Order of Discalced Carmelites
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| Abbreviation | Order of Discalced Carmelites (Ordo Carmelitarum Discalceatorum or O.C.D.) |
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| Motto | Zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo exercituum (With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts) |
| Formation | Late 16th century |
| Type | Roman Catholic religious order |
| Headquarters |
Casa Generalizia dei Carmelitani Scalzi, Rome, Italy |
| Leader | Most Rev. Fr. Saverio (Xavier) of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, O.C.D. |
| Website | www.discalcedcarmel.com |
Casa Generalizia dei Carmelitani Scalzi,
The Discalced Carmelites or Barefoot Carmelites is a Catholic mendicant order with roots in the eremitic tradition of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. (Discalced is derived from Latin, meaning "without shoes".) The order was established in 1593, pursuant to the reform of the Carmelite Order of the Ancient Observance by two Spanish saints, Saint Teresa of Ávila and Saint John of the Cross.
The Discalced Carmelite order is now known by the initials "O.C.D". The older branch of the order, Carmelites of the Ancient Observance, has the initials "O. Carm." The secular branch of the order (the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites formerly known as the Third Order), has the initials "O.C.D.S."
The Discalced Carmelites are men and women, in religious consecration and lay people, who dedicate themselves to a life of prayer. The Carmelite nuns live in cloistered (enclosed) monasteries and follow a completely contemplative life. The Carmelite friars while following a contemplative life also engage in the promotion of spirituality through their retreat centres, parishes and churches. Lay people, known as the Secular Order, follow their contemplative call in their everyday activities. Devotion to the Virgin Mary is a characteristic of Carmelites and is symbolised by wearing the brown scapular.
Carmelites trace their roots and their name to Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. There, in the 13th century, a band of European men gathered together to live a simple life of prayer. Their first chapel was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. They called themselves the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel.
The first Carmelites came as pilgrims to Mount Carmel to live a solitary life-style. These early hermits were mostly laity, who lived an unofficial religious life of poverty, penance and prayer. Between 1206 and 1214, St. Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, brought the hermits on Mount Carmel together, at their request, into community. He wrote them a formula for living, which expressed their own intention and reflected the spirit of the pilgrimage to the Holy Land and of the early community of Jerusalem. They were also inspired by the prophet Elijah who had been associated with Mount Carmel. That influence can be seen by the words of Elijah, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, God of armies" (IKg 19:10) on the Carmelite crest. Within fifty years of receiving their rule the Carmelite hermits were forced to leave Mount Carmel and settled in Europe.
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Wikipedia