On the recent 28th of January in the city of Panama, a Carmelite Youth Day was held, bringing together young people from different countries, belonging to different Carmelite movements, especially in Latin America. The Day was a joint celebration of Carmelites of the Ancient Observance and Discalced Carmelites. It was led by both Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm., and Saverio Cannistrà, O.C.D.. The theme of the day was taken from a phrase of St. Teresa de los Andes, God is infinite Joy.
The Carmelite Day began with a procession through the streets of the city with the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. During the course of the procession there were different moments in which there was celebration, or prayer and reflection. Various groups shared their folklore. As a continuation of the prayer and reflection of the morning, there was a “holy hour” of Eucharistic Adoration in the afternoon. The young Carmelites showed great maturity in being able to pass from joyous celebration in one moment to silence and adoration in an other. Later in the programme there was a solemn celebration of the Eucharist, led by Fr. Saverio, The Day ended with a brief festival of religious music.
From the offices of CITOC we would like to offer our thanks for the welcome and excellent hospitality we received from our Discalced brothers, which ensured the success of the Carmelite Day. The Carmelite Order has been present in different ways at each of the last five World Youth Days (Sydney, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Krakow and Panamá. We are gearing up for the WYD in Lisbon in 2022!
