On December 4, the triennial chapter of the Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of the Incarnation of the Divine Word in Valencia, Spain, took place beginning at 10 o'clock in the morning.
On October 6, 1502, seven women, (Sister Francisca Estaña, Sister Ofresina Caldesa, Sister Isabel Moragues, Sister Ana Heredia, Sister Angela Heredia, Sister Juana Gomis and Sister Isabel Ameller) gathered in Valencia-- although not at the current location of the monastery to live the life of Carmel. Present at the ceremony were Father Luis Mercader, prior of the monastery of Vall de Crist, visitator and reformer of the Kingdom of Valencia and later bishop of Tortosa and general inquisitor in the Kingdoms of Aragon, and Master Pedro Estaña, prior of the convent of Carmen de la Ciudad del Turia. Sister Francisca Estaña was elected prioress.
The Carmel was originally dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin. The house and orchards that Pedro Ramón Dalmáu bought were enclosed. However, the Poor Clares of the Royal Monastery of Santa Isabel and Santa Clara complained to King Ferdinand the Catholic about the damage that would be done to the old Chapel of La Puridad with the foundation of the new convent. Ferdinand agreed and the works of the new convent were stopped. This forced the Carmelites, in order to move forward, to give in and a year later, in September 1503, they changed the name of the monastery from that of that Conception for that of the Incarnation.
During the Civil War in 1936-1939, the monastery was destroyed and a new one built following the war. It was completed in 1961.
For more information about the history of the monastery of the Incarnation in Valencia (in Spanish), go here
The results of the elective chapter were as follows:
Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sor Ma del Sagrario Lorite Beltrán, O. Carm.
1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sor Ma Norayma Coromoto Morales Montilla, O. Carm.
2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sor Ma Mercedes de la Cruz Medina Zárraga, O. Carm.
Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Sor Ma Mercedes de la Cruz Medina Zárraga, O. Carm.
Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Sor Ma Norayma Coromoto Morales Montilla, O. Carm.
Sacristan | Sacristana | Sacrestana
Sor Ma Manuela de Jesús Medina Triguero, O. Carm.