Saints of the Discalced Carmelite Calendar
Discalced Carmelite Solemnities, Feasts, and Memorials for the Liturgical Year
January 3
Blessed Cyriacus Elias Chavara Priest - OCD Optional Memorial
Blessed (Cyriac) Kuriakos Elias Chavara, co‑founder and first prior general of the congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, was born at Kainakary in Kerala, India, on February 10th, 1805. He entered the seminary in 1818, and was ordained priest in 1829. He made his religious profession in 1855, in the congregation he founded. In 1861 he was named vicar-general for the Syro-Malabar church; in this capacity he defended ecclesial unity threatened by schism when mar Tomas Rochos was sent from Mesopotamia to consecrate Nestorian bishops. Throughout his life he worked for the renewal of the church in Malabar. He was also co‑founder in 1866 of the congregation of the Sisters of the Mother of Carmel. Above all, he was a man of prayer, zealous for the Eucharistic Lord and devoted to the Immaculate Virgin Mary. He died at Koonammavu in 1871. His body was transferred to Mannanam in 1889.
January 8
Saint Peter Thomas Bishop - OCD Optional Memorial
Born about 1305, in southern Perigord in France, Peter Thomas entered the Carmelite Order when he was twenty‑one. He was chosen by the Order as its procurator general to the Papal Court at Avignon in 1345. After being made bishop of Patti and Lipari in 1354, he was entrusted with many papal missions to promote peace and unity with the Eastern Churches. He was transferred to the see of Corone in the Peloponnesus in 1359 and made Papal Legate for the East. In 1363 he was appointed Archbishop of Crete and in 1364 Latin Patriarch of Constantinople. He won a reputation as an apostle of church unity before he died at Famagosta in Cyprus in 1366.
January 9
Saint Andrew Corsini Bishop - OCD Optional Memorial
Andrew was born at the beginning of the fourteenth century in Florence in Italy and entered the Carmelite Order there. He was elected provincial of Tuscany at the general chapter of Metz in 1348. He was made bishop of Fiesole on 13th October 1349, and gave the Church a wonderful example of love, apostolic zeal, prudence, and love for the poor. He died on 6th January 1374.
January 27
Saint Henry De Osso y Cervello Priest - OCD Optional Memorial
Henry was born at Vinebre, Catalonia, Spain, on the 16th October 1840 and was ordained priest on September 21, 1867. He was an apostle to young people in teaching them about their faith and inspired various movements for the teaching of the Gospel. As a spiritual director he was fascinated by St Teresa of Jesus, the great teacher in the ways of prayer and Daughter of the Church who is better known in the English‑speaking world as St Teresa of Avila. In the light of her teaching, he founded the Company of St Teresa (1876) dedicated to educating women in the school of the Gospel and following the example of St Teresa. He gave himself to preaching and the apostolate through the printing press. He underwent many severe trials and sufferings. He died at Gilet, Valencia, Spain, on the January 27, 1896. He was canonised on July 16, 1993, in Madrid, by Pope John Paul II.
April 1
Blessed Nuno Alvares Pereira Religious - OCD Optional Memorial
Nuno Alvares Pereira was born in 1360, and for many years pursued a military career, becoming the champion of Portuguese independence. After the death of his wife, he joined the Order as a brother in 1423 at the monastery of Lisbon, which he had founded himself, and took the name Nuno of Saint Mary. There he lived until his death in 143 1. He was noted for his prayer, his practice of penance, and his filial devotion to the Mother of God.
April 17
Blessed Baptist Spagnoli of Mantua Priest - OCD Optional Memorial
Born in Mantua on 17 April 1447, as a youth Baptist joined the Carmelites of the Congregation of Mantua at Ferrara. He made his religious profession in 1464 and served in many positions of responsibility in the community; he was vicar general of his congregation six times, and in 1513 was elected prior general of the whole Order. In his own time he was a renowned Christian humanist ‘who brought his richly varied poetry into the service of Christ’. He used his friendships with scholars as an opportunity of encouraging them to live a Christian life. He died in Mantua on 20th March 1516.
