Our Lady of Carmen, Stella Maris

Marian Invocation of Haifa (Galilee)

On Mount Carmelo, on the current city of Haifa, a community of Latin erects has developed since the Crusades. Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (Carmelites). These hermits, established next to the so-called "source of Elijah," organized their life according to the rule given by Saint Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, between 1206 and 1214, and from very soon put their life under the patronage of the Virgin Mary, venerated as Lady of the place y Estrella del Mar (Stella Maris).

Main data

Origin and history

On Mount Carmelo, on the current city of Haifa, a community of Latin erects has developed since the Crusades. Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (Carmelites). These hermits, established next to the so-called "source of Elijah," organized their life according to the rule given by Saint Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, between 1206 and 1214, and from very soon put their life under the patronage of the Virgin Mary, venerated as Lady of the place y Estrella del Mar (Stella Maris).

The Carmelite tradition spiritually links this origin to the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Re 18), interpreted as a figure of contemplative life and future Marian devotion, but this relationship is theological and spiritual, not historical in a strict sense. Documentally, the Carmelite presence in Carmel has been attested to since the 13th century, while the subsequent continuity of the Marian cult on the site has been marked by expulsions, destruction and reconstructions due to changes in political dominance in the Holy Land.

The present Carmelite shrine of Stella Maris, on Mount del Carmen (Haifa, Galilee)it had important phases of reconstruction in the XVII@-@ XIX centuries, especially after the restoration of the Latin Carmelite presence and the building of the church and convent on the grotto associated with Elijah, shaping itself as the international center of devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Stella Maris. It is not known that the sanctuary was erected in the lower basilica by the Holy See; it is a Marian sanctuary governed by the Order of the Latin Rite Carmen.

The image and the sanctuary

La advocación de Our Lady of Carmen, Stella Marison Mount Carmelo, it is linked to a Marian image venerated in the Carmelite sanctuary of Haifa, where it is usually represented at the Virgin of Carmen with the Child Jesus, both carrying the scapulario del Carmen, a sign of Carmelite spirituality. The iconography highlights Mary as Mother and Protector of the Order, a safe guide on the way to Christ, often also evoked as Star of the Sea for the sailors and for those who pilgrim in the faith. It does not contain with certainty, in accessible sources, the specific material of the headline image or the exact date of its realization; it is a typically devotional Carmelitana representation, not an image of apparitions.

The sanctuary is known as Monastery and Shrine of Stella Maris, on Mount Carmelo (Haifa), belonging to the Order of the Carmelites of Latin Rite. The complex includes church, convent and the grotto traditionally linked to Elijah, integrated into the devotional set. The modern-style church with neoclassical elements welcomes the image of the Virgin of Carmen in the presbytery, presiding over the Marian devotion and pilgrimages. It is not known that the temple has the official title of a minor basilica or the category of a national sanctuary; it is an international sanctuary of the Order of Carmen, well known in the Holy Land and in the Carmelite family.

Sponsorship and coronation

La advocación de Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the principal patron of the Order of Carmen and of many Carmelite communities in the world, and in many places is venerated as a patron of sailors and sailors under the title of Stella Maris. In the specific case of the shrine of Mount Carmelo (Haifa), there is no verifiable source of specific civil or canonical patronage over the city or diocese beyond its relevance as a Carmelite Marian sanctuary and emblematic place for the Order.

On a canonical coronation of the image venerated in the sanctuary of Stella Maris on Mount Carmel, does not contain a documented canonical coronation with clear data of the year and pontiff or delegate to the sources consulted. Therefore, a specific canonical coronation of this image cannot be rigorously affirmed.

Party and devotion

La fiesta litúrgica de Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the Latin Roman calendar is celebrated the 16 July, mandatory memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. This date is also the main feast of the advocation in the shrine of Mount Carmelo, with solemn celebrations, eucharisties, internal processions and great influx of pilgrims, especially religious and lay people linked to Carmelite spirituality. There are no precise statistical data on the influx into the Haifa shrine, but the advocation is one of the most widespread in the world, and Mount Carmel is a symbolic and spiritual reference place for the Order.

Devotion is characterized by the use of scapulario del Carmenthe sign of Marian consecration and of life according to the spirit of Carmel, and by the pilgrimage to the gruta de Elías and the sanctuary of Stella Maris as the spiritual "mother house" of the Order. Many faithful associate Stella Maris' invocation with the protection of travel, especially by sea, and with Mary's safe guidance in the moments of trial, in continuity with the ancient biblical image of the star that guides the navigator.

Link to the Rosary

No consta una specific historical relationship between the advocation of Our Lady of Carmen, Stella Maris, on Mount Carmelo and a particular fact linked to the Rosary (apparition, promise or institution of a practice of the Rosary) similar to that given, for example, in the explicitly titled "of the Rosary." The Carmelite devotion focuses, in particular, on the evapulario, the contemplative life and the follow-up of Mary as a model of listening to the Word.

However, in the devotional practice of the Church and of the Order of Carmen itself, the Rosary It occupies an important place as Marian prayer that accompanies the contemplative and pilgrim life of the faithful. The prayer of the Rosary in the sanctuary of Stella Maris and in the Carmelite communities helps to meditate the mysteries of Christ with the eyes of Mary, in tune with the charism of Carmel: to live in obedience to Jesus Christ under the protection of the Virgin, "Lady of the place" and Star of the Sea which leads to the safe port of faith. In this way, even if there is no unique historical link, the Rosary is naturally and deeply integrated into the devotion to Our Lady of Carmen on Mount Carmel.