Beginning of the Process of Beatification of Br Jean Thierry of the Child Jesus and of the Passion, ocd

Friday, February 15, 2013, towards the end of the program for the ad limina visit of the Episcopal Conferend of Lombardy (Italy), the ten bishops held a meeting in the Vatican at which presided Cardinal Angelo Scola, the Archbishop of Milan. In this meeting was arranged the canonical progress of the process of beatification of six candidates to holiness, among whom is our Br Jean Thierry of the Child Jesus and of the Passion.

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The Discalced Carmelite who could have been Pope

In these days of the conclave we want to narrate the story of the Discalced Carmelite who came closest to occupying the See of Peter. We are speaking of Giovanni Antonio Benedetto Gotti. He was born in the Italian city of Genoa on March 29, 1834. He made his first profession in the Teresian Carmel on September 21, 1851, in Loano. From that date, as was the custom in the reformed Carmel, he was called Jerome Mary of the Immaculate Conception. On December 22, 1856, he was ordained to the priesthood. He spent his first years as a professor of philosophy and from 1858 as a member of the community of Saint Ann in Genoa.

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Noteworthy Teresian dates in the coming years

In 2015 the Discalced Carmelite Order will celebrate a great occasion: the V Centenary of the Birth of Saint Teresa of Jesus. In view of this, certain important dates are brought to mind from the heart of the Order in preparation for the celebration of this grand event.

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Carmel’s Coat of Arms

Before the XV century, the shield appearing on the acts of the general Chapters consisted of an image of the Virgin dressed in the habit of Carmel, the white mantle was opened out, held by Our Lady's own hands and sheltering under it were Carmelites who looked up to her with their hands joined in prayer.

From the XV century onwards, we have a coat of arms like the one we now know.  

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FRANCIS: A CARMELITE WITHOUT A CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE IS A LIFELESS BODY

Vatican City, 5 September 2013 (VIS) The Holy Father Francis sent a message to Fr. Fernando Millan Romeral, Prior General of the Order of Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, on the occasion of the celebration of the General Chapter.

Francis offered some words of encouragement and hope to all the members of the Order and suggested three elements that may guide them “in the full realization” of their vocation: “allegiance to Christ, prayer and mission”.

The Pope said that in a world that often misinterprets Christ and indeed rejects Him, they are invited to draw nearer to and unite more closely with Him. “It is a continuous call to follow Christ and to abide by him. This is of vital importance in our disorientated world, 'for once the flame of faith dies out, all other lights begin to dim'”.

Speaking of prayer, the Pope emphasized that a Carmelite without a contemplative life was like a dead body. “Now more than ever is the moment to rediscover the inner pathway of love through prayer, and to offer to the people of today in the witness of contemplation, as through preaching and mission, not easy solutions, but the wisdom that emerges from meditating “day and night the Law of the Lord”, the Word that always leads to the glorious Cross of Christ. And, united with contemplation, austerity in life, which is not a secondary aspect of your life and your witness”. Likewise the Pontiff mentioned that there is a strong temptation to fall into the trap of spiritual worldliness, and he encouraged them to aspire to a more austere and penitent life, according to the authentic ancient Carmelite tradition.

“Yours is the same mission as that of Jesus”, he continued. “Today, the mission poses sometimes arduous challenges, as the evangelical mission is not always welcomed and indeed is at times rejected with violence. We must not forget that, even if we are thrown into murky and uncharted waters, He Who calls us to His mission also gives us the courage and the strength to carry it out”.

Finally, Francis remarked, “The witness of your love and your hope, rooted in profound friendship with living God, is like a 'gentle breeze' that renews and reinvigorates your ecclesial mission in today's world”.

Source:

VIS - Vatican Information Service

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Getting to know the Carmels of the World: The Monastery of Mount Carmel of Popayán, Colombia

The Monastery of Mount Carmel of Popayán was founded on October 14, 1729, by Doña Dionisia Pérez Manrique y Cambreros. On July 28, 1863, the 19 Discalced Carmelites of Popayán were exclaustrated from their Monastery and were taken in by the Monastery of Mount Carmel the Lower in Quito, Ecuador. In 1866 they traveled to Ibarra to make their first foundation. The earthquake of August 15, 1868, destroyed it and the afflicted community returned to the Lower Carmel in Quito. They were not able to return to Ibarra until 1876.

In 1959, under the priorship of Isabel of the Most Holy Trinity, the decision to begin the restoration of the Carmel of Popayán was made. The marked interest in this restoration shown by the archbishop of Popayán, Archbishop Diego María Gómez; the Redemptorist Fathers; and the President of the Republic of Colombia, Dr. Guillermo León Valencia, who covered the travel expenses for the nuns, pushed the project forward to such an extent that on July 28, 1963, after 100 years of exclaustration, Popayán received in its bosom these Religious.

The daring of these exemplary daughters of Saint Teresa gave new impulse to the construction of another building on the diagonal street 13 North, on August 6, 1972, where they currently live. The Church became a small Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague, where He receives uninterrupted homage.

After 28 years in this small oasis, constantly cultivating liturgical and personal prayer, but in the face of scarcity of vocations to strengthen the perpetuity of Carmel in the city of Popayán, the sisters met with the necessity of asking for help from another monastery through the President of the Saint Mary of Mount Carmel Association.

It was opportune for the Sisters of the Discalced Carmelite Convent of Saint Joseph of Bellavista to come to the aid of the Popayán community, since they were living through a difficult time of not having their own monastery. The joining of these communities was approved on January 8, 2004.

It has been nine years since the communities have fused, and we can testify that things have gone from good to better, as our Holy Mother Teresa of Jesus tells us in her writings. We are now a community blessed by the INFANT JESUS OF PRAGUE and warmly welcomed by the citizens of Popayán, who have shown us support and unconditional affection.

For all this we give thanks to God and to our Queen and beauty, the Sweet Queen and Mother of Mount Carmel. We are currently 21 sisters and form one body in Christ, our head; we want to be like contemplative Mary at the feet of Jesus, who chose "the better part, and it will not be taken from her.

Source:

Communicationes 223 - Generalate of the Teresian Carmel

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