April 18
Blessed Mary of the Incarnation Religious - OCD Optional Memorial
Barbe Avrillot was born in Paris in 1566. At the age of sixteen she married Pierre Acarie, by whom she had seven children. In spite of her household duties and many hardships, she attained the heights of the mystical life. Under the influence of St Teresa’s writings, and after mystical contact with the Saint herself, she spared no effort in introducing the Discalced Carmelite nuns into France. After her husband’s death, she asked to be admitted among them as a lay sister, taking the name of Mary of the Incarnation; she was professed at the Carmel of Amiens in 1615. She was esteemed by some of the greatest men of her time, including St Francis de Sales: and she was distinguished by her spirit of prayer and her zeal for the propagation of the Catholic faith. She died at Pontoise on April 18, 1618.
April 23
Blessed Teresa Maria Manetti of the Cross Virgin - OCD Optional Memorial
She was born at Carnpi Bisenzio, Florence, where in 1874 she founded the Congregation of Carmelite Sisters of St Teresa whom she also sent to Lebanon and the Holy Land. She lived joyfully, body and soul, the mystery of the Cross in full conformity to the will of God and she was outstanding for her love for the Eucharist and her maternal care for children and for the poor. She died at Campi Bisenzio on 23 April 1910.
May 16
Saint Simon Stock Religious - OCD Optional Memorial (Feast in Scotland)
Simon, an Englishman, died at Bordeaux in the mid‑thirteenth century. He has been venerated in the Carmelite Order for his personal holiness and his devotion to Our Lady. A liturgical celebration in his honour was observed locally in the fifteenth century, and later extended to the whole Order.
May 22
Saint Joaquina de Vedruna de Mas Religious - Optional Memory
Joachina was born in Barcelona in 1783. She married Theodore de Mas in 1799 and bore him nine children before being widowed in 1816. Then in 1826 she was prompted by God’s Spirit to found the Congregation of Carmelite Sisters of Charity, which spread throughout Catalonia, establishing houses for the care of the sick and the education of children, especially the poor. She was greatly drawn to contemplating the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Her spiritual life was marked by prayer, mortification, detachment, humility and love. She died at Vich in 1854.
May 25
Saint Mary Magdalen de Pazzi Virgin - OCD Memorial
Mary Magdalen de Pazzi was born in Florence in 1566, she had a religious upbringing and entered the monastery of the Carmelite nuns there. She led a hidden life of prayer and self‑denial, praying particularly for the renewal of the Church and encouraging the sisters in holiness. Her life was marked by many extraordinary graces. She died in 1607.
May 29
Bl. Elia of St. Clement, Virgin OCD: Optional Memorial
Blessed Elia of St. Clement was born in Bari, 17th January 1901, to deeply Christian parents. At her baptism she was given the name Theodora, gift of God. In the brief course of her life on earth she lived up to her name. On 8th April 1920 (then Feast of St. Albert, author of the Carmelite Rule), she entered the Carmel of St. Joseph in Bari. She received the habit on 14th November of the same year, the feast of St John of the Cross. On 8th December 1924 she wrote in her own blood her act of total and definitive offering to the Lord with the vow to embrace the "most perfect". She died on Christmas day 1927. On 19th December 2005 Pope Benedict XVI signed the Decree of Beatification. She was proclaimed Blessed in Bari Cathedral on 18th March 2006.
June 7
Blessed Anne of Saint Bartholomew Virgin - OCD Memorial
Ana Gracie was born at Almendral, Castille, in 1549. In 1572 she made her profession as a Carmelite in the hands of St Teresa, at St Joseph’s, Avila. The saint later chose her as her companion and nurse, and she subsequently brought the Teresian spirit to France and Belgium, where she proved herself, like Teresa, a daughter of the Church in her great zeal for the salvation of souls. She died at Antwerp in 1626.
