No. 12 - NOVEMBER 2000
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SEVEN CARMELITE BISHOPS IN ROME FOR THE JUBILEE |
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More than 1500 bishops from all over the world gathered in Rome from 6 to 8 October 2000 to celebrate the Jubilee. This was the largest assembly of bishops since Vatican Council II. Among them were seven Carmelite bishops, four from Brazil, one from Portugal and two from Italy. 
From left: Mgr. Cardoso Sobrinho, Mgr. Renna, Mgr. Muniz, Mgr. Gomes de Oliveira, Mgr. Cardoso da Silva, Mgr. Fernandes Dantas. The programme began on 6 October in the Basilica of St. John Lateran with a penitential celebration presided by the Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, Mgr. Giovanni Battista Re. On Saturday morning, the bishops gathered in the Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls where Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, presided at a missionary celebration. In the afternoon, before the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which was brought to Rome for this special occasion, the Pope presided at the recitation of the Rosary. The Jubilee of Bishops concluded on Sunday, 8 October, with a solemn concelebrated Eucharist presided by the Holy Father and with the renewal of an Act of confiding the third millennium to Mary. The seven Carmelite bishops who stayed in Rome were: Mgr. Telesforo M. Cioli, Emeritus Bishop of Arezzo (Italy), Mgr. Eliseu Gomes de Oliveira, Emeritus Bishop of Itabuna (Brazil), Mgr. José Cardoso Sobrinho, Archbishop of Olinda-Recife (Brazil), Mgr. Paulo Cardoso da Silva, Bishop of Petrolina (Brazil), Mgr. Antonio Vitalino Fernandes Dantas, Bishop of Beja (Portugal), Mgr. Lucio Renna, Bishop of Avezzano (Italy) and Mgr. Antonio Muniz Fernandez, Bishop of Guarabira (Brazil). For further information:
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From 22 October to 10 November 2000, another international on-going formation course was held at "Il Camelo" Sassone, Rome. This course was open to all members of the Carmelite Family. Twenty-one friars and sisters of various Carmelite Congregations took part. The theme this year was "Mary and Elijah". The organising committee, Frs. Falco Thuis, Antonio Ruiz and Alexander Vella, chose this theme in preparation for the Carmelite Marian Year announced by the Prior General for 2001. The first day of the course was given to a study of the new Ratio Institutionis Vitae Carmelitanae. Then the figures of Mary and Elijah were studied, beginning with Biblical data, then going on to see the relationship between Elijah and Mary and Carmel from its origin to the present. The Carmelite speakers were: Frs. Michael Muhall, Alexander Vella, Edison Tinambunan, Paul Chandler, Emanuele Boaga, Eamon Caroll, Christopher O’Donnell, Richard Copsey and Rev. Francisco López Melús. On 1 November the group went in pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Carmine Maggiore, Naples, Italy. For further information:
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On 11 October 2000 Fr. Joseph Chalmers, Prior General, presided at the CISA Community Liturgy inaugurating the new academic year. The community was happy to welcome its many guests, including the Rome superiors of the various branches of the Carmelite Family. During the homily, Fr. Chalmers emphasised that the principal apostolate of this community is study and research, which however, should be based on a strong community spirit of contemplation and fraternity. The Mass was followed by a festive dinner at which there were about 60 persons present. This academic year, the community is composed of 41 members; this includes 28 Carmelites from 17 Provinces of the Order, 8 young ladies of the Donum Dei Missionary Family, 4 Carmelites of Mary Immaculate and, for the first time, one young Discalced Carmelite priest. There is a truly international spirit since this represents 15 different nations. The community is happy to be settled into its refurbished building with the Carmelite Library now fully functioning and the Journals and General Library functioning partially and it will soon be fully operational. For further information:
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In 1990, when the Carmelites established themselves in Bourges, France, the Discalced Carmelites of the Province of Paris, in a fraternal gesture, returned to our friars the skull of the Ven. John of St. Samson, O.Carm. (1571-1636), which they had kept after the French Revolution and the suppression of the Carmelite Order in France. In order to better promote among the people of God the knowledge, reading and study of the works of Bro. John of St. Samson, the Council of the General Delegation of Carmelites in France decided to transfer this relic to our convent in Nantes so that it would be nearer Rennes, cradle of the Carmelite Reform of Touraine. In preparation for this event, on 14 November 2000, a conference was held in Nantes on "Jean de Saint-Samson et ses correspondants", and a frame painted by René Sardo representing various stages in the life of Bro. John was presented. On Sunday, 19 November, after the Mass presided by Fr. Gianfranco Tuveri, General Delegate of the Carmelites in France, the relic was placed permanently in the convent of Notre Dame des Lumières, Nantes. Bro. John of St. Samson was born in Sens in 1571, then went to Rennes in 1636. He is looked upon as the Spiritual Master of the XVIIth century Carmelite Reform of Touraine and one of the great mystics of the golden century of French spirituality. This blind brother, under obedience, dictated orally about four thousand pages recounting his mystical experiences. At present, a critical edition of his works in ten volumes is in progress under the direction of Fr. Hein Blommestijn, O.Carm. For further information:
