Carmelites of Mary Immaculate
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| Abbreviation | C.M.I. |
|---|---|
| Motto | I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts |
| Formation | 11 May 1831 |
| Type | Syro-Malabar Catholic religious order |
| Headquarters | Chavara Hills, Kakkanad, Kochi |
| Location |
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| Coordinates | 10.032584,76.35471 |
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General of Carmelites of Mary Immaculate
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Paul Achandy |
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Key people
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Kuriakose Elias Chavara— co-founder Thomas_Palackal— co-founder Thomas Porukara — co-founder |
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Main organ
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General Curia |
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Staff
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7000 |
| Website | http://www.cmi.in |
The Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (C.M.I.) are a religious institute for men in the Syro-Malabar Church. It is the first Catholic religious congregation founded in India.
The first monastery of CMI congregation was established on 11 May 1831 at Mannanam, Kerala, India. The congregation was founded by Fathers Palackal Thoma Malpan, Porukara Thoma Kathanar and St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara.
On 8 December 1855, the religious community at Mannanam was recognised canonically with the profession of vows of eleven priests headed by Father Chavara, the first prior of the congregation. The original name of the group was the Congregation of the Servants of Mary Immaculate of Mount Carmel. In 1860, this congregation was affiliated to the Carmelite Order and its members began to use the postnominal initials of T.O.C.D. (Third Order of Discalced Carmelites).
Several diocesan priests as well as lay people enthusiastically sought admission into the rank of the religious, and six more new monasteries were founded: Koonammavu (1857), Elthuruth near Trichur (1858), Vazhakulam near Muvattupuzha (1859), Pulinkunnu (1861), Ambazhakad (1868), and Mutholy (1870). The congregation was granted pontifical recognition in 1885.
The congregation was involved from its beginning in pioneering activities in the Church in Kerala. It started with preaching retreats in all the parishes in Kerala. It brought vitality and vibrancy throughout the church. It also introduced into the local church, adopting from the global church, many devotional practices like eucharistic devotion, rosary, way of the cross, etc., which became very popular in Kerala. The congregation took leadership in starting seminaries for the training of the clergy, beginning with the seminary at Mannanam in 1833.
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