June 12
Bl. Alphonsus Mary Mazurek, priest/martyr OCD Optioinal Memorial
(Alfons Maria of the Holy Spirit): Alphonsus was born in 1891 at Baranowka, near Lubartow, Poland. He entered the Order of Discalced Carmelites in 1908, taking the religious name Alphonsus Mary of the Holy Spirit. He was ordained a priest and appointed as a professor, while dedicating himself to the education of youth. Afterwards he served in his Order as prior and bursar. In 1944, after having been arrested by the troops that had invaded his country, he was shot on 28 August at Nawojowa Gora, near Krzeszowice. He was beatified by John Paul II on 13 June 1999, together with many other Polish martyrs.
June 14
Blessed Maria Candida of the Eucharist, virgin Optional Memorial
Mother Maria Candida of the Eucharist(1884-1949). She was of Silician origin. Her father was from Palmero, but the Cardinal of Palmero discouraged her from entering the local Carmel there and referred her to Ragusa. When she left Palmero to join Carmel, her family disapproved, and never visited her. A couple months after she made her solemn profession, the nuns of Ragusa elected her Prioress and she remained Prioress until about a year before she died of liver cancer.
July 13
Saint Teresa of Jesus “of Los Andes” Virgin - OCD Memorial
Juanita Fernandez Solar was born at Santiago, Chile, on 13 July 1900. From her adolescence she was devoted to Christ. She entered the monastery of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns at Los Andes on May 7, 1919, where she was given the name of Teresa of Jesus. She died on April 12 of the following year after having made her religious profession. She was canonised on March 21, 1993, by Pope John Paul H and proposed as a model for young people. She is the first Chilean and the first member of the Teresian Carmel in Latin America to be canonised.
July 16
Solemn Commemoration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel OCD Solemnity
Mount Carmel is commemorated in Sacred Scripture for its beauty, and it was there that the prophet Efijah defended the purity of Israel’s faith in the living God. Towards the end of the twelfth century A.D. near a spring called after Efijah, a group of hermits established themselves on Mount Cannel and built an oratory in honour of Our Lady, whom they chose as their titular and patroness. They became known as ‘the Brothers of Saint Mary of Mount Cannel’. They regarded the Blessed Virgin Mary as their mother and model first of all in leading the contemplative life, and later in sharing the fruits of their contemplation with others. The Solemn Commemoration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was first celebrated in the fourteenth century, but gradually adopted throughout the Order as an occasion of thanksgiving for the countless blessings which Our Lady had bestowed on the Carmelite family. The Scapular is a symbol of this and of consecration to her.
July 17
Blessed Teresa of Saint Augustine and Companions Virgins and Martyrs - OCD Memorial
As the French Revolution entered its worst days, sixteen Discalced Carmelites from the monastery of the Incarnation in Compiegne offered their lives as a sacrifice to God, making reparation to him and imploring peace for the Church. On June 24th, 1794, they were arrested and thrown into prison. Their happiness and resignation were so evident that those around them were also encouraged to draw strength from God’s love. They were condemned to death for their fidelity to the Church and their religious life and for their devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Singing hymns, and having renewed their vows before the prioress, Teresa of St Augustine, they were put to death in Paris on July 17th, 1794. Pope Saint Pius X beatified them on May 13th, 1906.
July 20
Saint Elijah, Prophet and Father OCD Feast
The prophet Elijah appears in Scripture as a man of God that lived always in his presence and fought zealously for the worship of the one God. He defended God’s law in a solemn contest on Mount Carmel, and afterwards was given on Mount Horeb an intimate experience of the living God. The hermits, who instituted a form of monastic life in honour of Our Lady on Mount Carmel in the twelfth century, followed monastic tradition in turning to Elijah as their Father and model.
July 23
(celebrated in Europe on July 19)
Our Lady, Mother of Divine Grace OCD Memorial
‘The Blessed Virgin Mary was eternally predestined, in the context of the incarnation of the divine Word, to be the Mother of God. As decreed by divine Providence, she served on earth as the loving Mother of the divine Redeemer, his associate, uniquely generous, and the Lord’s humble servant. She conceived, bore, and nourished Christ; presented him to the Father in the Temple; and was united with him in his suffering as he died on the cross. In a completely unparalleled way she cooperated, by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity, with our Saviour’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is Mother to us all in the order of grace’ (Lumen Gentium, the Constitution on the Church, 61).
