Displaying items by tag: Calendar of Feasts and Memorials

On 27th July, we celebrate our annual memorial of a famous Carmelite martyr.

Anno Sjoerd Brandsma was born at Bolsward, The Netherlands, in 1881, and joined the Carmelite Order in 1898 taking the name ‘Titus’, being ordained priest in 1905. In time he became a professor and then Rector Magnificus at the Catholic University of Nijmegen. He was also a journalist.

During the 1930s he gave a famous series of lectures in the United States on Carmelite mysticism. Throughout the 1930s Nazi propaganda was on the rise but Fr Titus refused to support or print anything in support of the Nazi regime.

Fr Titus was arrested by the Gestapo on January 19, 1942, and imprisoned in his native country before being sent to the concentration camp at Dachau where he brought comfort and peace to his fellow prisoners. In Dachau he was experimented on in the medical wing and was finally put to death by lethal injection on July 26, 1942.

He was beatified in 1985 and the cause for his canonisation continues which, we pray, will soon be successful.

Please avail yourself of the resources prepared for the celebration of Blessed Titus Brandsma on July 27th.

Liturgical Resources Blessed Titus Brandsma

• pdf Letter to the Carmelite Family (400 KB)
• pdf Mass Leaflet (287 KB)
• pdf Prayers of the Faithful (216 KB)
• pdf Homily Notes (81 KB)
• pdf Newsletter/bulletin insert (253 KB)

Today we commemorate the parents of the Virgin Mary, Saints Joachim and Anne.

Pope Francis referred to Saints Joachim and Anne on his Apostolic Journey to Rio de Janeiro on the occasion of the XXVIII World Youth Day on July 26, 2013:

Today the Church celebrates the parents of the Virgin Mary, the grandparents of Jesus, Saints Joachim and Anne. In their home, Mary came into the world, accompanied by the extraordinary mystery of the Immaculate Conception. Mary grew up in the home of Joachim and Anne; she was surrounded by their love and faith: in their home she learned to listen to the Lord and to follow his will. Saints Joachim and Anne were part of a long chain of people who had transmitted their faith and love for God, expressed in the warmth and love of family life, down to Mary, who received the Son of God in her womb and who gave him to the world, to us. How precious is the family as the privileged place for transmitting the faith!

There is also something to be said for grandparents’ roles as repositories of wisdom and history. Their experience in faith and life has enriched their judgment, rendering them invaluable counsels for the generations that follow. They remember the heritage of the family and share it with future generations. As Pope Francis has also related:

How important grandparents are for family life, for passing on the human and religious heritage which is so essential for each and every society! How important it is to have intergenerational exchanges and dialogue, especially within the context of the family.

To read more

On 20th July Carmelites throughout the world celebrate the Solemnity of the Old Testament Prophet, Elijah. In the Carmelite tradition Elijah is regarded as the spiritual father of and a source of inspiration for Carmelites.

Celebrations of the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

The Rio de Janeiro province of Carmelites will celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in solidarity with those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. Read more

Connect to One of the Oldest Devotions
General Delegation of Kenya
Novena in English
P. Denis Omae, O. Carm.
To participate

Behold Your Mother
Carmelite Institute of North America (CINA)
Novena in English
Fr. Christopher LaRocca, OCD
To participate

9 Days of Prayer for You
Province of Australia and Timor-Leste
Novena in English
To participate

We will be posting news of additional celebrations in the coming days. Please check back to the News section of the Order's website: Announcements (CITOC)

On May 25, 2021, the Congress of Theological Consultors recognized the miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Titus Brandsma, O. Carm., relating to the scientifically inexplicable healing of Fr. Michael Driscoll, O. Carm.

The positive result of this second, fundamental stage towards canonization, will allow the Cause to be submitted to the judgment of the Ordinary Session of the Cardinals and Bishops, members of the Congregation. In the event of a positive outcome, the Prefect of the Congregation will then submit the conclusions of the Ordinary Session of the Cardinals and Bishops for the approval of the Supreme Pontiff. Finally, the Supreme Pontiff will convene the Ordinary Consistory in which the canonization of the Blessed will be officially announced.

Let us rejoice at the results achieved so far but let us continue to pray to the Lord so that the process will continue happily and we can arrive at the canonization of Blessed Titus Brandsma.

19 November Optional Memorial in the province of Poland

Raphael of St. Joseph (in lay life: Joseph Kalinowski) was born at Vilna to a Polish family on 1st September 1835 and died at Wadowice on 15th November 1907.

13 November Optional Memorial in the Italian Provinces

Maria Teresa Scrilli (1825-1889) founded the Congregation at Montevarchi (Arezzo) on October 15, 1854, with the approval of the Bishop of Fiesole, the superiors of the Order, and with the agreement of the Grand Duke Leopold II.

9 August Memorial

(Feast in the provinces of Europe: Patron of Europe)

Edith Stein was born at Breslau on 12th October 1891 to German Jewish parents, and after her secondary education, she enroled in the department of philosophy in the city university.

13 July Optional Memorial in Latin America

Juana Fernandez Solar was born on 13th July 1900 at Santiago in Chile, to Christian middle-class parents. Two days after her birth, she was baptized.