Displaying items by tag: Elections

The Chapter of the Province of the Netherlands took place from May 9-12, 2023, at the Franciscushuis retreat center in Denekamp. Both the Prior General Míceál O'Neill and the General Councilor for Europe, Richard Byrne, participated.

Today’s Province of the Netherlands celebrated its 100^th anniversary in 1996. Houses existed in the country centuries before but they formed part of the Lower German Province. However all the houses in what is now the Netherlands ceased to exist in 1581 when the Netherlands declared themselves independent of Spain. In 1652, a foundation was made in Boxmeer by the noted Carmelite, Daniel of the Virgin Mary. That house belonged to the Flemish Province.

Boxmeer survived the suppression of the Flemish Province under Napoleon but was not allowed to accept novices. When this ban was lifted in 1840, only three elderly friars remained. The community was soon reconstituted and in 1855 founded Zenderen. These two houses, along with Straubing, became the Germano-Holland Province in 1879. On the feast of the Immaculate Conception, 1896, the General Council of the Order established the Province of the Netherlands.

Over the years the Province of the Netherlands became the largest and one of the most flourishing in the Carmelite Order. It has distinguished itself especially in promoting the spread of the Order. Members went to work with the Choctaw native people in Tucker, Mississippi (USA) accompanying them on their removal to current day Oklahoma. From 1904 it assisted in the restoration of the Rio de Janeiro Province (Brazil). In 1923 it began a mission in present Indonesia which has since become the largest province in the Order. In 1924 it repossessed the convent of Mainz and revived its mother Province of Lower Germany. In 1958 members founded the Order in the Philippines, which has since become a province.

The following members were elected to leadership:

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Provincial | Provincial | Provinciale
Fr. Huub Welzen, O. Carm.

1st Councilor | 1er Consejero | 1^o Consigliere
Fr. Ton van der Gulik, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2do Consejero | 2^o Consigliere
Fr. Tom Buitendijk, O. Carm.

3rd Councilor | 3er Consejero | 3^o Consigliere
Fr. Ben Wolbers, O. Carm.

4th Councilor | 4to Consejero | 4^o Consigliere
Fr. Hein Blommestijn, O. Carm.     

Elected to the Extended Provincial Board
Anne-Marie Bos and Minnie Pasop

The Chapter of the General Commissariat of Portugal was held from April 26-28, 2023 in Hotel Casa São Nuno in Fatima. Both the Prior General Míċeál O'Neill and the General Councilor for Europe, Richard Byrne, participated.

In 1251 Carmelites, coming from Mount Carmel, made a foundation in the town of Moura. In 1397 St. Nuno Álves Pereira, a hero as commander of the Portuguese in their war for independence from Castille in 1383-1385, entrusted the magnificent monastery and church in Lisbon which he had built in honor of the Blessed Virgin, to the Carmelites. He himself then entered the Order.

In 1423 the Province of Lusitania was established in the Order. During the 15th century, the province was completely reorganized with the foundation of several houses, among them the house of studies in Coimbra (1536). In 1580, the first Carmelites established Carmel in Brazil.

The province continued to grow in the 17th and 18th centuries, until the earthquake of 1755, which was devastating. The province was suppressed in 1834 along with other religious orders in Portugal. The work to reestablish Carmel in Lusitania was initiated in 1930 by the Province of Baetica. Beginning in 1949, the daughter province of Rio de Janeiro joined in the efforts, replacing the Baetica Province in 1954. A provincial commissariat was created shortly thereafter. On December 8, 1992, the General Commissariat of the Lusitania was created.

The following members were elected to leadership:

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Provincial | Provincial | Provinciale
Fr. Agostinho Marques Castro, O. Carm.

1st Councilor | 1er Consejero | 1^o Consigliere
Fr. Ricardo dos Reis Rainho, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2do Consejero | 2^o Consigliere
Fr. Pedro Bravo Pereira da Silva, O. Carm.

3rd Councilor | 3er Consejero | 3^o Consigliere
Fr. Manuel Ribeiro de Freitas, O. Carm.

4th Councilor | 4to Consejero | 4^o Consigliere
Fr. João Manuel Oliveira Costa, O. Carm.

The Electoral Assembly of the Federation of St. Mary Magdalene de'Pazzi, a federation of the Carmelite monasteries of nuns in Italy, was held April 17-20.

The Federation was created, after years of cooperaton between the monasteries, on July 16, 2010.

The results of the elective chapter were as follows:

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Federation President | Presidente de la Federación | Presidente della Federazione:
Sr Maria Valentina Rossin, O. Carm. (Carpineto)

1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sr Maria Martina Simeone, O. Carm. (Sutri)

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera  | 2ª Consigliera: 
Sr Maria Rosalia Mangiarotti, O. Carm. (Vetralla)

3rd Councilor | 3ª Consejera  | 3ª Consigliera:
Sr Marilla Pia Fiumana, O. Carm. (Sogliano)

4th Councilor | 4ª Consejera  | 4ª Consigliera: 
Sr Maria Archangela Parisi, O. Carm. (Fisciano)

The Provincial Chapter of the Province of Great Britain was held April 17-21, 2023, in Aylesford, Kent (England).

