Triennial Meeting of the General Delegation of Bohemia and Moravia

The General Delegation of Bohemia-Moravia (Czech Republic) was erected by the General Council of the Order of Carmelites on 2^nd October 1984. It was the culmination of a ten-year period in which Fr. Metoděj Minařík secretly organized a group of people who took an interest in the Order, helped them spiritually, trained them and accepted their religious vows. After the erection of the Delegation, the confreres lived another five years in illegality, and after the year 1990 they were able to begin a regular religious life.

As this is a General Delegation within the Order, the Major Superior of the Carmelites in the Czech Republic is the Prior General. At the same time, general delegations are also headed by a superior called the Delegate General whom (along with two other councillors) the Prior General appoints every three years.

Once every three years, coinciding with the end of the mandate of the Delegate General, an assembly of the delegation takes place in order to meet, to strengthen the bonds of fraternity, to have ongoing formation and to discern solutions regarding the various issues that the Delegation faces at that time.

The most recent triennial assembly of the friars within the Delegation was held from 16^th to 17^th April 2024 in Kostelní Vydří. It was presided over by the Prior General, Míċeál O’Neill who was assisted by the General Councillor for Europe, Richard Byrne. After the Prior General’s address, the Delegate General, Norbert Žuška, OCarm, gave a report on the state of the Delegation.

During the course of the assembly, in small groups and together in assembly, the friars considered the state and health of the Delegation and identified various issues to be addressed and the concrete steps to be taken over the next three-year period. The friars also reflected on what the Czech Republic is asking of Carmelites today and gave an orientation to the new Delegate General and council. In addition, the friars shared with each other their experience and expectations for the various officials that need to be appointed within the Delegation.

A consultation was held regarding the candidates for Delegate General and for the two Councillors that will be appointed by the Prior General during the plenary meeting in May 2024 of the General Council.

On 17^th April 2024, the Eucharist was celebrated with the members of the local parish and several members of the Third Order. During his homily, the Prior General spoke about privileged place that Mary holds in the hearts and minds of Carmelites.

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!

Sent to be God’s Love in the World
(John 15:26-27, 16:12-15)

• pdf Celebrating At Home - Pentecost [PDF](2.92 MB)
• default Celebrating At Home - Pentecost [ePub](4.24 MB)
• pdf Celebrando en Familia - Pentecostés(480 KB)
• pdf Celebrando in Casa -  Pentecoste(474 KB)
• pdf Celebrando em família - Pentecostes(476 KB)

58^th Annual World Communications Day 2024 Celebrated Sunday, May 12

Pope Francis has dedicated his message for the 58^th annual celebration of World Communications Day to a discussion of the wisdom of the human heart “to look at things with God’s eyes, to see connections, situations, events and to uncover their real meaning.”

His statement for the occasion is entitled Artificial Intelligence and the Wisdom of the Heart: Towards a Fully Human Communication. The pope writes that AI is “radically affecting the world of information and communication, and through it, certain foundations of life in society. These changes affect everyone.”

The Holy Father expresses the hope that “the new” will not be rejected “to preserve a beautiful world condemned to disappear.” He highlights the value that artificial intelligence presents. But he also warns it is more appropriately called “machine learning” since it is not “intelligence.” He says, “Machines possess a limitless greater capacity than human beings for storing and correlating data, but human beings alone are capable of making sense of that data.” The message closely links to the Pope’s message for the World Day of Peace, which was devoted to the development of systems of artificial intelligence (AI).

Pope Francis highlights some of the questions that arise as a result of the developments in the world of communications. The answers we give, he says, “will determine if artificial intelligence will end up creating new castes based on access to information and thus giving rise to new forms of exploitation and inequality. Or, if it will lead to greater equality by promoting correct information and a greater awareness of the epochal change that we are experiencing by making it possible to acknowledge the many needs of individuals and of peoples within a well-structured and pluralistic network of information.”

World Communications Day was established by St. Pope Paul VI in 1967 as an annual celebration to encourage reflection on the opportunities and challenges that the modern mean of social communication (the press, motions pictures, radio, television, and the internet) afford the Church to communicate the Gospel message.

We present some resources in various languages that may be useful for a celebration of the Day in your part of the world.