July 24
Blessed Maria Pilar, Teresa and Maria Angeles Virgins and Martyrs - OCD Optional Memorial
Maria Pilar of St Francis Borgia (born at Tarazona on December 30, 1877), Teresa of the Child Jesus and of St John of the Cross (born at Mochales on March 5, 1990), and Maria Angeles of St Joseph (born at Getafe on March 6, 1905), Discalced Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of Guadalajara, Spain, were martyred on July 24, 1936. They gave witness to their faith in Christ the King and offered their lives for the Church. The first fruits of the countless martyrs of the Spanish Civil War of 1936‑1939, they were beatified by John Paul 11 on March 29, 1987.
July 24
Blessed Maria Mercedes Prat Virgin and Martyr - OCD Optional Memorial
Mercedes Prat was born on March 6, 1880, in Barcelona, baptised on the following day, and made her First Holy Communion on June 30, 1890. From her childhood she gave herself completely to God, whom she received every day in Communion. She displayed a great love for her neighbour and tried to foster this kind of love in others. During her years in school, she was known for her goodness and her dedication to school work, excelling especially in painting and needlework, which were areas in which she had a natural talent.
Entering the novitiate of the Society of St Teresa of Jesus in 1904, in Tortosa, she made her temporary profession in 1907. She was a religious ‘according to the heart of God:’ prudent, and truthful, calm and gentle in her reactions, having a natural goodness in all her dealing with others, but firm in character. God was her one love, and her love for God kept growing to the point where she would give her life for Him. In 1920 she was assigned to the motherhouse in Barcelona. From there the path to martyrdom began on July 9, 1936, when the community was forced to give up the school and flee. On July 23, because she was a religious, Sr Mercedes was arrested and shot; she died in the early morning of July 20.
July 27
Blessed Titus Brandsma Priest and Martyr - OCD Optional Memorial
Born in Bolsward (The Netherlands) in 1881, Blessed Titus Brandsma. joined the Carmelite Order as a young man. Ordained a priest in 1905, he earned a doctorate in philosophy in Rome. He then taught in various schools in Holland and was named professor of philosophy and of the history of mysticism in the Catholic University of Nijmegen, where he also served as Rector Magnificus. He was noted for his constant availability to everyone. He was a professional journalist, and in 1935 he was appointed ecclesiastical advisor to Catholic journalists. Both before and during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands he fought, faithful to the Gospel, against the spread of Nazi ideology and for the freedom of Catholic education and of the Catholic press.
For this he was arrested and sent to a succession of prisons and concentration camps where he brought comfort and peace to his fellow prisoners and did good even to his tormentors; in 1942, after much suffering and humiliation, he was killed at Dachau. Pope John Paul II beatified him on November 3, 1985.
July 28
Blessed John Soreth Priest - OCD Optional Memorial
John Soreth was born at Caen in Normandy and entered Carmel as a young man. He took a doctorate in theology in Paris and served as regent of studies and provincial of his province. He was prior general from 1451 until his death at Angers in 1471. He restored observance within the Order and promoted its reform, wrote a famous commentary on the Rule, issued new Constitutions in 1462, and promoted the growth of the nuns and the Third Order.
August 7
Saint Albert of Trapani Priest - OCD Memorial
Albert degli Abbani was born in Trapani in Sicily in the thirteenth century. Having joined the Carmelites and been ordained a priest, he soon became famous for his preaching and miracles. He was provincial in Sicily in 1296, and died in Messina, probably in 1307, with a reputation for purity and prayer.
August 9
Saint Edith Stein (Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) Martyr & Co-Patron of Europe Feast - OCD Optional Memorial Memory
Edith Stein was born to a Jewish family at Breslau on October 12, 1891. Through her passionate study of philosophy she searched after the truth and found it in reading the autobiography of Saint Teresa of Jesus. In 1922 she was baptised a Catholic and in 1933 she entered the Carmel of Cologne where she took the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She was gassed and cremated at Auschwitz on August 9, 1942 during the Nazi persecution and died a martyr for the Christian faith after having offered her holocaust for the people of Israel. A women of singular intelligence and learning, she left behind a body of writing notable for its doctrinal richness and profound spirituality. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II at Cologne on May 1, 1987, and canonised in Rome in 1998.
