25 May Feast

From On Revelation and On Temptation of  Saint Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi, virgin

Come, Holy Spirit

You are truly wonderful, O Word, in the Holy Spirit, in causing him to infuse himself into the soul, through which infusion it is united with God, conceives God, tastes God, and delights in nothing but God.

And the Holy Spirit comes into the soul always marked with that precious seal of the Blood of the Word, the Lamb who was slain; indeed, it is the Blood that moves him to come, if he moves of himself and wills to come.

The moving Spirit is in itself the substance of the Father and the substance of the Word; and it departs from the essence of the Father, from the good pleasure of the Word, and comes as a source spreading itself in the soul, and the soul drowns itself in Him. And as two rivers flow forth and unite together in such a way that the smaller one loses its name and takes that of the larger one, so does this divine Spirit who comes to the soul to unite with it. But it is necessary that the soul, which is the smaller one, lose its name and leave it to the Holy Spirit; and it must do this by transforming itself so much in the Spirit that it becomes one with Him.

And this Spirit, dispenser of the treasures that are in the bosom of the Father and treasurer of the counsels that are made between the Father and the Word, is infused into the soul in such a gentle way that it is not understood and, because of its greatness, is esteemed by few.

With its weight and lightness, it moves in all those places that are suitable and prepared to receive it. By its frequent speech and supreme silence, it is heard by all; with an impetuous gaze, immobile and most mobile, it infuses itself into all.

To read more ...

Elective Chapter Held in Villalba del Alcor (Huelva), Spain on May 13, 2025

On May 13, 2025, the Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist (San Juan Bautista) in Villalba del Alcor (Huelva) España held their elective chapter.

The monastery was founded in 1619 by the nuns of the Monastery of St. Anne in the city of Seville, under the leadership of Sister Beatrice Tinoro of St. John the Baptist († 1622) and with the support of Saint Franco García Jiménez, her cousin. They were accompanied by several lay women who intended to take the Carmelite habit in the new community. They were highly motivated following the Council of Trent.

From here the monastery of the Most Blessed Sacrament (Monasterio del Smo. Sacramento) in the city of Cañete la Real was founded (1662). The monastery celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2019.

The webpage of the monastery with a large selection of pictures from the 2019 celebrations as well as other information is located at www.carmelitasenvillalba.com

The following were elected to leadership:

Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sor María del Carmen del Toro Medina

1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sor María Pilar Martín Gómez

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sor María Inés Vázquez Gallardo

3rd Councilor | 3ª Consejera | 3ª Consigliera:
Sor María Consuelo de Jesús Pérez García

4th Councilor | 4ª Consejera | 4ª Consigliera:
Sor Antonia María Díaz Sánchez

Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Sor María Yolanda Romero Talamante

Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Sor María Pilar Martín Gómez

June 1, 2025 | Share With Gentleness The Hope that Is In Your Heart
World Day of Communications To Be Celebrated Worldwide. In Rome, 2000 Journalists Receive Thanks of Pope Leo XIV

The 59th World Day of Social Communications, celebrated annually by the Catholic Church, will be held on June 1, 2025, the Sunday before Pentecost. The theme for this year is Share with Gentleness the Hope that is in Your Hearts. It is focused on the idea of "disarm[ing] communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred; let us free it from aggression." The message for the upcoming World Comunications Day was released on January 24, 2025, the feast of St. Francis DeSales. 

The theme of the message, according to the Press Office of the Holy See, “draws attention to the fact that today too often communication is violent, aimed at striking and not at establishing the conditions for dialogue. It is therefore necessary to disarm communication, to cleanse it of aggression. From television talk shows to verbal wars on social networks, there is a risk that the prevailing paradigm is that of competition, opposition, and the will to dominate."

Pope Leo XIV expressed his appreciation for the world press by holding an audience for over 2000 members who reported from Rome following the death of Pope Francis through his own election. He called for them to be faithful to their vocation, whatever their particular role in media. In his first audience with journalists as the pontiff, Leo renewed pleas for a more peaceful world. He also expressed solidarity with journalists who were jailed "for seeking and reporting the truth" and said their suffering "challenges the conscience of nations and the international community." The Committee to Protect Journalists said 361 journalists were in jail in 2024. Reporters Without Borders puts the number at 550 as of December 2024.

The Dicastery for Communications led the Church in its Jubilee celebration of Communications during one the first Jubilee celebrations in January. The celebrations included all those who work in the field of communication, especially journalists and media professionals. The three days of celebration, at which communications directors from the Order participated, took place January 24-26, 2025. These days were some of the last public appearances of Pope Francis prior to his hospitalization on February 14. The Dicastery also invited communications leaders from the religious orders and congregations as well as those of the Church's conferences of bishops to a separate three-day conference on the future of the Church's communications work. The sessions began with a private meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

World Communications Day was established by Pope St. Paul VI in 1967 following the Second Vatican Council as an annual celebration that encourages reflection on the opportunities and challenges that the media offer and how the Church can better communicate the Gospel message.

