Displaying items by tag: Province of the Netherlands

The Provincial Chapter of the Province of the Netherlands took place from May 5-8, 2026. The chapter participants gathered in the beautiful retreat center at Franciscushuis (Denekamp).

This was a very special chapter. In addition to the members of the Dutch Province, five Carmelite friars from the Province of the Philippines and one Carmelite friar from the Eastern Indonesian Province were also attending the chapter as guests. Both of these Carmelite provinces in Asia have had a long connection with the Netherlands as it was Dutch Carmelites who first brought a Carmelite presence to these countries. At this point in time, the Province of the Netherlands is exploring a greater union with the Province of the Philippines with a view to perhaps even becoming a provincial commissariat of the Philippines Province.

Last February, two Dutch Carmelites attended the Provincial Chapter in the Philippines and made a presentation on the situation of the Dutch Province. This time, Noel Rosas, O. Carm, prior provincial of the Province of the Philippines, travelled to the Netherlands and made a presentation on the history and reality of his province. He expressed enormous gratitude for the work that the Dutch Carmelites had done in beginning the Carmelite presence in the Philippines some 68 years previously.

Presiding at the Eucharist on Thursday morning, the prior general, Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm., reminded those present that the mystics insist that ‘flexibility’ is one of the signs of spiritual maturity. He noted that the Carmelite Saint Mary Madalene de’ Pazzi said that the Holy Spirit is the “super glue” that binds us to the love of Jesus for long time even when there is not a time of consolation (cf. John 15:9-11: remain in my love) in periods of “spiritual seismic activity.” The prior general said to the participants, “Don’t be afraid, everything begins and ends with the love of God.”

The recreation on the final night of the chapter was both enjoyable and memorable with a real international flavor. Overall, while many questions and some doubts remain, the participants left the chapter feeling both thankful for the week together and hopeful for the future of Carmel in the Netherlands. As one participant commented, “It was a grace-filled moment.” At the end of the Chapter, the prior general observed that “something new is being born in the Dutch Province.”

In light of this delicate moment and process of transition (alongside the diminishing numbers of the members in the Netherlands), the prior general and general council agreed to the request of the province to have only two provincial councillors for the next three years (alongside the members of the extended council).

During the chapter were elected:

Prior Provincial | Prior Provincial | Priore Provinciale
Huub Welzen, O. Carm.

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

2nd Councilor | 2do Consejero | 2^o Consigliere
Simon Taa, O. Carm.

Extended Council Members | Miembros del Consejo Ampliado | Membri del Consiglio Allargato
Anne-Marie Bos, O. Carm.
Minie Pasop, O. Carm.

Sister Agnes Lokate celebrates 80 years as Carmelite Nun and 100 Years of Life

Sister Agnes Lokate will celebrate her "oak" jubilee of life in Carmel on May 16. Sister was born on July 11, 1924 in Heeten (Overijssel), the Netherlands. She entered the Carmelite monastery of St. Jozef in Zenderen in 1944. She made her first profession on February 22, 1946, and solemn profession three years later in 1949.

The first celebration will take place with a sung Eucharist celebration with choir and conductor in the Angeli Custodes nursing home in Raalte, where Sr. Agnes lives. On her centennial birthday, Sr. Agnes will be celebrated in her hometown of Heeten. At 2 p.m. there will be a sung Eucharist, followed by a reception until 5 p.m. for invited guests.

Sr. Agnes now resides with other Carmelite sisters in a care facility in Raalte.

Ad moltos annos!

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