The Carmelite General Curia is the administrative center of the Order of Carmelites and is located in Rome, Italy. The Curia Community is an international group with members representing the various areas around the world. While the Prior General and the members of the General Council are the principal leaders of the Order, they are assisted on a daily basis by other Carmelites as well as lay women and men serving the Order.
Secretary General
Fr. Roberto Hasudungan Sianturi, O. Carm.
The Secretary General is appointed as the official notary of the Order.
He prepares all the meetings of the General Council and prepares official letters and other documents. He helps to keep the communication between the General Council and the rest of the Order running smoothly.
Father Roberto Hasudungan Sianturi is the Secretary General for the Order. Father Robert was born in Pekanbaru, Indonesia, on February 17, 1984. At the end of his novitiate, he made his simple profession on July 17, 2005 and his solemn profession, on July 20, 2011.
After finishing his Philosophical and theological studies in Indonesia, he was ordained on October 27, 2012. Immediately after his ordination, he worked as a parochial vicar in a rural parish in northern Sumatra.
During 2014 and 2015 he was appointed the formation director for the Postulants in Sidikalang, also in northern Sumatra.
From 2017 to 2019 he studied spiritual theology at the Teresianum Institute of Spirituality. After receiving a licentiate degree, for a brief time he worked as a director at the Marian Center of Indonesia.
In December 2019, he was appointed Secretary General of the Order.
Postulator General
Dr Giovanna Brizi
The process that leads to the canonisation of a Saint is complex. It goes through a number of steps. One of the early steps is where witnesses attest to the goodness, holiness, devotion to God and other virtues of a candidate for sainthood. If the person passes this step they are named a “Servant of God”. The Pope makes the final decision if a person is to be canonised and officially declared a “Saint”.
Dr Giovanna Brizi is the Postulator General for the Order of Carmelites. The Postulator General has the responsibility for promoting and dealing with the causes (or cases) for canonisation of the Servants of God connected to the Order.
Dr Giovanna Brizi was born in Rome and studied Jurisprudence at the Sapienza University in Rome. She obtained a three year diploma in liturgy from the Pontifical University of Sant’Anselmo in Roma and a diploma in Theology from the Diocesan Theological Centre. In 1998 she obtained a diploma at the Studium of the Congregation of the Causes of the Saints, with a summa cum laude.
From 1999 onwards she worked with different Postulators, with whom she acted as an external collaborator, in the writing of different Positions, and as a researcher in a number of national, and international archives.
Since the 2010-2011 academic year she has given a number of lectures on the practices of the Congregation of the Causes of the Saints at the Pontifical Gregorian University, at the Faculty of History and the Cultural Patrimony of the Church, in the context of the course on the Causes of the Saints.
She took part in numerous national and international conventions and she is the author of articles and books in various languages on topics related to her professional field.
From 2013 she has been the Postulator for different Causes of beatification and canonisation. From the 15th of September she has been the Postulator General of the Carmelite Order.
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Director of Communications
Fr. William J. Harry, O. Carm.
A native of Kentucky in the United States of America, Fr. William holds a Doctorate of Ministry with a focus on communications and was previously the liaison of the General Council to the Order’s communications programs (2001-2007).
He has been involved in the communications ministry of the Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary (PCM), serving as editor of The Carmelite Review (1998-2001), The Sword (2008-currently), and director of publications for Carmelite Media (2008-currently), chair of the province’s communications commission (1998-2001, 2010-2013).
During a term as General Councilor for Northern and Central Europe and North America, Fr. William also served as editor of CITOC, the Order’s quarterly publication in three languages and coordinator of the email news service, CITOC-online, of the Order.
Fr. William joined the Carmelite Order in 1972, professing simple vows at Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada in August 1977 and solemn vows at Collegio di S. Alberto (CISA) in Rome in December 1980. He received a BA degree from Marquette University, an M.ED in Educational Administration from the University of Arizona, STB from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and an STL and D.Min from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Chicago.
After years of teaching, campus ministry, and administration in the province’s secondary education ministry, Fr. William was elected Western Regional Superior of the PCM Province (1999-2001), General Councilor of the Order (2001-2007), Western Regional Superior (2008-2013), and Prior Provincial (2013-2020).
He was appointed director of the Communication Office of the Order in February 2021. The office is responsible for an active social media presence and Edizioni Carmelitane, the Order’s publishing house.
Fr. William was appointed president of the Carmelite NGO in April 2025.
For more information: ocarm.org
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President of the Institutum Carmelitanum
Fr. Boby Sebastian Tharakkunnel, O. Carm.
A native of Rajapuram in Idukki District, Kerala, India, Fr. Boby Sebastian Tharakkunnel, O. Carm. (Baptismal name: James) holds a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, and is a practitioner of both civil and canon law.
He has served the International Carmelite Order in prominent roles, including Executive Secretary of the JPIC Commission (2007–2012) and member of the Inter-Religious Dialogue Commission (2010–2012). Within the Province of St. Thomas, he has exercised significant leadership as provincial secretary (2004–2005, 2017–2020), provincial councilor (2014–2017), prior of both major and minor formation programs, and Instructor Judge for dispensation and laicization cases (2005–present).
Fr. Boby’s ministry embraces formation, pastoral care, and education. He has guided Carmelite students as novice director, rector, and spiritual director, while also ministering as a parish priest. In academics, he has lectured in Canon Law at Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, Bangalore, and Indian Civil Law at Calvary Philosophical College, Thrissur.
An accomplished scholar, he is the author of Personality Disorders and Nullity of Marriage (2015, 2017) and has published several articles exploring the intersections of canon law and psychology. His ministry is a unique blend of pastoral service, legal expertise, and academic scholarship.
Fr. Boby entered the Carmelite Order in June 1989, professed simple vows on May 14, 1993, and solemn vows on May 3, 1997. He was ordained to the priesthood on November 2, 2002. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Calicut, an LL.B. from Bangalore University, a Licentiate in Canon Law from Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, and an M.Sc. in Psychology from Madras University, along with a Diploma in Pastoral Counselling and Religious Formation from NVSC, Pune.
Since 2023, Fr. Boby has been serving as prior and rector of the Minor Seminary, Carmel Nivas, Karukadom, Kerala, and as of May 31, 2025, he has also taken on the role of president of the Institutum Carmelitanum in Rome.
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General Archivist
Fr. Giovanni Grosso, O. Carm.
Fr. Giovanni was born in Rome. He obtained his high school diploma in classical studies and a degree in Political Science from the University of Rome “La Sapienza.”
In 1983, he entered the Carmelite Order; he professed his vows on October 10, 1984, and was ordained a priest on June 29, 1989. After completing his studies in philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, he obtained a doctorate in ecclesiastical history from the Gregorian.
He has held various offices in the Italian Province of the Carmelites: prior of several communities, parish vicar in various parishes; for three years he was responsible for the formation of professed students; for several terms he was a member of the provincial council as councilor, assistant provincial, vice-prior provincial, and prior provincial from 2015 to 2018.
He was provincial assistant of the Carmelite Third Order and a member of the International Commission for Formation that developed the second edition of the Ratio institutionis for the Carmelites (Rome 2000). He collaborated in the drafting of the Ratio institutionis for the Carmelite nuns (Rome 2007) and has been a member of various International commissions. From November 2007 to June 2015, he was postulator general of the Order, and during the same period he directed Edizioni Carmelitane. He is editor-in-chief of Carmelus and several other magazines. From 2007 to 2015, he was vice-prior of the community at the General Curia. From 2014 to June 2015, he directed the historical section of the General Archives of the Order. From October 2018 until 2025, he served as president of the Institutum Carmelitanum, a position he already held from 2007 to 2015, and Regens studiorum at the Sant'Alberto International Center (CISA) in Rome. He was assistant to the Federation “St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi” of the Italian Carmelite nuns from 2018 until 2024).
He teaches History of the Church and Theology of Consecrated Life at the Pontifical Theological Faculty Marianum, History of Consecrated Life at the Studium of the CIVCSVA, and is in charge of Spiritual Theology of Christian Life Forms at the Institute of Spirituality of the Pontifical Theological Faculty Teresianum. He is historical consultant ad casum of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. He also ministers as an extraordinary confessor in St. Peter's Basilica.
He has published his doctoral thesis: Blessed Jean Soreth (1394-1471) Prior General, Reformer, and Spiritual Master of the Carmelite Order (Edizioni Carmelitane, Rome 2007); several books of lectio divina on Marian passages, the “Our Father” and the Beatitudes. He also published Il Poliedro della santità Spiritual Life of the Laity, Ordained Ministers, and Consecrated Persons (Milan 2025). He has collaborated on and edited several collective works and is the author of numerous scientific and popular articles in various journals.
In June 2025, he was reappointed General Archivist of the Order and confirmed as Regens studiorum.
Further information (in Italian only) can be found here: https://archivioocarm.com/
Librarian
Fr. Max Agung, O. Carm.
Ordained as a Carmelite priest in 1996, he has dedicated his life to pastoral ministry, education, and formation within the Carmelite Order. In 2000, he completed a Master of Theology at Melbourne College of Divinity, an experience that deepened his theological foundations and prepared him for service in both academic and pastoral settings.
From 2001 to 2018, he was actively engaged in a variety of pastoral works in Indonesia. His ministry included teaching theology, serving as principal of a Carmelite senior high school, and working as a formator for seminarians, guiding young men in their vocational journey. He was also involved in the Indonesian Carmelite Institute, where he contributed to research, teaching, and the promotion of Carmelite spirituality in the local context.
In 2018, his ministry took on an international dimension when he was assigned to the United States, serving as associate pastor at St. Cecilia Parish in Englewood until 2023. His work there combined pastoral care, liturgical leadership, and intercultural ministry, enriching his perspective on the universal Church.
Since 2023, he has been serving as associate pastor at José Gálvez Parish in Lima, Peru. His pastoral commitment in Peru continues to emphasize spiritual accompaniment, preaching, and fostering community life, while also maintaining his scholarly interest in theology and Carmelite tradition.