Papal Message for 59th World Day of Social Communications
Released January 24, 2025

Pope Leo Message to the Journalists on May 12, 2025
Text of Message in English | Video: Pope begins speaking at the 8:00 minute mark

For more information on the Jubilee Celebration of Communications ...

Papal Address to Dicastery Discussion of Future of Church Communications
January 27, 2025 - Clementine Hall

Remembering & Making Present (John 14:23-29)

• pdf Celebrating At Home - Sixth Sunday of Easter [PDF](2.89 MB)
• default Celebrating At Home - Sixth Sunday of Easter [ePub](2.80 MB)
• pdf Celebrando en Familia - Sexto Domingo de Pascua(515 KB)
• pdf Celebrando in Casa -  VI Domenica di Pasqua(513 KB)
• pdf Celebrando em família - Sexto Domingo da Páscoa(460 KB)

22 May Optional Memorial

Yes, we must purify our hearts from everything that can prevent true love for Jesus. He alone is love, and in love he desires to communicate with us. The good Jesus calls us continually, without ceasing. How long will we remain deaf to his invitation? Let us offer our hearts to Jesus, let us give him our will, let us place our faculties and our senses at his service.

Let there be no disorderly attachment to creatures in our hearts, but only love, an ever more ardent love, because love is never satisfied and does not rest until it has consumed itself. And when the pure love of Jesus has completely inflamed our hearts, it will remove everything that is not love.

Let us not sleep, then: let us love God without ceasing. God alone, creator of heaven and earth, be our peace, our comfort. For we can always find the One who remains forever; everything else passes away, is transitory.

Love, love, I urge you to a love that is ever more ardent, that never ceases. The more we love God, the more we will desire to love him. And when we have Jesus in our hearts, we will be certain that we possess all things in him and with him.

To read more ...

We present one of the earliest examples of animated books, or pop-up books, that we came across while cataloguing our antique collection. It is a cinquecentina, printed in Lyon in 1567, containing the De Sphaera of the astronomer and mathematician Giovanni Sacrobosco (John of Holywood or Holybush), the most widely read treatise on astronomy in the Middle Ages, especially at the universities. The volume contains numerous three-dimensional illustrations depicting the solar system, intended to extend and complete the author's discussion.

In the image, taken from one of the pages of the volume, you can see a reproduction of a lunar revolver, an instrument that allowed the phase, age, and constellation of the moon to be determined. This instrument, composed of several overlapping paper discs, was fixed to the page below by a pin, which allowed each disc to rotate freely around the central axis.

[from: ABiGOC: Archivio e Biblioteca Generali dell’Ordine Carmelitano]

International Formation Course Brings Together 40 of Order’s Formators in Perú

The General Formation Commission organized an international course for formators and vocation promotors. The theme was “Constantly Renew Our Lives to Adhere Radically to Christ According to the Carmelite Way of Life” (RIVC. 19). The course took place on May 5 - 17, 2025 at the Carmelite Center Villa Carmelitas in Lurín, Perú. The participants were 40 persons from America, Africa, Asia and Europe. 

In the first week the participants were enriched by the talks given by invited speakers and the members of the General Formation Commission. Those talks were: Mary and Formation by Fr. Míċeál O’Neill, O. Carm., Prior General, through Zoom. RIVC and Its Development by Fr. Alejandro López Lapuente Villalba, O. Carm., Formation and Synodality by Sr. Birgit Weiler, MMS., two talks Self-Care or Burn Out  and Accompaniment of the Gen Z & A in Carmelite Formation by Fr. Vagner Sanagiotto, O. Carm. (Brasil – Parana), and Theology of the Body for the Carmelite Formation by Fr. Benny Phang, O. Carm. (Vice Prior General).

In the weekend of the first week, the participants refreshed themselves by visiting the historical and the modern parts of the city of Lima and enjoyed the Peruvian delicacies.

In the second week the participants dedicated themselves to work in revising and updating the RIVC 2013, since according to the Constitutions 137, the Ratio needs to be revised every 12 years in responding to the development in the Order, Church and society.

According to one of the participants, Esmeraldo Reforeal, a member of the Province of the Philippines provincial council and formation program, “Stepping back from a week of meaningful discussions and sharing about essential topics on formation, we found solace in Lima, Peru's breathtaking beauty, The city's unique blend of Gothic, Andean Baroque, Romanesque and Arabic architecture stole our hearts. We marveled at the stunning basilicas of the Franciscans and Jesuits, the cathedral, and the Church of the Dominicans, home to St. Rose of Lima, the second patroness of the Philippines, and St. Martin de Porres. Many pilgrims flock to this church to venerate them, where their skulls are enshrined at the side altar. Their tombs are also in this place."

