OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL

• Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the patroness

of the Carmelite Order.

• The origin of the Carmelite Order can be

traced back to Prophet Elijah who
ascended the holy mountain of Mount
Carmel and lived a reclusive life devoted to
prayer and contemplation. 
Mount Carmel is a biblical place
that rises 1,742 feet above sea
level and towers above Israel’s
Mediterranean coastline.

It is a must-see for all pilgrims as

part of their Holy Land tour itinerary.
In 1247, Simon Stock was elected the
general of the Carmelite Order. The order
suffered much persecution which prompted
the monks to recourse to the Blessed
Virgin.

Simon Stock prayed to Mary addressing

her as “Flower of Carmel” and “Star of the
Sea”, and he begged her protection for the
whole community.

On July 16, 1251, the Virgin appeared to “This shall be the privilege for you
Simon Stock and gave him the Brown and for all the Carmelites, that
scapular for the order with this promise: anyone dying in this habit shall be
saved.”
The scapular of Our Lady of Mt.
Carmel, known as the Brown Scapular,
is a miniature derivative of the outer
garment worn by Carmelites as a sign of
their vocation and devotion.

Our Lady gave St. Simon the scapular

with the following promise, saying,
“Receive, My beloved son, this habit of thy
order: this shall be to thee and to all
Carmelites a privilege, that whosoever dies
clothed in this shall never suffer eternal
fire…It shall be a sign of salvation, a
protection in danger, and a pledge of
peace.
On January 13, 1252, the
order received a letter of
protection from Pope
Innocent IV, defending
them from harassment.  

Although the scapular was given to the Carmelites; in time, many lay people
began to feel called to live a life more committed with the Carmelite
Spirituality. The church has extended the privilege of the scapular to all laity.
 Based on Church tradition,
three conditions need to be
fulfilled to obtain the
benefits of this Privilege and
the Scapular:

1.Wear the Brown Scapular

2.Observe chastity according to one’s state in life
3.Pray the Rosary
However, this Carmelite vision is not the origin of
devotion to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

It was on this Mount that Elijah prayed to God for

the salvation of Israel, which was suffering a terrible
drought at the time.  He continued to pray and sent
his servant up the mountain several times to look for
rain.  On the seventh try, Elijah’s servant returned
with good news.  “I saw a little cloud no bigger than a
man’s hand, coming up from the sea” Soon thereafter,
torrential rains fell upon the parched land and the
people of Israel were saved. 

It was later interpreted that Elijah saw the cloud as a

symbol of the Virgin - mentioned in the prophecies of
Isaiah Ch 7: verse 14 “Therefore the Lord himself
will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give
birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel”
Through various May Our Lady of
apparitions through Mount Carmel
the centuries Our grant us strength
Lady of Mount
Carmel kept a and fortitude so
constant watch we may all
over her children remain faithful to
ever ready to
Her Son and His
intercede for them
and lead them to Holy Church.
Her Divine Son