History

History of North American Province of St. Elias Many people have no idea where the Carmelites began! The first hermits lived on Mount Carmel in Israel in the time of Elijah the Prophet, hundreds of years before Christ. Later, many Crusaders went to the Holy Land to free such holy …

The rule of life given to the Carmelites by St. Albert Avogadro between the years 1206 – 1214, was finally approved as the true and proper Rule of Carmel by Innocenzo in 1247 and later underwent mitigations which were not in the original text. The Carmelite Rule states that is …

The three parts of our shield portray the history, the spirit and the meaning of our Order, the Province’s sphere of activity and its origin. The left hand portion represents the entire Carmelite Order. The shape of its lower half suggests the Mount of Carmel in the Holy Land where …

St. Elias Province Mission Statement and Vision Statement St. Elias Province Mission Statement We, the Carmelite Friars of the North American Province of St. Elias, are vowed religious who seek union with God through prayer, fraternity and service to the Church. We strive to live in allegiance to Jesus Christ. …

Carmelites work in a variety of ministries in the Church.  Through our Carmelite core values, prayer, and fraternity, we are involved as chaplains, spiritual directors, pastors, teachers, and campus ministers. PARISH PRIEST The majority of men entering into the Carmelite formation program study to be priests. Religious order priests are different than “secular” priests in that they …