Displaying items by tag: Province of Catalonia

Catalonian Province of Most Holy Redeemer Holds Elective Chapter in Olot, Spain

The Catalonian Province held its 2026 Provincial Chapter in the Carmelite house in Olot. The Chapter took place March 24-26, 2026. 

The Prior General, Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm., presided over the opening Eucharist. Later on, in his address to the Chapter, the Prior General reminded the participants that Father Bartolomé Xiberta, O. Carm., (a famous theologian and member of the Catalonia Province who died in 1967) used to say, “I cannot understand how anyone could serve Jesus and Mary without joy.” The prior general asked God, through the intercession of Father Xiberta, to continue strengthening the Carmelite vocation of the members of the Province.

Monsignor Jordi Font, a diocesan priest and rector of the seminary who holds doctorates in theology and in liturgy, then gave the chapter participants a very profound reflection on the Prophet Elijah.

As normal, various reports were presented during the chapter including the report of the outgoing Prior Provincial (Javier Domingo Garmón Calvo, O. Carm.), the report of the Delegate of Venezuela (Frederick Kenny Castro Salazar, O. Carm.) and the reports of the priors of the three communities Olot (Jordi M^a Gil O. Carm.), Barcelona (Raúl Masana, O. Carm.) and Terrassa (Manuel Bonilla, O. Carm.). Further reports were also presented regarding the Nuns of the Province, financial aspects and formation.

Good discussion was held around various proposals which looked to discerning the future of the province, formation, and regarding the various ministries of the province. Significant time was spent on reflecting on Carmel in Venezuela.

Some of the oldest foundations in the Order were part of mid-13th century Catalonia: Perpignan (1265) and Narbonne (from 1321). In 1336 the vicariate of Perpignan was erected, which three years later was called “Perpignan and Majorica”; in 1342 it was erected into a province named Majorica and from 1354 was called the province of Catalonia.

In 1835, all the convents of the province of Catalonia were suppressed by the civil authorities. 

Towards the end of the 19th century, with the efforts of the brothers of Majorica (1875), the work of restoration began, culminating in the restoration of the “Province of Spain” (1889); this was divided in 1906 into the Baetic and Aragon-Valencian provinces. From this, in 1932, houses were detached to establish the General Commissariate of Catalonia, which, in 1950, was again raised to the status of a province. Before the restoration of the province, beginning in 1894, the brothers worked on the restoration of the provinces of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Pernambuco, and later also Poland; they carried out missionary work in Puerto Rico and have been active in Venezuela since 1922. Beginning in 1933, it had provincial commissariats in Brazil (Minas Gerais) and Venezuela.

The 2023 Status Ordinis reflects that the province has 27 members living in six houses. The titular of the province is the Most Holy Redeemer.

The following members were elected to lead the province for the next triennium:

Prior Provincial | Prior Provincial | Priore Provinciale
Luis José Maza Subero, O. Carm.

1st Councilor | 1er Consejero | 1^o Consigliere
Frederick Kenny Castro Salazar, O. Carm.

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

3rd Councilor | 3er Consejero | 3^o Consigliere
José López Villalba, O. Carm.

4th Councilor | 4to Consejero | 4^o Consigliere
Joan Güell i Casademont, O. Carm.

The XXIX Meeting of the Carmelite Family of the Iberian Region was held in Fatima from June 28 to 1. The theme of the Meeting was: "This way is holy and good: follow it. Figures of holiness in Carmel". With this theme we sought to continue the increasingly conscious and current reflection that the vocation to holiness is common to all Christians.

In this context, the reflections made and the conferences presented were inspired by Carmelite figures and documents that, from our spirituality, encourage us towards holiness. Thus:

- Friar Pedro Bravo spoke on the Rule of the Third Order of Carmel;

- Cardinal Emeritus of Lisbon, Don Manuel Clemente, spoke about St. Nuño de Santa Maria;

- Sr. Angela Coelho, vice postulator of the cause of the visionaries of Fatima, spoke about the Carmelite traits of the spirituality of Sr. Lucia de Jesus, one of the 3 visionaries of Fatima and who lived most of her life as a Carmelite nun;

- Mariana Frazão and Carmo Diniz, two people who were in the central organization of the World Youth Day in Lisbon in 2023, shared a reflection on the challenges of holiness launched by Pope Francis from his words and gestures during that Day.

In addition to the lectures, group work was divided into 7 workshops. Each one reflected on an inspiring figure of the Carmelite Order: St. Titus Brandsma, Friar Pablo Maria de La Cruz Hidalgo, Blessed Isidore Bakanja, St. Celia Guérin and Louis Martin, St. Nuño de Santa Maria, St. Teresa of the Child Jesus and Sister Lucia de Jesus.

In addition to the formative dimension, the meeting gave a central place to the prayerful dimension. The Organization provided a bilingual booklet that served as the basis for the liturgical moments. On Sunday, June 30, the participants joined the pilgrims from Fatima and participated in the celebration of the Eucharist at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Fatima.

In the afternoon, the group celebrated the Way of the Cross in the space provided by the sanctuary for this exercise of popular devotion. In this Way of the Cross, the meditations for each station were written by the groups in the work previously presented and based on the life and spirituality of the respective inspirational figure.

On the evening of June 30, a fraternal meeting was held in which each participating group presented something about its place and entity. It was a very festive moment in which we gave thanks for the immense cultural richness present in the Order today.

About 150 participants from the following Carmelite entities, including friars, sisters and lay people, participated in this meeting: Carmelite Sisters of the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Carmelite Nuns, Province of Aragon, Castile and Valencia, Province of Betica, Province of Catalonia, General Commissariat of Portugal.

The Meeting took place in an atmosphere of great fraternity, prayer, exchange and healthy coexistence.

The XXX Meeting of the Carmelite Family of the Iberian Region will be organized by the Province of Catalonia.