On April 2-6, 2024, the General Councils of the OCD and of the OCarm met at the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of Santa Croce, Bocca di Magra, Liguria. As has become the tradition since 1991, the two Councils meet twice a year, in June and December, to update each other on developments in the two branches of Carmel and discuss matters of mutual concern. Every three years, the Councils meet for an extended length of time to reflect on an agreed theme. This time they reflected on some lessons from the life and writings of St Therese of the Child Jesus with the guidance of Fr Emilio J. Martinez, O ..read more

Members of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites in Peru met for their annual Retreat from the 23 to 25 February 2024.  This year’s venue was the Spirituality Centre of the Dominican Missionaries of the Rosary in Lima.  This annual Retreat was organized by the OCDS Council of the St. Martin de Porres Commissariat. The Spiritual Exercises saw 80 members convene from the 6 Communities of Peru:  Abancay, Arequipa, Cuzco, Ica, Lima and Trujillo.  It was hoped that it would be a special time of prayer and meditation and that the results would be expressed in concrete underta ..read more

An OCDS Community is present in the city of Tamale and holds its meetings in the Monastery of the Carmelite Nuns there.  Some of the OCDS members will pronounce their temporal vows shortly.  All of them are deeply involved in their formation and life of prayer and community.  The call to become Secular Carmelites has also been heard by other groups who are meeting in parishes around Tamale. They have already asked for assistance in beginning their official programme as members of the OCDS. Last month a new OCDS Community was officially established in Accra, the capital of Ghana ..read more

2024 04 21 ING OCARM OCD RETREAT DOWNLOAD PDF L'articolo Final message of the OCD and OCarm meeting – April 2024 proviene da CARMELITANI SCALZI ..read more

Last February, representatives of the OCDS Communities of Nigeria met in Benin City to discuss some important matters relating to their life as members of the Carmelite Secular Order.  The General OCDS Delegate as well as the Delegate for Nigeria and Ghana were also present for this meeting. At the moment OCDS Communities are present in the cities of Abuja, Benin, Ekpoma, Enugu, Ibadan, Nsukka, Onitsha and Owerri.  The OCDS in Nigeria is noteworthy for its dedication to prayer and fraternal life. During the February Assembly participants stressed the importance of  preparing the ..read more

Father Aloysius Deeney, OCD (Geoge Joseph Deeney), died, as a result of cancer, in Indonesia, on 14 March 2024, at the age of 75. Father Aloysius was born in 1948 in Pennsylvania and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on 18 May 1974.  He began his initial formation with the Discalced Carmelites of the Washington Province and made his First Profession on I May 1984 in our Oklahoma Province.  In 1990 he was elected Provincial in Oklahoma and served as Provincial for six years, before being postulated for a third triennium.  After just a year and a half of th ..read more

Due to terrorism, many people have had to be evacuated in Dedougou and are now homeless.  Many of these are women and children and some are relatives of the OCD Friars of our Delegation.  Being aware of the needs of these brothers and sisters, the Carmelites have come to their assistance on Sunday 25 February in the presence of our Provincial Delegate, with an initial distribution of food and drinks.  About twenty families numbering over 160 persons were grateful beneficiaries. According to the Prior of our Community, Fr. Alphonse Yonli, with the help of our Provincial ONG Solmu ..read more

This year the Diocese of Segovia commemorates the 450th anniversary of St.  Teresa’s foundation of the Monastery of St. Joseph on 19th March 1574.  It was the 9th foundation of St. Teresa. In celebration, the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Segovia, the Iberian OCD Province, the Municipality and the Diocese organized a series of religious and cultural events on the 15, 18 and 19 March:  a Teresian lyrical recital performed by the soprano Montserrat Marti Caballe and the baritone Luis Santana, accompanied by the pianist Victor Carbajo; and a conference entitled “History of the Founda ..read more

CENTRAL  AFRICA:  Fr. Aurelio Gazzera OCD nominated Co-Adjutor Bishop of Bangassou On Friday 23 February 2024, Fr. Aurelio Gazzera was nominated Co-Adjutor Bishop of Bangasso, in the Central Africa Republic. Fr. Aurelio was born 27 May 1964 in Cuneo (Italy) and entered the OCD Minor Seminary of Arenzano in 1974.  In 1979 he made his First Profession in our Genovese Province and then completed a year of formation in the Central Africa Republic Delegation.  He made his Solemn Profession on 11 October 1986 and was ordained priest 27 May 1989. After serving for a period as a Fo ..read more

The Carmelite Friars of Malawi have held their annual meeting. This is usually held at a Spirituality Centre in Salima, but this year it took place in our Community of Nyungwe, better known as the St. John of the Cross Spiritual Centre. It meant that some of our Religious had to travel a few more Kilometres (hundreds), but it was considered more convenient to hold the meeting here this year. Here are some of the themes discussed during our meetings: The community programme of each community, with particular attention to prayer, fraternal life and the apostolate. Protection of minors and vulne ..read more