World Communications Day Website  – Dicastery  for Communication

Artificial Intelligence and the Wisdom of the Heart: Towards a Fully Human Communication
Text of Papal Message

We Must Maintain Our Independent Thinking and Discernment – Machines Should Assist Not Replace
(English only) Interview with Bishop John Arnold of Salford, England

Presentation of the Book

La demolita chiesa di S. Nicola dei Cesarini a Roma

by Cristina Cumbo

Published by Edizioni Carmelitane

Speakers:

Ilaria Miarelli Mariani
Director of the Direzione Musei Civici della Sovrintendenza Capitolina

Giovanni Grosso, O. Carm.

President, Institutum Carmelitanum

Riccardo Santangeli Valenzani

Archeologist

Monica Ceci

Archeologist

Cristina Cumbo

Archeologist e Author

The program will take place Friday, May 17, 2024 at 17:00

Museo di Rome – Palazzo Braschi

Sala Tenerani

Piazza di San Pantaleo, 10

Rome

Entrance is free

Information:  06 0608

www.museodiroma.it

Days of Enhancement of Ecclesiastical Cultural Heritage

At the Origins of Movable Type Printing
The Incunabula of the Carmelite Library

Dr. Rosa Parlavecchia will show some incunabula, accompanying the presentation with instrumentation in use in the ancient printing workshops.

It is preferable to communicate participation to the following address:

Historian Studying Carmelite Music in Poland and Italy Between the 17th and 18th Centuries

Dr. Marek Bebak is a music historian from Poland and teaches at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. In the fall of 2023, he was awarded the seventh research grant from the General Archives of the Carmelites, named in memory of Fr. Emanuele Boaga, and started a Musicology project, entitled Mapping the Carmelites Musical Culture in Europe in the Seventeenth-and Eighteenth-Century. Preliminary research was based on the collection of the General Archive of the Carmelite Order in Rome.

Marek has dealt with this issue before, investigating Polish Carmelite archival and bibliographical sources and producing several publications on the subject. Now his attention has shifted to Italy.

On the occasion of his stay in Rome, we were able to asked him some questions:

Can you briefly describe what your research work consists of?

As a musicologist, I try to learn about the ancient musical culture of the Carmelites, especially regarding the 17th and 18th centuries, when the Order was at its peak. Referring to various historical sources, namely musical manuscripts and prints, theoretical treatises, ancient books, and archival documentation (chronicles, charters, reports, protocols), I try to answer the following questions:

What kind of music was heard in Carmelite churches and monasteries? In what situations was it used? Who performed it and who financed it? What instruments were available in Carmelite churches?

I also try to analyze the musical works themselves and assess the compositional skills of the Carmelites in the context in which they created them. I also prepare critical editions of musical works so that musicians can include these compositions in their concert repertoire and record them on CD. Examining the documentation of many convents and provinces gives me a broader perspective: the opportunity to compare and evaluate the level of musical culture in different places in Europe.

What cultural institutions have you visited to pursue your research in Poland and which ones are you consulting and will you consult here in Italy?

In both Poland and Italy the source situation is complicated and requires research at various institutions. This is mainly due to the difficult history of Europe. Many archival and library materials were destroyed or dispersed as a result of fires, floods, wars, partitioning, and dissolution of church property during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The starting point of my work is the materials collected in Carmelite archives, but many sources are also currently held in state and diocesan archives and libraries. My research on the musical culture of the Carmelites in the Polish-Lithuanian Confederation is based on materials that are currently scattered among Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and partly also in Germany, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. For example, in the State Archives in Modra (near Bratislava), Slovakia, I found a manuscript containing a composition by the Krakow Carmelite Telesfor Wikliński. This composition was included in the repertoire of the Piaristi musical chapel in Podolinec. We have immortalized this and other compositions from the repertoire of Polish Carmelites in the 2023 album "Flos Carmeli" (available on streaming services, including Spotify).

My research on the musical culture of the Carmelites in Italy presents the same problems: I started with the General Archives in Rome, and in later stages I will go to historical materials preserved in state and ecclesiastical libraries and archives.

Can you tell us some interesting facts that particularly struck you about the Carmelite composers and musicians who are the subject of your study?

Unlike other religious realities, such as the Jesuits, the Carmelite Order was not known for its musical culture: so any information relevant to this topic is interesting to me.

