiet Karmelitani, Edizzjoni "Il-Karmelu", Malta, 2001, pp. 130. (E-mail: carmmlt@mail.global.net.mt)

BOAGA, Emanuele, O.Carm.,
La Señora del lugar - María en la historia y en la vida del Carmelo, Edizioni Carmelitane, Roma, 2001, pp. 224. (E-mail: edizioni@ocarm.org)

CHALMERS, Joseph, O.Carm.; MACCISE, Camilo, OCD,
With Mary the Mother of Jesus (Acts 1:14), Circular Letter of the Superiors General on the Occasion of the 750th Anniversary of the Scapular, Aylesford, 2001, pp. 24. (http://www.ocarm.org/eng/carm1eng.htm)
Con María, La Madre de Jesús (Hechos 1, 14), Carta circular de los Superiores Generales con ocasión de los 750 años del Escapulario, Aylesford, 2001, pp. 24.(http://www.ocarm.org/esp/carm1esp.htm)
Con Maria, La Madre di Gesù (Atti 1, 14), Lettera circolare dei Superiori Generali in occasione del 750° anniversario dello Scapolare, Aylesford, 2001, pp. 24. (http://www.ocarm.org/ita/carm1ita.htm)
Avec Maria, La Mère de Jésus (Ac 1, 14), Lettre circularie des Pères Généraux à l'occasion du 750^ème anniversarire du Scapulaire, Aylesford, 2001, pp. 24. (E-mail: seggen@ocarm.org)

DOMENECH MIRA, Francisco J.,
Catálogo de impresos de la sección de fondo antiguo del archivo y biblioteca del convento de san José, O.Carm., en Caudete, Albacete. Siglos XVI y XVII, (Vol. I), PP. Carmelitas, Caudete, 2001, pp. 283. (E-mail: vcarmeno@planalfa.es). This book, the first of three volumes, is a rigorous inventory and catalogue of the ancient bibliographical fonts found in the Carmelite convent of San José of Caudete (Arag). The book is further enriched with a historical presentation on the convent of Caudete and some very interesting bibliographical notes. The book is the work of Fr. Balbino Velasco Bayón, O.Carm., one of the best researchers and historians in the Order in Spain.

GARRIDO, Pablo María, O.Carm.,
El solar carmelitano de San Juan de la Cruz - Los provinciales de la antigua provincia de Castilla (1416-1836), Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, Madrid, 2001, pp. 360. (E-mail: elhenar@empresas.retecal.es). Notwithstanding the scarcity of documents and with all the reservations and possible lacunae that such scarcity imposes especially for the pre-Tridentine period, the author tries to reconstruct a catalogue of Provincials of the Province of Castille, gathering such basic data on each as are relevant to the general history of the Province and the Church. The book is divided into several chapters, provisionally corresponding to broad periods in the history of the Province, from 1416, the year of foundation, until its disappearance in 1836 due to the law of exclaustration.

GIALLANZA, Joel, C.S.C.,
"I Consider the Labor Well Spent" - a mini-cource on the Interior Castle, (Carmel in the World Paperbacks 9), Edizioni Carmelitane, Roma, 2001, pp. 88. (E-mail: edizioni@ocarm.org)

POSSANZINI, Stefano, O.Carm.,
Serafina di Dio - Mistica carmelitana, Edizioni Carmelitane, Roma, 2001, pp. 340. (E-mail: edizioni@ocarm.org)

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N.B. For inclusion of publications and other information in this list, CITOC requests that a copy of the new publication and a short notice about its content be sent to: CITOC, Curia Generalizia dei Carmelitani, Via Giovanni Lanza 138, 00184 - Rome, Italy.
 

UPDATE OF ADDRESSES AND
TELEPHONE NUMBERS

Changed phone / fax numbers

Rio de Janeiro Province
Convento do Carmo, Largo do Carmo s/n, 40030-040, Salvador, BA, Brazil. Tel: (071) 242-9194

New Web sites

Il Vangelo della Vita (dal Carmelo di Sogliano al Rubicone)
www.mistici.org/vangelovita/

The National Carmelite Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
www.ourladyofmtcarmelshrine.com

Carmelite Friars of the North American Province of St. Elias
www.carmelites.com/

The Carmelite Gift Store, Middletown, NY
www.carmelitegiftstore.com

S. Lucia alla Castellina, Sesto Fiorentino
www.castellina-lafamiglia.org/

New e-mail addresses

Provincial Commissariat of Parana (GerS)

Dos Santos, Filomeno Paz Torquato, Rivaldave Pinheiro, Ivani  Convento do Carmo, Curitiba

<ffilomenoo@bol.com.br> <rivaldave@bol.com.br> <i.pinheiro@bol.com.br> <comunidade_carmelitana@hotmail.com>

