Displaying items by tag: carmelite nuns europe

The Monastery of Our Lady of Maravillas in Madrid, Spain Celebrated Its Elective Chapter July 24-25

On July 24-25, 2025, the Carmelite nuns of the monastery of Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas in Madrid, Spain, held their elective chapter.

The monastery was founded by Joanna de Baraona in 1612 as a place for pious women to gather in order to practice Christian perfection. With the help of Antonio Pérez, prior provincial of the Castille Province, the beateria became an official Carmelite monastery with its reception of the papal enclosure.

The monastery founded San José de las Matas (1954) and Dumaguete (1958). 

The monastery belongs to the Mater Unitatis Federation.

Those elected to leadership are:

Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Hna. M^a Brunilda Rodríguez Velasco

1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Hna. M^a Inmaculada Ochoa Blázquez

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sr. Ma. Antonia Domínguez Cortés

3rd Councilor | 3ª Consejera | 3ª Consigliera:
Hna. M^a Luisa Ruiz Cerro

4th Councilor | 4ª Consejera | 4ª Consigliera:
Hna. M^a del Carmen Martínez Pérez

Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Hna. M^a Cristina Gil Moreno

Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Hna. M^a Antonia Domínguez Cortés 

Sacristan | Sacristán | Sacrestana:
Hna. M^a del Carmen Ruiz Navas

Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Jesi Holds Elective Chapter

On Friday, June 20th the Carmelite community of the monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Jesi (Italy) held their elective chapter.

The monastery was founded in 1684 by Cardinal Pietro Matteo Petucci († 1701), bishop of Aesinate. He changed the Franciscan Tertiaries, Aesinate ascetics, founded in 1660 into Carmelites. A few years later, in 1697, they received the papal cloister, passing to the Second Order. Around 1822, the Carmelite nuns of Montecarotto were received when their monastery was extinguished. Pope Pius IX visited the Aesinate monastery in May 1857. In 1965, a daughter monastery was founded in Montegnacco di Cassacco, and in 1979 the monastery of Carpineto Romano was founded.

The website for the Jesi monastery is: www.carmelitanejesi.com

Those elected to leadership are: 

Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sr. Alma M. Joseph di Gesù Crocifisso

1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sr. M. Giovanna Francesca Dei Verbum

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sr. M. Chiara dell'Eucaristia

Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Sr. M. Chiara dell'Eucaristia

Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Sr. Alma M. Joseph di Gesù Crocifisso 

Sacristan | Sacristán | Sacrestana:
Sr. M. Giovanna Francesca Dei Verbum

Elective Chapter Held in the Monastery of the Incarnation in Barcelona, Spain

The Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of the Incarnation in Barcelona, Spain, recently held their triennial, elective chapter.

The monastery was founded in 1649 by Srs. Gertrude of the Infant Jesus and Teresa of Jesus, two nuns from the monastery of Vilafranca del Penedès. Ven. Eulalia of the Cross, a mystic and author of several works, lived there, dying in 1721. This monastery founded the Carmelite monasteries in Valls, Vic, and Tarrega. In 1983, the community founded the monastery of Porlamar on the Isla Margarita.

The monastery is part of the Virgo Flos Carmeli Federation. The webpage of the monastery is: www.carmelitasbcn.org. The Facebook page is: carmelo.laencarnacion

The following nuns were elected to leadership:

Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sr. Hna. María Jacinta Mutio Muithya

1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sr. María del Carmen Izquierdo Marín

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sr. Maria Joana Josa

Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Sr. María Jacinta Mutio Muithya

Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Sr. María del Carmen Izquierdo Marín

Sacristan | Sacristán | Sacrestana:
Sr. María Elizabeth Mbovi Mutisya

Elective Chapter Held in Villalba del Alcor (Huelva), Spain on May 13, 2025

On May 13, 2025, the Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist (San Juan Bautista) in Villalba del Alcor (Huelva) España held their elective chapter.

The monastery was founded in 1619 by the nuns of the Monastery of St. Anne in the city of Seville, under the leadership of Sister Beatrice Tinoro of St. John the Baptist († 1622) and with the support of Saint Franco García Jiménez, her cousin. They were accompanied by several lay women who intended to take the Carmelite habit in the new community. They were highly motivated following the Council of Trent.

From here the monastery of the Most Blessed Sacrament (Monasterio del Smo. Sacramento) in the city of Cañete la Real was founded (1662). The monastery celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2019.

The webpage of the monastery with a large selection of pictures from the 2019 celebrations as well as other information is located at www.carmelitasenvillalba.com

The following were elected to leadership:

Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sor María del Carmen del Toro Medina

1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sor María Pilar Martín Gómez

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sor María Inés Vázquez Gallardo

3rd Councilor | 3ª Consejera | 3ª Consigliera:
Sor María Consuelo de Jesús Pérez García

4th Councilor | 4ª Consejera | 4ª Consigliera:
Sor Antonia María Díaz Sánchez

Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Sor María Yolanda Romero Talamante

Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Sor María Pilar Martín Gómez

Triennial Chapter of the Carmelite Nuns of the Monastery of Santa Catalina in Aracena, Spain Held

The Elective Chapter of the Carmelite Monastery of Santa Catalina in Aracena, Spain was held on November 18-19, 2024. Fr. Emilio Rodriguea Claudio, OSA, vicar general and episcopal vicar for Contemplative Life in the Diocese of Huelva presided. Eight nuns of the community participated.

Various decisions were taken. Among these was to work on ongoing formation and within it to deepen the community's identity according to the charism and the teachings of the Carmelite saints.

The Aracena monastery was founded when two pious sisters of the Castilla Infante family, with the assistance of a religious, opened a house on their property. On Feburary 21, 1536, the house became official, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. It was annexed to the church of St. Catherine by Cardinal Alphonso Manrique, the Archbishop of Spain. The monastery has founded other monasteries in Andalucia (Southern) Spain, Portugal, and Kenya.

The monastery belongs to the Mater et Decor Carmeli Federation. The website for the monastery is www.monjascarmelitasaracena.es

The following nuns were elected:

Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sor Elena M. López Font, O. Carm.

1st Councilor  | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sor Ma. Remedios Álvarez Soríano, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sor Ma. Victoria Escamilla Martín, O. Carm.

Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Sor Ma. Victoria Escamilla Martín, O. Carm.

Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Sor Elena Ma. López Font, O. Carm.

Sacristan | Sacristana | Sacrestana
Sor Ma. Remedios Álvarez Soríano, O. Carm.

Carmelite Order Celebrates Day of the Cloistered Nuns, Pro orantibus. Prior General Sends Letter

In recognition of Pro orantibus, the day the Church dedicated to contemplative nuns, Fr. Míceál O’Neill, the prior general of the Carmelite Order, wrote to the monasteries of the Order. The letter focuses on 2024 being the Year of Prayer, as announced by Pope Francis at the beginning of the year. The prior general connects this year of prayer to the Carmelite charism, writing to those “who incarnate the Carmelite charism to think about our vocation to pray, to pray more intensely ourselves and to help other to pray.”

Reflecting on the Gospel read in the celebrations of both St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. Francis of Assisi, he finds that God reveals “truths to children like us” in prayer. “Prayer is a communication between persons divine and human who are united in love.” The great Carmelite nun, St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, teaches us about the moment after Holy Communion when she began to think about the Gospel she had heard in the Eucharist. “There was no better place for her to be at the moment.”

Fr. Míceál also explores the Order’s tradition of prayer and contemplation as recorded in the Order’s Constitutions for the nuns. He points out that the revision of those for the men in 2019 focused the most attention on contemplation. Recalling that the nuns are well into the process revising their own Constitutions, he points out that proposed revisions clearly recognize the gift of contemplation is the nuns’ “charism and calling in a way that allows you to live out that vocation yourselves and explain it to the Church of today and to those who will approach you in the future …”

The prior general notes that liturgical prayer “is the privileged place desired by Christ for our encounter with him.”  He senses movement in the Order today “to recover and enhance our rich liturgical tradition.” He highlights a recent publication and the scheduled Liturgical Congress in May. He asks that the liturgies celebrated during the Jubilee Year “contribute to … enlightenment and moving us to seek reconciliation in families, in the Church, in communities.”

Finally, Fr. Míceál speaks of prayer as “discernment, discernment alone in the cell, nourished and completed by discernment in the community and vice versa.” He writes that “a community that comes together to pray and engage in communal discernment is a community that is capable of growing in maturity and responding each day, more fully, to the call to holiness which is union with God.” He concludes “union with God does not exist without union with neighbor, union with our families, union with our religious community.”

He concludes wishing that this day of Pro orantibus be an experience of joy for the sisters and a moment of renewal of love for prayer in their lives.

pdf Read the entire letter in English (409 KB) ...

The Elective Chapter of the Carmelite Monastery of St. Ann in Carpineto Romano was held on September 21, 2024, the feast of St. Matthew, Apostle.

The monastery was founded in April 1979 with nuns from the monastery of Aesinati. It was named after St. Ann. It was first located in the rectory of St. John the Evangelist parish. It was officially approved on December 11, 1985 by the Congregations and the bishop made it official on March 19, 1986. In 1992 the new monastery of Cerreto was started and in 2005 the new foundation of Biella was made.

The monastery belongs to the St. M. Magdalen de' Pazzi Federation. More information about the monastery and the nuns' lives can be found at: www.monasterocarpineto.it

The following were elected:

Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sr M. Valentina Rossin, O. Carm.

1st Councilor  | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sr M. Noemi Malagese, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sr M Paola Ricci, O. Carm.

3rd Councilor | 3ª Consejera | 3ª Consigliera:
Sr M. Agnese Talano, O. Carm.

