"Carmel and Mary - Living the Tradition Today" is the title of a symposium which will be held during 28 - 31 October 1998 at Nugget Conventional Center, Reno, Nevada, sponsored by the Carmelite Institute (O.Carm - OCD) of the United States.

The purpose of the gathering will be to explore Marian devotion in the Carmelite tradition. Talks will be historical, devotional and theological. Among the speakers will be Fr. Christopher O'Donnell, an Irish Carmelite theologian, and Fr. Paul Gurr, an Australian Carmelite musician and composer. The symposium is offered to all members of the Carmelite Family (friars, nuns, sisters, lay) and to those who would find this tradition helpful for their faith life.

For further information:
E-mail: The Carmelite Institute

The official opening of the jubilee was held on 10 February 1998. On that day, every community in the Congo was invited to celebrate the event in its own place. The principal celebration will take place in Bunia on 16 July 1998, the Solemn Commemoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, with all the friars of the Commissariat taking part and with representatives from the Italian Province and the General Council of the Carmelite Order.

The World Congress of the International Catholic Union of the Press (UCIP) to be held in Paris, France, from 12 to 19 September 1998, will confer the 1998 International Media Award. One of the major awards is named after Bl. Titus Brandsma, Carmelite, who died in a Nazi concentration camp in Germany in 1942.

In a short article entitled "Global Significance of Titus Brandsma for Journalism", published by the UCIP Information (December 1997, p. 8-9), Dr Joan Hemels, professor of communication sciences at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, tells the inspiring Brandsma story.

The formation house in Kinshasa was opened in 1991 and dedicated to Bl. Isidore Bakanja, a lay martyr who was devoted to the Brown Scapular. The house gives the young students the opportunity to study theology and to go on with further specialisation. Br. Jean-Floribert Kamaragi Mandro (29 years), native of Dodro in the diocese of Bunia, had completed his novitiate and taken simple vows in 1993 together with four other young men. He then studied philosophy for three years and this year had started his theological studies. The community in Kinshasa consists of thirteen religious, formators and those in formation. All are Congolese.

For further information:
E-mail: Fr. Tiberio Scorrano, O.Carm.

A major change in leadership occurred in August 1996, when Fr. Aloysius retired and Fr. Peter Byrth became Provincial Director of Lay Carmelites. Under Fr. Peter's guidance, the number of the new members continued to grow, communities now numbering over 280. From 1988 to 1998 the number of chapters more than doubled. Recently the change in leadership happened again. The Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary announced a new director. Beginning in June 1998, Lay Carmelites are being led by Fr. Patrick McMahon, a Doctor in Church History with a specialisation in Carmelite History.

For further information:
E-mail: Fr. Patrick McMahon, O.Carm.
Homepage: A Library for Lay Carmelites

The formation of the Betica Province was made possible through the separation of some monasteries from the jurisdiction of the Castilian Province: Gibraleón (1306-1320), Seville (1358), Escacena del Campo - Huelva (1416) and Ecija (1429). From those days and up to the conclusion of the Council of Trent (1563), there took place in the Province what the Carmelite historian, Fr. Balbino Velasco, calls "hailstones" of foundations, because in the sixteenth century the Province had as many as twenty foundations. These were the glorious years of the Betica Carmel. Some famous colleges, such as those of Sant'Alberto (Seville) and San Roque (Córdoba), as also the monastery of Desierto del Juncal, the eremitical monastery of St. Teresa and another of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, founded in the seventeenth century, bring the list of foundations to 25 houses which the Province owned until the time of exclaustration in 1835.

These five centuries have been brightened by the presence of a large number of illustrious religious. We remember Fr. Juan de las Ruelas, author of a work on the physical beauty of the Virgin; Fr. José Velasco, who is called by a scholar "the martyr of the Immaculate" because of the case (which lasted twelve years and in which intervened the king and the pope) in which he was involved on account of a homily concerning this mystery; Fr. Agostín Núñez Delgadillo, a preacher sought after in the whole of Spain and author of several books; Mgr. Pedro Carranza, Carmelite bishop of Buenos Aires; Mgr. Juan de Llamas, Carmelite bishop of Panamá, Fr. Antonio Vásquez de Espinosa (1570), an expert on the history of the discovery of the western Indies (America); Fr. Ortiz de la Estrella, famous for his sanctity, and at whose funeral preached Blessed Diego de Cádiz and "an infinite cortege of people" took part.

More recently, among the sons of the Province we find not only virtuous religious but also famous authors, musicians and preachers. Among these mention must be made of the ten religious, Servants of God, who were killed defending the faith in 1936.

The parish of Carfin is dedicated to Saint Francis Xavier. It was founded 136 years ago to cater to the spiritual needs of the many Irish immigrants who were arriving in the area to work in the coal mines and rail road construction. It has long been a fertile ground for vocations to the priesthood and religious life in this very Catholic part of Scotland.

