To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. The forty days of Lent provide a wonderful opportunity for all Catholics to prepare for Easter, the greatest Holy Day in the Church calendar. This year marks the 132nd year that the Carmelites of the North …
Read More »A Look Back at the Carmelite Friars in 1960
The following articles on the Carmelite Coat of Arms and “Carmelite Hospital Chaplain” were included in the 1960 Meet the Carmelite Fathers, a vocation publication written by Rev. Raymond Dolan, O. Carm. At the time of its publication, Fr. Raymond was the Carmelite’s Vocation Director. The Chaplain article was included …
Read More »WHAT WAS OLD WAS NEW AGAIN
The Rite of the Holy Sepulcher, rooted in the worship of the Christian community in Jerusalem and used by various Knights and the faithful and commonly called the Carmelite Rite, is the liturgical rite in Latin that the Carmelite Order first began using in the mid-twelfth century. This Rite …
Read More »About Us
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 …
Read More »The Rule
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 …
Read More »North American Province of St. Elias Coat of Arms
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 …
Read More »Our Mission and Vision
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. …
Read More »Our Ministries
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 …
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