Our Lady of Mount Carmel

The Mother of the Scapular

«Our Lady of Carmel» is the common name for Holy Mary of Mount Carmel, one of the devotions to the Virgin Mary. Her name comes from her veneration on Mount Carmel, in the Holy Land, near Haifa; «Carmel» derives from a Hebrew word that may be translated as «garden» or «vineyard of God.» Devotion to this title has been spread throughout the world by the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Carmelites, and it is especially rooted as patroness of the sea and of those who make their living from it.

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Central message: Mary, Mother and Queen of Carmel, accompanies with her maternal protection those who entrust themselves to her, especially the people of the sea.

Mount Carmel and the prophet Elijah

The name of Mount Carmel has been interpreted as «garden» or «vineyard of God.» It lies in present-day Israel, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jezreel Valley, and appears in the book of the prophet Isaiah as a place of great beauty. According to biblical tradition, the prophet Elijah lived in a cave on Carmel, and there he demonstrated the power of the Lord against the priests of Baal. That memory of Carmel as a place of encounter with God lies at the origin of the devotion.

The Order of Carmel

The Marian veneration of Carmel goes back to a group of hermits who, inspired by the prophet Elijah, withdrew to live on Mount Carmel. These devout men, around the year 1200, formed the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, called Carmelites. Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel spread throughout Europe and, by way of Spain and Portugal, reached Latin America from the 16th century onward. In the 16th century, Saint Teresa of Jesus and Saint John of the Cross introduced a profound reform that gave rise to the Discalced Carmelites.

The tradition of the Scapular and Saint Simon Stock

According to Carmelite tradition, on 13 July 1251 Our Lady of Mount Carmel is said to have appeared to Saint Simon Stock, the superior general of the Order, giving him the scapular —the principal sign of Carmelite Marian devotion— and promising her protection to those who would wear it. The scapular received papal recognition in 1587 and has been endorsed by the popes who followed.

It should be made clear that the giving of the scapular to Saint Simon Stock belongs to the realm of Carmelite tradition and not to documented history. The Church values the scapular as a sign of consecration to Mary and of trust in her intercession, rather than as an object of automatic promise. Tradition also attributes to the so-called «Sabbatine Privilege,» linked to an apparition to a 14th-century pope.

Patroness of the sea and of seafarers

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is also called Star of the Sea (Stella Maris) and is patroness of seafarers, which includes fishermen and merchant sailors. In Spain, on 19 April 1901, the Queen Regent María Cristina of Habsburg and the Minister of the Navy ratified the Royal Order by which Our Lady of Mount Carmel was proclaimed patroness of the Spanish Navy. Each 16 July, practically every town and city along the Spanish coast pays her homage with processions and colourful maritime pilgrimages that carry her image out over the sea.

Carmel in Spain and Spanish America

Spain is one of the countries where this devotion is most deeply rooted. The first Carmelite foundations on the peninsula were made around 1270 in cities of the Crown of Aragon, promoted by monarchs such as James I; in the Crown of Castile the first foundation was in Valladolid (1315), and the devotion spread quickly, reaching Seville in 1358. Alongside the great coastal cities, inland towns too —such as Rute, in Córdoba— venerate Our Lady of Mount Carmel as patroness, with a rich heritage of images, folk songs and popular traditions.

The devotion was carried by Spanish missionaries during the colonization of America, becoming intimately bound up with the history of Spanish America. In numerous countries she is patroness of cities, regions and institutions: she is venerated as queen and patroness of Chile, receives veneration in Argentina —where she was patroness of the Army of the Andes led by General San Martín— and is invoked as protectress in Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Venezuela, among others.

The spiritual message of Carmel

Devotion to Carmel still speaks to us today with simplicity:

🤎 The Scapular is a sign of belonging to Mary. Wearing it expresses the desire to live under her protection and to imitate her virtues.
⛵ Mary is the Star of the Sea. She guides and shelters those who sail, and all who pass through the storms of life.
🏔️ Carmel is a place of prayer. In imitation of Elijah and the hermits, Mary invites us to silence and to the encounter with God.
🙏 Mary is a Mother who accompanies us to the end. Carmelite devotion entrusts itself to her maternal intercession at the hour of death.

Prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Pray also the Litany of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, renew your consecration to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and prepare for her feast with the novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.