Madonna del Carmine (Our Lady of Carmen, Montreal)

Marian Advocation of Montreal (Quebec)
Popular devotion (not officially recognized by the Church)

The devotion to Madonna del Carmine, Our Lady of Carmen, was brought to Montreal by Italian immigrants from southern Italy (Campania, Calabria, Sicily), where this vocation is very popular. The local Marian parish became the center of community life. The Paroisse Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel / Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Italian community of Montreal, was founded to serve Catholic Italians in the late 19th or early 20th century.

Main data

Origin and history

The devotion to Madonna del Carmine, Our Lady of Carmen, was brought to Montreal by Italian immigrants from southern Italy (Campania, Calabria, Sicily), where this vocation is very popular. The local Marian parish became the center of community life. The Paroisse Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel / Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Italian community of Montreal, was founded to serve Catholic Italians in the late 19th or early 20th century.

The image and the sanctuary

La referencia más clara es la Paroisse Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel / Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, comunidad italiana de Montreal, tradicionalmente ligada al barrio italiano de la ciudad. Un santuario específico titulado «Madonna del Carmine» distinto de la parroquia no consta.

Sponsorship and coronation

The advocation is venerated by the Italian community of Montreal as an expression of its religious identity. There is no canonical coronation of the image.

Party and devotion

The main feast is Our Lady of Carmen, on July 16, with processions and celebrations of the Italian community. The local chronicles speak of processions with the statue of Madonna del Carmine on the streets of the Italian neighborhood, with promises, exvotes and mass participation, maintained as an identity tradition of the descendants of immigrants. A concrete miracle attributed to the image in Montreal with official documentation is not recorded.

Link to the Rosary

Carmelite spirituality is strongly linked to the prayer of the Rosary and the scapular of Carmen; in the Italian parish Marian co-fradies are promoted that pray the Rosary regularly. The Rosary in Italian, often accompanied by traditional Marian songs, is part of the ninth and triduous of the Carmen's feast.