Polish Province

Meger, Bogdan Sumera, Janusz Zylka, Andrzej

<meger@poczta.onet.pl> <trutowo@poczta.onet.pl> <klasztor@karmel.gdansk.pl>

Corpus Christi Carmelites

Sukhraj, Jacinta

<jacsukh@guyana.net.gy>

Upper German Province

Feiten, Thomas

<thfeiten@uni-muenster.de>

Arago-Valentine Province

Benavente, José

<josebenavente@terra.es>

Baetica Province

Carmona, Antonio Medina, José Ramón Comunidad Carmelita, Burkina Faso Parroquia de Santa Teresa, Seville

<teresacarm@interbook.net> <joramedina@eresmas.com> <carm@fasonet.bf> <teresacarm@hotmail.com>

N.B. For an update list of all Carmelite e-mail addresses see page
http://www.ocarm.org/citoc.news/emailadd.htm
 

CARMELITE MILESTONES

Novices

10 June 2001
Ren Caculitan (Neer-Phi)
Rodrigo Bautista, Jr. (Neer-Phi)
David Vios (Neer-Phi)
Jude Aries Caballero (Neer-Phi)

Simple Professions

31 May 2001
Mary Ruth Farmer (WAH)
2 June 2001
Edwin Magbago (Neer-Phi)
Alaindelon Balasabas (Neer-Phi)

25 Years Simple Profession

8 September 2001
Manuel Ribeiro de Freitas (Lus)
Sunny George Kodiyan (GerS)
Josef Manfred (Manfred) Häfner (GerS)
Thomas Maria Kizhakemury (GerS)
Gaspar Borda i Bori (Cat)
Tomás Camara Lopez (Cast)
9 September 2001
Raymond Calleja (Mel)
Joseph Saliba (Mel)
Charles Mallia (Mel)
3 October 2001
Vincenzo Mosca (Neap)
7 October 2001
Mª Socorro Padin de la Vega (CAB)
16 October 2001
Mary Jane Winkler (HUD)

50 Years Simple Profession

1 September 2001
Robert Lee (PCM)
James (Niles) Gillen (PCM)
Richard (Bartholomew) Larkin (PCM)
Clair (Cecil) Pickert (PCM)
Frank (Felix) Prior (PCM)
Robert (Warren) Carlin (PCM)
2 September 2001
Gerald (Peter) Toner (Hib)
8 September 2001
Martin (Englmar) Reiner (GerS)
Johann (Maximilian) Wagner (GerS)
Elmar (Franz Xaver) Seibel (GerS)
Antonius Mol (Neer)
Johannes Tangelder (Neer)
Johannes Zwart (Neer)
Theodorus Menting (Neer)
Leo Broniszewski (SEL)
Brocard Connors (SEL)
15 September 2001
Thomas Conlon (PCM)
Theresia Kretschmann (ERL)
25 September 2001
Anthony (Norbert) Heaslip (Hib)
7 October 2001
Mª Victoria Sánchez Fernández (COR)
13 October 2001
Antonio Conti (Ita)
Piero (Agostino) Contini (Ita)
Emidio Di Berardino (Ita)
Carlo Cicconetti (Ita)
Emanuele Boaga (Ita)
14 October 2001
Edward Bugeja (Mel)
Hugh Mallia (Mel)
Leonard Mahoney (Mel)
Damian Cachia (Mel)
15 October 2001
M. Geltrude Rossi (MON)
25 October 2001
Francesco (Claudio) Lioj (Neap)
8 November 2001
Humphrey (Gerald) Galvin (Hib)
16 November 2001
Brian Kiernan (Hib)
13 December 2001
Mª Inmaculada Pintiel Algas (ZAR)

75 Years Simple Profession

17 October 2001
Albert Daly (SEL)

Solemn Professions

24 June 2001
Maria Rosa dell'Eucaristia Fois (CAR)
Maria Edvige della Trinità Zielinska (CAR)

Diaconate Ordinations

10 June 2001
Alberto Fernandes (Flum)
23 June 2001
Jean Patrice Basolé (Baet)

Priestly Ordinations

10 June 2001
Rothmans Darles de Campos (Flum)

25 Years Priestly Ordination

11 September 2001
Mario Lopez (PCM)
19 December 2001
Eduardo (Eddie) Albino (Neer)
26 December 2001
Francesco Collodoro (Ita)
Giuseppe Basile (Ita)

50 Years Priestly Ordination

28 October 2001
Alberto Box Morcillo (Arag)

Necrology

20 April 2001
M. Natividad Cuéllar Montero (ONT)
27 April 2001
Anna Luisa Fiorucci (JES)
19 June 2001
Brocardo M.Manni (Ita)
 
 

CARMELITE NUNS AROUND THE WORLD

Address: C/ Ortega y Munilla, 21
14012 Córdoba, Spain
Diocese: Córdoba
History:
Early in May 1969, the Provincial of Betica sent a circular letter to all the monasteries of the Province announcing that the Sr. Isabel Mejías of the monastery of Aracena (Huelva) and Sr. Mª de los Ángeles Oriol of the monastery of Osuna (Seville) had permission to leave the cloister in order to acquire a piece of land in Córdoba for the building of a house of formation for the Carmelite monasteries in Andalusia.