4th Councilor | 4ª Consejera | 4ª Consigliera:
Sr Ana Mihaela Tiba, O. Carm.

Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Sr M. Agnese Talano, O. Carm.

Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Sr M. Noemi Malagese, O. Carm.

Sacristans | Sacristanas | Sacrestane
Sr M. Carla Zinno, O. Carm. e (vice) Anna Luisa Voltazza, O. Carm.

On February 14th, the Carmelite community of the monastery of the Most Pure Blood of Christ celebrated its triennial elections. The monastery is located in Onteniente (Valencia), Spain.  

The monastery has a rich history. On September 18, 1575, some intrepid nuns from the Monastery of the Most Holy Incarnation of the Word from Valencia, Spain, traveled to Onteniente with the appropriate permissions of the King D. Felipe II, those of the Patriarch and Archbishop of Valencia, San Juan de Ribera, and with the approval of the Ontenienses Jurors. They intended to found a Carmelite Monastery, a cenacle, where, in company with Mary, the mother of Jesus, nuns would pray, imploring the action of the Holy Spirit in the permanent Pentecost of the Church.  

Sister Catalina Tejeda and the sisters were received with great enthusiasm by the people of the town. They saw them as their angels who would obtain God’s blessings for them. They settled in small buildings that had been set aside for them.  

Only a month later, one of the Carmelites died. A month later, a second Carmelite sister died. Their faith was tested but they fought to renew it. A year after arriving, the prioress, Mother Catalina Tejeda, also died. Instead of returning to Valencia, they became even more firmly rooted in the Lord and abandoned themselves to him. Soon their small monastery filled with postulants. They purchased more ground and constructed more cells to accommodate their increasing numbers. In 1914, Sr. Joachim Felius went to the city of Caudete to found a Carmelite monastery there.  

The flourishing of new members continued until the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Despairing of riots and persecution, the community had to disperse with sisters returning to live with their relatives. The monastery building was in flames for a whole month, becoming uninhabitable, just a pile of rubble. After three years of conflict, Spain returned to normality and the monastery came back to life. While there was great economic hardship and food was  scarce. It was necessary to rebuild everything that had been destroyed. But in addition to the members of the community returning, twelve young women asked to join within a year. Enthusiastic and generous, they were not afraid of the situation of the monastery. With fervor and joy, they worked hard to restore the monastery knowing that, with meager resoures, the project would take time. The monastery eventually housed a community of 42 Carmelites sisters.  

The monastery belongs to the Mater Unitatis Federation. More information can be obtained by visiting the community's webpage.

The results of the elective chapter were as follows:

Prioress | Priora | Priora:  
Sor M^a Margarita Medina Armas, O. Carm.

1st Councilor  | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sor M^a Jesús Barahona Berzal, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sor M^a Gabriela Bordones Herrera, O. Carm.

Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Sor M^a Gabriela Bordones Herrera, O. Carm.

Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Sor M^a Gabriela Bordones Herrera, O. Carm.

Sacristan | Sacristana | Sacrestana
Sor M^a Lourdes Font Font, O. Carm.

On February 1, 2024, the triennial chapter of the Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of the Incarnation in Zaragoza, Spain, took place. Archbishop of Zaragoza, Mons. Carlos Manuel Escribano led the election of the prioress. Following the election of the prioress, the chapter reunited and continued with the elections of the other offices of the monastery.

In 1614 the license for the foundation of the Convent of the Incarnation in Zaragoza was granted. Ana Carrillo, the foundress, gave a large dowry, along with two of her nieces, who would enter the convent to become Carmelites. The following year, in July, Carmelite nuns from different houses of the order arrived to take possession and inaugurate the monastery. Among these was Ven. Seraphina Bonastre (†1649) assisted by the prior provincial of Aragon at the time, Michael Ripoll.

With the foundress' property, they acquired a house, patio, and orchard and began the construction of the house. Soon the funds ran out but, with great difficulty, they managed to finish the work and keep the foundation open.

During the government's seizure of ecclesiastical property, what is known as the ecclesiastical confiscations of Mendizábal (1835-1837), the community managed to subsist by dedicating itself to teaching.

The monastery belongs to the Mater Unitatis Federation.

The results of the elective chapter were as follows:

Prioress | Priora | Priora:  
Madre Hannah Wairimu Kamau Ngigi, O. Carm.

1st Councilor  | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Hna. Elena-María Samper, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Hna. Mónica Macharia, O. Carm.

3rd Councilor | 3ª Consejera | 3ª Consigliera:
Hna. Lilian Irima, O. Carm.

4th Councilor | 4ª Consejera | 4ª Consigliera:
Hna. Claudia Raozivola, O. Carm.

Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Hna. Lilian Irima, O. Carm.

Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Hna. Everline Alina, O. Carm.

Sacristan | Sacristana | Sacrestana
Hna. Mónica Macharia, O. Carm.