I was surprised that the number of musical (vocal-instrumental) chapels in Italy was lower than in Poland: in fact, I expected the organization of Polish chapels to be modeled on that of Italy. For example: in mid-17th century in Krakow, in the Carmelite church, there was a large vocal-instrumental chapel, which could successfully perform both 1-4 compositions and large polychoral pieces (for 2 or 3 choirs); this chapel included many musicians, both Carmelite and lay. Unfortunately, no musical material has survived from it, but we have library catalogs listing all the works that the musicians had at their disposal. For comparison, in Rome, in the important Carmelite church of Santa Maria in Traspontina, only three cantors and an organist were employed at the time: it is possible that the musical environment of the daily liturgy was more modest than in Krakow. Instead, for larger feasts (e.g., Our Lady of Mount Carmel or St. Albert), always at Santa Maria in Traspontina, the most distinguished musicians from the papal chapels of St. Peter's Basilica or the Lateran Basilica were invited. Inviting chapels from other churches was typical of this period, but during my research I would like to check whether the Carmelites had their own musical chapels in other cities in Italy.

From sources collected at the General Archives of the Carmelites we know that there were many musicians in other centers, but so far, I have not been able to recognize their organization. This does not mean, however, that in general the musical culture of the Carmelites in Italy was modest. We have many descriptions of events during which wonderful music was performed, composed by the Carmelites themselves, e.g., Filippo Cristianelli, Giovanni Battista Tonnolini, Giuseppe Scarani, Girolamo Casati, Pietro Colombina, Lorenzo Penna, Elia Vannini. In every province of Italy there was at least one composer whose interesting musical works have been preserved. I hope we will learn more about them in the future.

May 9, 2024 | Optional Memorial (Obligatory Memorial in the province of Malta)

A diocesan priest, George Preca dedicated his life to preaching and catechesis. In 1907 he founded the Society of Christian Doctrine or MUSEUM (Magister utinam sequatur Evangelium universus mundus).

His prolific apostolate was the fruit of a life of prayer and constant meditation on the Word of God. His spirituality was based on humility and meekness. He became a Lay Carmelite in 1918, and in recognition of his work in spreading devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, was affiliated to the Order in 1952 by the prior general at the time, Killian Lynch.

The canonical processes for his beatification were initiated in March 1975. St. John Paul II declared him “blessed” on May 9, 2001 and he was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on June 3, 2007.

The second reading for the Liturgy of the Hours is taken from the saint’s writings. He proclaims the virtues of God in contemplating the beauty of creation and His actions, full of mercy and love, towards those who seek and recognize Him in order to confess without restraint.

(from Emanuele Boaga, O. Carm., Celebrating the Saints of Carmel. (Rome: Edizioni Carmelitane, 2010).

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April 25-27, 2024 | Rome
Meeting of the General Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons Held in Rome

The members of the General Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons held their second meeting at the General Curia in Rome on April 25-27, 2024. Members of the Commission are Fr. Michael Farrugia O. Carm., president and General Procurator of the Order; Ms. Julie McCullough (Hib-lay); Ms. Julie Courtney (Brit-lay);  Fr. Quinn Conners, O. Carm., (PCM); and Fr. Babu Payikkattu, O. Carm., (Ind) 

The Commission was encouraged to have received a 95% return rate of the safeguarding questionnaire circulated to the entire Order earlier this year. The members would like to thank everyone who responded to the questionnaire.

At this meeting, the Commission focused on reviewing the safeguarding policies implemented throughout the Order; identifying safeguarding delegates appointed within the Order; and developing an understanding of the ministries involving children and adults at risk in the entire Order. This analysis sets the foundation for the development of a universal safeguarding policy with specific standards.

May 8, 2024 | Optional Memorial
Bl. Àloysius Rabatà, priest

Information about the Blessed comes from witness statements gathered for the Acts of the 1533 diocesan process for the beatification of Aloysius Rabatà. The Acts do contain, as expected, details about his character, the works he performed, and his death as well as his physical appearance and his eating habits. Five out of eleven witness knew the Blessed personally, so the information is considered quite accurate. Later hagiographies merely repeat that information and give other details that are less cetain to be accurate.

Reading the various testimonies in the Acts of 1533 makes it clear Luigi Rabatà was considered an extremely virtuous man and a saint already during his life. Indeed, there are many references to his “sanctity” and his life filled with the practices of fasting and works of charity.

In 1756 the General Chapter of the Order decreed that the approval of his cult "ab immemorabili" be sought. This was granted on December 10, 1841, by Pope Gregory XVI.

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From the book by Marco Papasidero, "A Laudi Deu." Luigi Rabatà tra storia, memoria e pratiche devozionali. (Edizioni Carmelitane, 2019) €14.00