With little money and ambitious plans, the nuns went to Córdoba to meet Rev. Manuel Pedreño, and Opus Dei priest, who guided them in their project. After many ups and downs, visits to pieces of land and buildings, they met Mrs. Francisca Castañeda, widow of Sánchez-Cabrera and owner of a parcel of land which she inherited from her husband. She desired that a Carmelite monastery be built there. Thus, on 18 July 1969, the two nuns together with the Provincial of Betica looked at 5,000 square metres of land as a possible site for a monastery. The contract and acquisition took place on 26 January 1972 in the name of the Carmelite Fathers of the Betica Province. Two years later, on 20 June 1974, the Provincial, Fr. Miguel Barbero, sent a letter to all the monasteries announcing that the real owners of the land were the Carmelite nuns of Betica.

In September 1979, the prioresses of all the communities met in the monastery of Antequera (Malaga) to discuss the usefulness of a federation, as recommended in letter sent to the nuns by the Prior General, Fr, Falco Thuis. The federation was set up and in April 1981 the first assembly was held in Villalba dell’Alcor (Huelva). At this meeting Sr. Mª de las Mercedes Martín from the monastery of Villaba was chosen as president. When talking of formation, the idea of a common federal house of formation was proposed. In order to examine the possibility of this proposal, Sr. Mª de San José Cano, from the monastery of Seville and second Councillor of the Federation, wrote to the bishop of Córdoba, Mgr. José Infante, letting him know of the decision to found a monastery in his diocese. Rev. Gaspar Bustos, episcopal delegate for religious, replied to this letter welcoming the nuns and offering help.

On 26 January 1983 the Council of the Federation met in Córdoba to study the project of the house of formation. The final decision was to begin the project and to inform Fr. Ismael Martínez, Provincial. Two years later, on 13 May 1985, the Council, together with some other nuns, decided to take up residence for a year in the monastery still under construction until such time as a definitive community was formed. It was also decided to call the monastery "Carmel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus". Thus on the afternoon of 5 September 1985, Sr. Mª de las Mercedes Martín and Sr. Mercedes Toribio from the monastery of Seville, Sr. Mª Isabel Mejías, Sr. Mª de los Ángeles Oriol and Sr. Mª Victoria Sánchez from the monastery of Antequera, and Sr. Mª del Carmen Guerriero from the monastery of Granada, gathered to begin life as a community. On 8 September the first Fr. Gaspar Bustos, episcopal delegate for religious, celebrated Eucharist there. Frs. Alfonso Moreno, Lorenzo Cubero, Juan Luna (Baet), Alfonso Grau (Arag) concelebrated. A few other religious and faithful from the area were also present.

On 20 July 1986, Solemnity of our Father Elijah, in the presence of the prioresses and a delegate from each monastery of the Province of Betica, the bishop of the diocese, Mgr. José Infante, blessed and officially opened the "Carmel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus" in Córdoba. In the afternoon, the clausura was observed. The canonical erection of the monastery was made one year later, on 3 July 1987, with the following community: Prioress, Sr. Mª de las Mercedes Martín (Villalba del Alcor), Sr. Mª Victoria Sánchez (Antequera), Sr. Teresita López (Utrera), Sr. Mª de las Mercedes Toribio (Seville), Sr. Mª de la Salud Cabrera (Utrera), Sr. Mª del Carmen Guerrero (Granada), Sr. Carmen Villarejo (Seville) and Sr. Mª Belém Garrido (Villalba).

Since then, much energy has gone into the formation of young sisters, on-going formation for professed religious and other meetings on various themes according to the occasion. During these years, most of the nuns of the "Mater et Décor Carmeli" Federation have attended courses in the monastery in Córdoba and have contributed not only to their own growth but also to the growth of other Carmelite communities in Andalusia.

CARMELITE
E-MAIL ADDRESSES

See http://www.ocarm.org/citoc.news/emailadd.htm
 

 

750th Anniversary of the Carmelite Scapular     1251-2001

"I am aware of having Mary’s heart when I feel the wish to suffer for the Lord and love for all souls." – St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi "It is the Virgin Mary who planted her order on the lovely summit of Carmel as a garden of delight for the heavenly King, and then dispersed it throughout the entire world." - St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross "The soul full of love, runs into the arms of Mary and with Mary rises to the Heart of God." – Ven. Michael of Saint Augustine "As Mary mediated between God and humankind, so must we, with the constant desire to help souls and lead them to God." – St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi