The Carmelite Order is one of the five ancient Religious Orders in the Catholic Church, and first one to be dedicated to Mary, who sought God’s will in profound silence and did it with all her heart and thus became the mother of all the disciples of Jesus.Mt. Carmel in Holy Land, symbol for prayer, silence and solitude, has always attracted god-seeking people.There were always solitary hermits or communities of monks on Mount Carmel, living a life of prayer and contemplation, inspired by the life and spirit of prophet Elias and his followers from early days of Christianity. They lived as hermits in the numerous caves there from time immemorial.

In the beginning of the 12 century a few men living on the slopes of Mt. Carmel organized themselves as the Brothers of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel The written history of the Order up to A D 1200 remains however shrouded in the lives of Latin hermits who lived in the caves of Mt. Cannel, in silence, solitude and to witness Gospel Mystery of Interiority.

It is believed that St Berthold assembled various monks living scattered on Mt. Carmel into a community and St Brocard, his successor, requested a norm of life for them from St Albert, the Latin Patriarch and Papal Delegate of the Holy Land and this was granted in 1209.

contemplation - living out their special calling Eventually they migrated to Europe, especially due to the threats of marauding Moslem armies in the region, and their leader in England in a difficult moment of their existence, received a vision from Mary with the command to wear the Holy Scapular as a sign of deeper.Commitment to Gospel values and therefore of one’s personal salvation. That becomes down the centuries a true symbol of authentic love of God in prayer and of taking upon oneself the yoke of service in imitation of Mary, the true disciple.

Pope honorius III confirmed this rule in 1226-27. Pope Innocent IV, who introduced certain modifications into the rule in order to suit it to the new circumstances and time, later approved it in 1247.Pope Eugenius IV mitigated this Alberto-Innocentian Rule in 1431, after the pest known as ‘black death’, at the request of the Superiors of the Order. From then on there were several attempts to go back to the pristine observance. As a result there arose many reformed Congregations. But they did not last for long, as they could not achieve their aim fully.