"A sumptuous meal at L'Eau Vive, managed by the Donum Dei sisters, was a heavenly treat. But the highlight was the mass at the Jesuit basilica, where I had the privilege of presiding and delivering a homily partly in Spanish, with  vice-general Benny Phang and commissary provincial of Peru, Raul Maravi concelebrating presiding. Grateful for this experience with confreres," concluded Fr. Esmeraldo.

pdf Read the report by Fr. Benny Phang, O. Carm. (Vice Prior General) ...(289 KB)

General Assembly with Elections of the La Famille Donum Dei Held in France in January and February

The General Assembly of La Famille Donum Dei, also known as Travailleuses Missionnaires de l'Eau Vive, was held in La Grâce-Dieu in the Archdiocese of Besançon, France. The meetings ran from January 27-February 11, 2025.

On February 11, 1950, the diocesan priest Marcel Roussel Galle established the Missionary Family “Donum Dei.” They took St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus as their patron. Three years after his death, on February 22, 1987, the Family Donum Dei, according to the will of its founder, joined the Carmelite Order as a secular Third Order. On December 8, 2020, they were erected as a Society of Apostolic Life with diocesan rights in the Archdiocese of Marseille in France. Now that Donum Dei has fulfilled the 5 year experimentum period and have communities in various countries, consultations will begin about the group becoming a Society of Apostolic Life with Pontifical Rights.

The missionary workers, present on all five continents, are dedicated to evangelization in many areas of society.

The following were elected to leadership:

Responsable Générale:
Marie-Michèle Manukula (Wallis)

Conseillère:
Geneviève Konsole (Burkina Faso)

Conseillère:
Anna Hong Nguyen

Conseillère:
Diana Focio Alarcon

PROFESSIO SOLEMNIS
17-05-24  Roger Boris Ava Mbida (Ger-Cam) Yaoundé
06-04-25  Itamar dos Santos Neri (Pern) Aracaju, Brasil
26-04-25  Cristiano Garcia Dias Barbosa (Pern) Recife, Brasil
12-04-25  Mary Regina Wanjiru of the Sorrowful Virgin Mother (Mach) Kenya
12-04-25  Mary Nathalie Nsizoa of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Mach) Kenya

ORDINATIO DIACONALIS
05-07-24  Roger Boris Ava Mbida (Ger-Cam) Yaoundé

ORDINATIO SACERDOTALIS
05-07-24  Marius Darhlin Wabo Togueu (Ger-Cam) Yaoundé
05-07-24  Isaie Nathan Abiscegue Rousseau (Ger-Cam) Yaoundé
03-05-25  Anacleto Guterres Da Costa (Aust-TL)  Middle Park

Chapter of General Commissariat of "La Bruna" Held in Naples May 12-14, 2024 with Elections

The Chapter of the General Commissariat  “Santa Maria 'La Bruna'” took place May 12-14, 2025, in the Carmelite monastery in Naples under the presidency of the prior general, Míceál O’Neill, O. Carm., accompanied by Richard Byrne, General Councilor for Europe. The theme chosen for the chapter was: “The love of Christ impels us“ (2 Cor 5,14). Contemplation: towards the renewal of fraternal and missionary life in Carmel.

Unfortunately, the Carmelites in Tanzania were unable to receive visas to attend the Chapter in Italy. Instead, they participated by electronic means.

The Chapter opened on Monday, 12th May 2025 with a Votive Eucharist to the Holy Spirit. Thereafter, the gremiales went to the Chapter Hall and listened to an address from the Prior General. As usual, the chapter reflected on the previous three years aided by the reports from the officials of the Commissariat. Over the course of the chapter, the gremiales spent a lot of time reflecting on the relationship between the Carmelites in Tanzania and those in Italy and, in particular, how the Carmelite presence in Tanzania might be developed. Towards the end of the Chapter, the elections for the General Commissary and his Councillors were  held.

On the last day of the chapter, 14th May 2025, the Prior General celebrated the Eucharist on the Feast of St Matthias which coincided with the traditional Wednesday devotions to the Madonna of La Bruna in the Carmelite sanctuary which, as usual, were attended by a large number of the faithful. After the celebration of the Eucharist, the Acts of the Chapter were unanimously approved and signed by all present. With some final words of encouragement, and noting the rich history of the Commissariat, the prior general formally declared the chapter concluded.

The Commissariat is the heir to a tradition that dates back from 1524, when the convent of Carmine Maggiore in Naples was placed directly under the prior general. For awhile it became part of a province and, when this province disappeared due to the civil revolution, Carmine Maggiore was again placed under the jurisdiction of the prior general with the exception of the years 1910-1920 in which it was part of the Province of Naples. In 1947 a commissariat entitled "La Bruna" was set up to include Carmine Maggiore and two other houses. In October 2009 the foundation in Tanzania was established.

First page: www.santuariocarminemaggiore.it

The following members were elected to leadership:

Commissary General | Comisario General | Commissario Generale
Alfredo Di Cerbo, O. Carm.

1st Councilor | 1er Consejero | 1^o Consigliere
Luciano Di Cerbo, O.Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2do Consejero | 2^o Consigliere
Dominic Somola, O. Carm.