Carmelites arrived in England about the year 1241 and quickly established a province. Records indicate a certain “W. provincial in England," in the years 1256-1257. At the time when the province was most flourishing, there were about a thousand brothers and about 37 houses. The first division of the province into two, namely, England and Ireland-Scotland, was recorded already in 1291 or 1294; which division, apparently, lasted until the year 1300. The autonomous province of Ireland was established in 1305. The establishment of the province of Scotland, established in 1321, was finally carried out in 1324.

In the course of time the Province of England was greatly reduced and it finally ceased with the suppression of Henry VIII (c. 1538). Some failed attempts were made to restore houses until c. 1926, when the brothers of the Province of Ireland opened the houses of Faversham and Sittingbourne in southeastern England.

Other houses were later added. Among these was ancient monastery in Aylesford which had been founded by 1242 but lost in Henry VIII suppression. On January 1, 1952, the general commissariat was established; and on September 12, 1969, the province of England and Wales was established under the title of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The name of the province was changed to 'Great Britain' in May 1999.

The following members were elected to leadership:

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Provincial | Provincial | Provinciale
Fr. Brendan Grady, O. Carm.

1st Councilor | 1er Consejero | 1^o Consigliere
Fr. Kevin Melody, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2do Consejero | 2^o Consigliere
Fr. Gerard Walsh, O. Carm.

3rd Councilor | 3er Consejero | 3^o Consigliere
Fr. Michael Cox, O. Carm.

4th Councilor | 4to Consejero | 4^o Consigliere
Br. Paul de Groot, O. Carm.   

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:

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Provincial | Provincial | Provinciale
P. Salvador Villota Herrero, O. Carm.

1st Councilor | 1er Consejero | 1^o Consigliere
P. Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2do Consejero | 2^o Consigliere
P. Luca Zerneri, O. Carm.

3rd Councilor | 3er Consejero | 3^o Consigliere
Fra. Manuel García Villaescusa, O. Carm.

4th Councilor | 4to Consejero | 4^o 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.                                  

The Bética Province held their triennial provincial chapter April 3-5, 2023 in the Carmelite monastery of Osuna, 90 km from Seville, Spain.

The Bética Province was erected on February 26, 1499 by a bull of Pope Alexander VI. It was established from the dismembered houses of the Province of Castille. In 1835, the civil authorities closed all the houses. The restoration began when the Carmelite house of Jerez de la Frontera was reestablished on April 10, 1880.

In 1889 a Province of Spain was erected but in 1906 was divded into the Province of Arago-Valencia and the Province of Bética. However, from 1894 Carmelites from the Province of Spain worked to restore the Provinces of Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco in Brazil. Work in Bahia continued even after the division in 1906. From 1925 until 1939, the members of the Bética Province worked to rebuild the Polish Province and from 1930 until 1954, Carmel in Portugal. In 1954, the province established the order in Venezuela and Colombia, eventually becoming a Provincial Commissariat. In 1974-1978 the houses in Colombia were closed. In 2000, members went to Burkina Faso in Africa to establish Carmel.

The following were elected to leadership:

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Provincial | Provincial | Provinciale
P. David Del Carpio Horcajo, O. Carm.

1st Councilor | 1er Consejero | 1^o Consigliere
P. Alejandro Peñalta Mohedano, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2do Consejero | 2^o Consigliere
P. José Manuel Granados Rivera, O. Carm.

3rd Councilor | 3er Consejero | 3^o Consigliere
P. Francisco Daza Valverde, O. Carm.

4th Councilor | 4to Consejero | 4^o Consigliere
P. José Ramón Medina Madueño, O. Carm.

Commissary Provincial of Venezuela | Comisario Provincial de Venezuela | Commissario Provinciale del Venezuela
P. Alexio Ordóñez Añez, O. Carm.

During the Provincial Chapter of the Catalonian Province held in Olot on March 29-31, the leadership was confirmed for the next three years.

The oldest foundations in the Catalonian province date to the middle of the 13th century. Perpini dates to around 1265 and Narbonne to 1321 were part of the Province of Spain. This are also became known as the Province of Aragon since the majority of the houses were located in the kingdoms or the territories of the so-called "Crown of Aragon." In 1336, the Vicariate of Perpinani was established which three years later became called "Perpiniani et Maioricarum." In 1342 it was erected into a province under the name of Majorica and from 1354 it was called the Province of Catalonia.

