Our Lady of Carmel: the patroness of the Carmelite family
# Our Lady of Carmel, the patroness of the Carmelite family
## Our Lady of Mount Carmel
The Marian title of **Our Lady of Mount Carmel** identifies the devotion to Mary within the Carmelite Order, founded on Mount Carmel (Galilee) in the second half of the 12th century by “devout pilgrims to God” from the West. The liturgical feast is celebrated on July 16 and is one of the most widespread Marian feasts among Christians, particularly in Hispanic, Italian, and Latin American regions.
## Origin of the Carmelite Marian Devotion
The first hermits of Carmel, gathered in a “collegium” by Patriarch Albert of Avogadro (1206-1214) in Jerusalem, built a small church dedicated to the Virgin next to their hermitage. From 1252, the Order appears in papal documents as the **”Order of Saint Mary of Mount Carmel”**. In its early tradition, Carmelite devotion to Mary does not stem from a particular image or new devotional practice but from the evangelical contemplation of the Virgin of **Nazareth**: the “handmaid of the Lord” who receives and guards the Word, and whose “yes” makes her Mother of the Son of God made man. Mary is seen as the “lady” of first place in Carmel, that is, one to whom the brothers dedicate themselves fully.
## The Solene Memorial and Feast of July 16
In the second half of the 14th century, in England, the Carmelites established a **solene memorial** of the Blessed Virgin Mary to express gratitude for the benefits received from Mary as their patroness. The original date was July 17, linked to the final session of the Second Council of Lyon (1274), which confirmed the existence of the Order. By the end of the 15th century, the feast was moved to July 16. Benedict XIII extended it to the entire Church in 1726. After Vatican II, it is observed as a **facultative memorial** in the Roman calendar.
## The Scapular and the Vision of Saint Simon Stock
The Carmelite tradition of the scapular is linked to a vision attributed to Saint Simon Stock (13th century), in which the Virgin is said to have given him the Carmelite habit, saying: “This shall be your privilege and that of your descendants: whoever dies wearing it will be saved.” The historical authenticity of this vision is debated by scholars, as the oldest manuscripts of the Carmelite Saints’ Catalog where it appears are from after 1411. Also spurious is the **”Bula Sabatina”** (1322), attributed to Pope John XXII, promising liberation from Purgatory on the first Saturday after death to those wearing the scapular. The devotion to the scapular should be understood in its genuine sense: as a “small habit” that unites one to the Carmelite family, expresses special dedication to Mary, and invites imitating her humility and chastity. Pius XII described it as a **”memorial of the Virgin, a mirror of humility and chastity.”**
# Carmelite Spirituality and Mary
Carmelite spirituality views Mary as an inspirer, guide, and lady of a life centered in contemplative prayer and the listening to God’s Word. The “Ascension to Carmel” culminates in Christ, and Mary’s proper “múnus” (office) in the economy of salvation is to lead to the perfection of charity, symbolized by the mountain that is Christ. Mary is simultaneously “mother and sister” in the Carmelite tradition, within an atmosphere of intimate contemplation. The Second Vatican Council confirms this intuition: Mary has “the office of being a mother in the order of grace… she cares for the brothers of the Son still pilgrims and placed amidst dangers and afflictions, until they are introduced into the blessed homeland” (Lumen Gentium 61-62).
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> **”From the beginning, the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel placed itself under the patronage of Mary, whose imitation it practices and whose contemplation it has as its purpose.”**
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> – *Second Vatican Council, Decree *Perfectae Caritatis* (28 October 1965)*
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