August 16
Blessed Maria Sagrario of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga and Two Companionis from the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Guadalajara Virgin and Martyr OCD: Optional memorial
Maria Sagrario was born at Lillo (Toledo) on 8th January 1881. A pharmacist by trade, she was one of the first women in Spain to be admitted to this qualification. In 1915 she entered the Carmel of St Anne and St Joseph in Madrid. Through her spirit of prayer and her love for the Eucharist she was a perfect embodiment of the contemplative and ecclesial ideal of the Teresian Carmel. She was Prioress of her community when she was martyred on 15th August 1936. It was a grace she longed for and accepted in perfection of faith and ardent love for Christ.
August 18
Blesseds John Baptist Duverneuil, Fr. Michael Aloysius Brulard and Fr. James Gagnot Priests and Martyrs - OCD Optional Memorial
Fr John Baptist Duverneuil (born 1737 at Limoges) in religious life Fr. Leonard, Fr Michael Aloysius Brulard (born 1758 at Chartres), Fr James Gagnot (born 1753 at Frolois) in religious life Fr Hubert of St Claude, were among a group of 64 Martyrs, beatified 1st October, 1995, victims of the French Revolution who came from 14 French dioceses and from various religious Orders.
In their loyalty to God, the Church and the Pope, they refused to take the oath of the Civil Constitution for the Clergy imposed by the Constituent Assembly of the Revolution. As a result they were imprisoned, massed like animals, on a slave-trader anchored in Rochefort Bay awaiting in vain to be deported into slavery. During 1794, the first two Carmelites died on board ship: Fr John Baptist on 1st July, and Fr Michael Aloysius on 25th July, and both were buried on the island of Aix. After plague broke out on the ship, those remaining disembarked on the island of Madame where Fr James died and was buried on 10th September.
Not for their loving ministry to their fellow prisoners and their patience in accepting every type of outrage, privation and cruelty not to mention the vicissitudes of weather, hunger and sickness, our three Discalced Carmelite priest martyrs and their companions in martyrdom gave unsurpassable Christian witness to their faith and love.
August 25
Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified Virgin - Optional Memorial
Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified was born of the Baouardy family, Catholics of the Greek Melchite Rite, at Abellin in Galilee in 1846. In 1867 she entered the Discalced Carmelites at Pau in France and was sent with the founding group to the Carmel of Mangalore in India where, in 1870, she made her profession. She returned to France in 1872. In 1875 she went to the Holy Land where she built a monastery in Bethlehem and began planning for another at Nazareth. Noted for her supernatural gifts, especially for humility, for her devotion to the Holy Spirit, and her great love for the Church and the Pope, she died at Bethlehem in 1878.
August 26
Saint Teresa of Jesus’ Transverberation (piercing of her heart) OCD Optional Memorial Nuns: Memorial
‘The chief among Teresa’s virtues was the love of God, which our Lord Jesus Christ increased by means of many visions and revelations. He made her his spouse on one occasion. At other times she saw an angel with a flaming dart piercing her heart. Through these heavenly gifts the flame of divine love in her heart became so strong that, inspired by God, she made the extremely difficult vow of always doing what seemed to her most prefect and most conducive to God’s glory’ (Gregory XV in the Bull of Canonisation). Benedictus: In my heart was the likeness of a burning fire, imprisoned in my bones; and I was scarcely able to bear it.
September 1
Saint Teresa Margaret Redi of the Sacred Heart Virgin - OCD Memorial
Teresa Margaret was born in Arezzo in Tuscany in. 1747 of the noble Redi family, and entered the Discalced Carmelites in Florence on September 1’, 1764. She was given a special contemplative experience concerning the words of Saint John, “God is love.” She felt deeply that her vocation was to live a hidden life of love and self‑immolation. That vocation was confirmed by her heroic exercise of fraternal charity, but was soon completed: she died in 1770, aged twenty‑three.