In 1580, three houses located in Sardinia were united to the Province of Catalonia but that union lasted only a few years. In 1835 all the houses of the Province of Catalonia were suppressed by the civil authorities. Restoration of the "Province of Spain" began towards the end of the 19th century with the help of the Majorica in particular. In 1906 the area was divided into the Baetica and Arago-Valentine Province. In 1932, the General Commissariat of Catalonia was established and in 1950 it began a province again.

Before the restoration of the province, members were involved in the restoration of the Provinces of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Pernambuco in Brazil and the Polish Province. The members of the province have also worked to establish the Order in Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

The following were elected to leadership:

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Provincial | Provincial | Provinciale
P. Javier Domingo Garmón Calvo, O. Carm.

1st Councilor | 1er Consejero | 1^o Consigliere
Fr. Joan Güell i Casademont, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2do Consejero | 2^o Consigliere
P. Nicolás Carrizalez Castillo, O. Carm.

3rd Councilor | 3er Consejero | 3^o Consigliere
P. Onesimus Muthini Muthoka, O. Carm.

4th Councilor | 4to Consejero | 4^o Consigliere
P. Manuel Bonilla Gutiérrez, O. Carm.

On March 12, 2023, the Monastery of St. Joseph in the Diocese of Palangkaraya, Indonesia, held its second elective chapter.

Upon the request of the bishop of the Diocese of Banjarmasin in 1993, five nuns fom the Flower of Carmel monastery in Batu founded the monastery of St. Joseph. In 1993, when the Diocese of Palangkaraya was established, the monastery became part of the new diocese. The monastery was dedicated on October 7, 2001. The decree of canonical establishment was received on November 18, 2019.

The results of the elective chapter were as follows:

Prioress | Priora | Priora:  
Sr. M. Dorothea Yekti Handayani Edi Soediono, O. Carm.

1st Councilor  | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sr. Yosepha Tinawati Kamsani, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera  | 2ª Consigliera: 
Sr. Bernadetta Nurahdiyati Soeharjo, O. Carm.

Formator | Formadora  | Formatrice:
Sr. Bernadetta Nurahdiyati Soeharjo, O. Carm.

Treasurer | Ecónoma  | Economa: 
Sr. Yosepha Tinawati Kamsani, O. Carm.

Sacristan| Sacristana | Sacrestana: 
Sr. Stefana Sugiyanti, O. Carm.

On March 15, 2023, the Monastery of the Incarnation-San Miguel in Huesca, Spain, held their triennial elective chapter.

The sisters wrote that "the Holy Spirit was clearly present in the communion manifested in the elections. We continue to ask for your prayers so that ... the community may be open to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit and faithful to the mission entrusted by God through his Church. May we enrich Carmel with our life and may everything be for the greater glory of God, the Church, Carmel, and our diocese ... of the whole world."

The monastery was founded by the Carmelite Peter Sobrino in 1622. From Incarnation, another monastery, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was founded in 1656.

The results of the elective chapter were as follows:

Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sor Ma Gloria de Dios Caballero, O. Carm.

1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sor Ma Blanca de la Eucaristía, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera  | 2ª Consigliera: 
Sor Ma Pilar Borau, O. Carm.

Director of Novices | Maestra de Novicias | Maestra delle Novizie
Sor Ma Blanca de la Eucaristía, O. Carm.

Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa: 
Sor Ma Blanca de la Eucaristía, O. Carm.

Sacristan | Sacristán | Sacrestana:
Sor Ma Pilar Borau, O. Carm.

The members of the St. Titus Brandsma Province of the Philippines held their 4th chapter from March 5-10, 2023 at St. Scholastica’s Spirituality Centre in Tagaytay City, Cavite, Philippines.

It was the first open chapter of the province. Present were the prior general of the Order, Míċeál O'Neill and Robert Thomas Puthussery, the General Councilor for Asia-Australia-Oceania, as well as 64 solemnly professed members of the province working in the Philippines and abroad. Ten friars in simple vows and 14 full-fledged lay associates were also present at the chapter.

The theme of the Chapter was "Moving on as Synodal and Radical Witnesses of Being Disciples of the Risen Lord."

During the Chapter the following were elected to leadership:

Provincial | Provincial | Provinciale
Fr. Rico P. Ponce, O. Carm.

1st Councilor | 1er Consejero | 1^o Consigliere
Fr. Esmeraldo A. Reforeal, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2do Consejero | 2^o Consigliere
Fr. Joseph Roque, O. Carm.

3rd Councilor | 3er Consejero | 3^o Consigliere
Fr. Rhen Caculitan, O. Carm.

4th Councilor | 4to Consejero | 4^o Consigliere
Fr. Christopher Labrador, O. Carm.

Other Members | Otros Miembros | Altri Membri

Student Friar | Frate Studente | Fraile Estudiante
Bro. Brandon Bahayanan, O. Carm.

Lay Associate | Collaboratore Laico | Colaborador Laico
Maria Angela Ureta