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To celebrate this event, the Carmelite Press Centre of the Italian Province is suggesting a commemorative 9x6 cm bronze coated medal having on the front side the image of the Virgin of Carmel consigning the Scapular, and written on the back 1251-2001 Anno DCCL a donatione scapularis with the seal of the Carmelite Order. Every medal is supplied with a guide booklet and lot of other various artistic information. The medals will be available at the beginning of March 2001. The price of each medal, coined in a limited series, is about 65.000 Italian lira - US $ 30 (cost of mailing not included). This price is reserved only to those who book by 8 December 2000. For bookings or further information:
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For the Marian Year 2001, the Director of the International Centre of Information of the Carmelite Order (CITOC) is preparing a CD-Rom on Carmelite Iconography (in BMP format), with particular emphasis on icons of Our Lady of Mount Carmel found in various parts of the world. The CD-Rom is not for the open market nor is it for profit. However, with the approval of the General Councillor for Evangelisation, the price of US$ 25.00 (including postage) will be charged for each CD-Rom. The proceeds of this sale will go towards Carmelite missions. Anyone who wishes to send an icon to be included in the collection is kindly asked to contact Fr. Anthony Cilia, O.Carm., CITOC Office, Via Giovanni Lanza 138, 00184 Rome, Italy. For further information:
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"Mother Crocifissa and Carmel: a Proposal for the New Millennium" is the title of the first study meeting for lay people held by the Carmelite Missionary Sisters of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus from 12 to 16 October 2000 at S. Marinella (Rome). 
The main conferences of the meeting were: "The primacy of the Word of God in the spirituality of Carmel", given by Fr. Cosimo Pagliara, O.Carm., "Female and lay elements in the spirituality of the Servant of God", given by Fr. Carlo Cicconetti, Provincial of the Italian Province, and "Fundamental elements of the spirituality in the spiritual diary of the Servant of God, Mother M. Crocifissa Curcio", given by Fr. Felipe Amenós, Postulator General of the Order. Beside the conferences, liturgies, discussions and work in groups, the participants had the opportunity to visit an exhibition "Mother Crocifissa and children", to see a musical, "The smallest of all seeds", on the foundress, and to visit some Roman basilicas for the Jubilee. For further information:
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On 8 December 2000, feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their presence in Venezuela. In the last fifty years, many Carmelite sisters of the Congregation gave the best years of their lives to Christ, committed to an intense apostolate in schools and in marginalised areas, sharing their lives with the people, sharing the people’s poverty, sufferings and hopes. The sisters carry out their mission in Petare (where they have two communities), Barquisimeto and Santa Barbara del Zulia. These houses form part of the "Commissariat of St. Elias" which includes houses in Cuba and four communities in the Dominican Republic. For further information:
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BOAGA, Emanuele, O.Carm.,
St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi came from the noble de’ Pazzi family in Florence. She was born on 12 April 1566. In 1582 she entered St. Mary of the Angels, the monastery of Carmelite nuns in Florence. For a few years she was entrusted with the task of Mistress of Novices and of the professed junior. Her sisters gathered her mystical experiences in writings called Forty Days, Colloquies, Revelations and insights, Probation and Renewal of the Church. We also have writings by the saint herself entitled Counsels and Letters. Mary Magdalene died on 25 May 1607. She was beatified in 1626 and proclaimed saint on 22 April 1669. 
The Third Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel is an association of lay people who, in response to a call from God, freely and willingly, promise to live the Gospel in the spirit of the Carmelite Order and under its guidance. In the midst of their normal family lives, in the work place, in their social commitments and relationships with other people, Carmelite Third Order members seek out the hidden image of God. They try to live in the spirit of the Beatitudes, humbly and consistently exercising the virtues of honesty, justice, sincerity, courtesy and fortitude, without which no Christian or human life is possible. 