September 12
Blessed Mary of Jesus Virgin - OCD Memorial
Born in 1560 at Tartanedo (Spain) she took the Discalced Cannelite habit at Toledo in 1577 and made her profession the following year. She spent the rest of her life serving God in that Carmel, except for a brief period in 1585 when she helped with a foundation at Cuerva. She died at Toledo on September 13 th ‘ 1640. St Teresa of Jesus thought extremely highly of her. She was a great contemplative, intensely devoted to our Lord, and often drawing inspiration from the liturgy.
17 September
Saint Albert of Jerusalem Bishop and Lawgiver of Carmel OCD Feast
Albert Avogadro was born about the middle of the twelfth century in Castel Gualteri in Italy. He became a Canon Regular of the Holy Cross at Mortara and was elected their prior in 1180. Named Bishop of Bobbio in 1184, and of Vercelli in 1185, he was made Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1205. There, in word and example, he was the model of a good pastor and peace‑maker. While he was Patriarch (1206‑1214) he united the hermits of Mount Carmel into one community and wrote a Rule for them. He was murdered at Acre on September 14th, 1214.
October 1
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus Virgin and Doctor of the Church - OCD Solemnity
Thérèse Martin was born at Alencon in France in 1873. While still young she entered the Carmel of Lisieux, where she lived in the greatest humility, evangelical simplicity and confidence in God. By her words and example she taught the novices these same virtues. Offering her life for the salvation of souls and the spread of the Church, she died on September 30, 1897.
October 15
Saint Teresa of Jesus Virgin and Doctor of the Church - OCD Solemnity
Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada was born at Avila (Spain) in 1515. As a member of the Carmelite Order she made great progress in perfection and received mystical revelations. As reformer of her Order she underwent many trials which she intrepidly overcame. She also wrote books of the greatest spiritual value which reflect her own experiences. She died at Alba in 1582.
November 5
Blessed Frances D’Amboise, Religious Optional Memorial
Frances was born in 1427, probably in Thouars in France. She was the wife of Peter II, Duke of Britanny. After his death, and under the direction of Blessed John Soreth, the prior general, she took the habit of the Order in the monastery she had previously founded in Bondon. Afterwards she transferred to another foundation in Nantes , also erected by her, where she held the office of prioress and nourished the sisters with wise teaching. She is considered the foundress of the Carmelite nuns in France . She died in 1485.
November 6
Blessed Josefa Naval Girbés Virgin - OCD Optional Memorial
Josefa Naval Girbés was born at Algemesi in the Archdiocese of Valencia, Spain, on 11 December 1820. As a very young woman she consecrated herself to the Lord by a perpetual vow of chastity. Josepha’s life was simple. She stood out for her ardent love, and she made progress along the way of prayer and evangelical perfection while dedicating herself generously to apostolic works in her parish community.
In her own time she opened a school where she taught needlework, prayer, and the evangelical virtues. She formed many young girls and women and shared with them her wisdom and spiritual understanding. She was a member of the Third Order Secular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Teresa of Jesus and had a special love for the Virgin Mother of God. Her holy death took place on February 20, 1893. She is buried in her parish church of St James in her native city.
November 7
Blessed Francis Palau y Quer Priest - OCD Optional Memorial
Born in Aytona, Lerida, Spain, on December 29,’, 1811, Blessed Francis Palau y Quer entered the Order in 1832 and was ordained priest in 1836. Civil turmoil forced him to live in exile and outside his community. On his return to Spain in 1851, he founded his “School of Virtue”—which was a model of catechetical teaching—at Barcelona. The school was suppressed and he was unjustly exiled in Ibiza (1854‑1860) where he lived at El Vedra in solitude and experienced mystically the vicissitudes of the Church. While in the Balearic Islands he founded the Congregations of Carmelite Brothers and Carmelite Sisters (1860‑1861). He preached popular missions and spread love for Our Lady wherever he went. He died at Tarragona on March 20th, 1872, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1980.
