The Provincial Chapter of the Province of Aragon, Castile and Valencia was held April 12-14, 2023, at the "St. Ignatius" Spirituality Center in Salamanca, Spain. The theme of the meeting was: "The radical witness of consecrated life. Faithful to our Carmelite charism".
On April 14, 2023, in a festive atmosphere, Bishop José Luis Retana Gozalo, Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo and Salamanca, visited the capitulars, thanking God for the richness that the Carmelite charism brings to the Church and for its presence in the Diocese of Salamanca. Sister Merry Teresa Sri Rejeki, Superior General of the HHCVMMC, and Sister Francisca Rubio, Vicar General of the HHCVMMC, accompanied the capitulars at the closing meal of the Provincial Chapter.
The Province has a long and rich history. Following the suppression in 1835 of religious life in Spain, the “Province of Spain” was restored (circa 1889), then in 1906 was divided into two provinces, Valentine Arago and Baetica. The name recalls the ancient Province of Aragon which was established in 1416 although the name appeared in records as early as 1330.
Beginning in 1894, before the division of the Province of Spain," the members worked in restoring the Provinces of Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco. From 1920, the province carried out missionary work in other countries of Latin America, founding houses in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic. A general commissariat was established in Catalonia in 1932 from houses of the province. Catalonia became a province itself in the 1950s. In 1932 Castile as well was broken off from the Arago Valencia Province and a commissariat general was established in 1948; it became a province in 1984.
A provincial commissariat of the Antilles was set up. Under the patronage of Maria Magdalena de’Pazzi. The commissariat comprises the Republic of Santa Domingo and Puerto Rico.
The new Province of Aragon-Castile-Valencia was born in 2014 from the union of the Provinces of Castille and Aragon-Valencia. The new province is under the patronage of St. John of the Cross.
The following were elected to leadership:
. . .
Provincial | Provincial | Provinciale
P. Salvador Villota Herrero, O. Carm.
1st Councilor | 1er Consejero | 1o Consigliere
P. Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm.
2nd Councilor | 2do Consejero | 2o Consigliere
P. Luca Zerneri, O. Carm.
3rd Councilor | 3er Consejero | 3o Consigliere
Fra. Manuel García Villaescusa, O. Carm.
4th Councilor | 4to Consejero | 4o Consigliere
P. Vicente Aranda Guillén, O. Carm.
Commissary Provincial of the Antilles | Comisario Provincial de las Antillas | Commissario Provinciale delle Antille
P. Randy Rudecindo Marte, O. Carm.