In the 1920's, especially in the period of the National Strike of 1926, the then parish priest Thomas Nimmo Taylor, set the local unemployed coal miners to work in building a shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes and Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Interestingly, Father Taylor translated and gave Saint Thérèse's Story of A Soul to the English speaking world. The Shrine has now become Scotland's National Shrine. It is conveniently located between Glasgow and Edinburgh and today welcomes thousands of visitors from all around the world, who come to pray in the peace and tranquillity that the Shrine offers.

• working among orphaned children in a house run by the Carmelite Sisters in Paranavai,
• working in Mandirituba (Brasilia) in a house for street children up to the age of 18.

During their experience, the young missionaries educate the children and take part in all the necessary activities for the upkeep of life in common. This means that they will have to take turns at housework, cooking, working in the fields, looking after chickens, etc. Much emphasis is placed on the family activities: visiting homes and meeting with individuals and groups.

Ohrdruf is a small town situated 15 km south of Gotha and 60 km from the former border between the two parts of the country. After more than forty years under Communist regime of the former German Democratic Republic, Catholics are an absolute minority in this area. Only 3% of the population is Catholic. Nonetheless, the four Carmelites try to live their Christian faith and Carmelite charism giving great importance to prayer, spirituality and community life. The community tries to be open to the needs of the people in various ways: with spiritual direction, directed and group retreats, and live-in experiences with the community for a couple of days.

The community is in charge of a small diaspora-parish. Fr. Dominikus Lankes is the parish priest, assisted by Fr. Karl Kempter, librarian of the Upper German Province, and some lay people. Fr. Dominikus is also the Promoter of Vocations for the Province. Br. Günter Benker, author of two books and Director of Novices, recently obtained his licence in "Pastoral Psychology" from the Jesuit University St. Georgen in Frankfurt/Main. Br. Ambrosius Mühr, who lived for almost 20 years in the Carmelite friary of Vienna, is the cook of the community, and with his good food and cheerful character he conquers the hearts of those who visit the community. In one way or another, all members are committed to community life and to the service of the Province through various responsibilities.

After last year Provincial Chapter and the appointments of Fr. Dominikus as Promoter of Vocations and Br. Günter as Director of Novices, the Provincial Council decided to transfer the novitiate to Ohrdruf, proposing the community as a formation community. To communicate the Carmelite way of life and other information the community has its own web site on Internet at the following address: http://home.t-online.de/home/karmel-ohrdruf/karmel.htm.

The nearness and warm familiarity of the community with the people is truly amazing: they are sought after, visited and loved by all. Their simple way of life is shared by the people and is attracting young men who want to start the journey leading to the priesthood and the religious life. There is a group of aspirants, between the ages of 12 and 18, who meet regularly, most of whom are strongly motivated. Also there are some young women who are asking to dedicate themselves to evangelisation in a fraternal setting. Again, in fraternal collaboration with the Discalced Carmelites, the official erection of a Third Order is under way.

There are still strong social and political tensions in the country which is practically in a civil war. The government army, three groups of guerilla fighters, the paramilitary and the drug dealers are all fighting each other. The engagements usually take place in the mountains, but the climate of violence is to be found everywhere. The region where the Carmelites work is not really in the zone of conflict. They work with dedication to create a fraternal society promoting peace through justice. Their evangelisation seriously takes into account inculturation by emphasising the Afro-American culture.

Edith Stein was born a Breslau on 12 October 1891 to German Jewish parents, and after her secondary education, she enroled in the department of philosophy in the city university. In 1913, she transferred to the University of Gotingen to study under Edmund Husserl.

Until the age of thirteen years, she was in effect an atheist. She had her first serious encounter with Christianity listening to Max Scheler. In 1916, she continued and completed her studies at Fribourg where she wrote her doctorate thesis directed by Husserl. She remained working in the university until 1921. During those years, she read the autobiography of Teresa of Avila and became aware of being called to become a Catholic; she was baptized on 1 January 1922. She made her First Communion the same day and was confirmed on the following 2 February. After her conversion, she felt herself attracted to the religious life but circumstances forced her to delay this decision until 1933. When in 1933 she lost her teaching post as a result of the anti-Jewish laws, she entered into the Teresian Carmel at Cologne on 14 October 1933, taking the name of Teresa Benedict of the Cross.

On 31 December 1938 she was moved to the Carmel at Echt in Holland so as to escape the Nazi persecution of the Jews. In 1940, the situation worsened also in Holland. When the prescriptions became more severe, an attempt was made to transfer her to the Carmel in Switzerland. While the arrangements were being negotiated for her move, the deportations of the Jews to the concentration camps began in Holland. Sister Teresa, accompanied by her sister Rosa who had also become a Catholic, was taken to Amersfort on 2 August 1942. On 3 August, she was transferred to Westerbork. On 7 August, she and her sister together with other deportees were locked in railway wagons and taken by train to the extermination camp at Auschwitz, a voyage which took two days.

Sister Teresa Benedict of the Cross died in the gas chamber the same day that she arrived at the camp at Auschwitz, Sunday 9 August 1942, and her body was burned in one of the crematoria there. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II at Cologne on 1 May 1987.