November 8
Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity Virgin - OCD Memorial
Elizabeth Catez of the Trinity was born in 1880 in the diocese of Bourges. In 1901 she entered the Discalced Carmelite monastery of Dijon. There she made her profession of vows in 1903 and from there she was called “to light, to love and to life” by the Divine Spouse in 1906. A faithful adorer in spirit and in truth, her life was a “praise of glory” of the Most Blessed Trinity present in her soul and loved amidst interior darkness and excruciating illness. In the mystery of divine inhabitation she found her “heaven on earth”, her special charism and her mission for the church.
November 14
All Carmelite Saints OCD Feast
From the Divine Office:
Benedictus: With such a cloud of witnesses around us, we should run steadily in the race we have begun. Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection. Prayer: Lord, may the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, and the prayers of all the saints of Carmel help us to walk steadfastly in their footsteps, and by our prayers and good works to further the cause of your Church. We ask this through our Lord. Amen.
November 15
All Carmelite Souls OCD Commemoration
Just as the love of Christ and the service of the Blessed Virgin Mary have brought us together in a single family, fraternal charity unites those of us still striving to lead a life of allegiance to Jesus Christ in the world, and those already awaiting the vision of God in purgatory. Today the whole Order commends our departed brothers and sisters to God’s mercy through the intercession of Our Lady, sure sign of hope and consolation, and begs for their admission to the courts of heaven.
November19
Saint Raphael Kalinowski of Saint Joseph Priest - OCD Memorial
Raphael Kalinowski was born to Polish parents in the city of Vilnius in 1835. Following military service, he was condemned in 1864 to ten years of forced labour in Siberia. In 1877 he became a Carinelite and was ordained a priest in 1882. He contributed greatly to the restoration of the Discalced Carmelites in Poland. His life was distinguished by zeal for Church unity and by his unflagging devotion to his ministry as confessor and spiritual director. He died in Wadowice in 1907.
November 29
Blessed Denis and Redemptus Martyrs OCD Memorial
Denis of the Nativity, a priest, whose secular name was Pierre Berthelot, was born in Honfleur in France in 1600. He was a cartographer and naval commander for the kings of Portugal and France before he joined the Discalced Carmelites in Goa in 163 5; it was also at Goa that the Portuguese lay brother, Thomas Rodriguez da Cunha, born in 1598, had made his profession in 1615, taking the name Redemptus of the Cross. They were sent to the island of Sumatra, where, in the town of Achen, they received the martyr’s crown on November 29, 1638.
December 11
Saint Maria Maravillas of Jesus Virgin OCD Optional Memorial
Saint Maria Maravillas was born at Madrid in 1891. She entered the El Escorial Carmel, Madrid, on October 12th, 1919. In 1924 she was inspired to found a Carmel at Cerro de los Angeles, alongside the monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. From this foundation followed nine others in Spain and one in India. She always gave first place to prayer and self-sacrifice. She had a true, passionate zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Even while living a life of poverty in the cloister she helped those who were in need, initiating apostolic, social and charitable works. In a particular way she helped those of her own Order, priests, and other religious congregations. She died in the monastery of La Aldehuela, Madrid, on December 11th, 1974. She was canonized on May 4th, 2003 in Madrid.
December 14
Saint John of the Cross Priest and Doctor of the Church - OCD Solemnity
Saint John of the Cross was born at Fontiveros in Spain about 1542. He entered the Carmelites and with the permission of his superiors began to live a stricter life. Afterwards he was persuaded by Saint Teresa to begin, together with some others, the Discalced reform within the Order; this cost him much hard work and many trials. He died in Ubeda in 1591, outstanding in holiness and wisdom, to which his many spiritual writings give eloquent witness.
December 16
Blessed Mary of the Angels Virgin - OCD Optional Memorial
Blessed Mary of the Angels was born in Turin, Italy, in 1661, she died, after spending her whole life there, in 1717. In 1675 she entered the Discalced Carmelite Convent of St Christina, and several times filled the offices of Prioress and Novice Mistress. She underwent continual spiritual trials, but was constant in her ardent love of God. She was outstandingly faithful to prayer and particularly devoted to St Joseph, in whose honour a convent was founded through her good offices at Moncalieri.
