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Elective Chapter of the Carmelite Nuns in Tanay, Philippines
Elective Chapter Held in Carmelite Monastery of Carmel of Mary, Star of the Sea in Tanay, Philippines
Carmel of Mary, Star of the Sea, of the Diocese of Antipolo, Rizal, Philippines, held its 9th Canonical Election of the Prioress on February 19, 2026. Following the celebration of the Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit, the election was presided over by the Most Rev. Ruperto C. Santos, D.D., the bishop of Antipolo.
The elections of the other officials followed on February 24, 2026.
The community will celebrate the Silver Anniversary of its foundation in 2001 on November 11 this year. The Silver Anniversary of the dedication of its chapel will be celebrated on December 15, 2027. As the first and only foundation of teh Stella Maris Federation of the Carmelite Nuns in the Philippines, the monastery is the fruit of the union of the member monasteries.
The nuns elected to leadership roles are:
Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sr Maria Esperanza of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Ceclio, O. Carm.
1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sr Maria Wilma of Jesus Crucified Galang, O. Carm.
2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sr Maryver of the Cross Mabanta, O. Carm.
3rd Councilor | 3ª Consejera | 3ª Consigliera:
Sr Maria Alma Jesusa of the Divine Mercy Santos, O. Carm.
4th Councilor | 4ª Consejera | 4ª Consigliera:
Sr Maria Rebecca of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Valdez, O. Carm.
Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa:
Sr Mary Grace of the Crucified and Risen Jesus Bruno, O. Carm.
Formator | Formadora | Formatrice:
Sr Maria Rebecca of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Valdez, O. Carm.
Sacristan | Sacristana | Sacrestana:
Sr Mary Therese Katherine of Jesus Balane, O. Carm.
Elective Chapter of the Carmelite Nuns in Palangkaraya
Elective Chapter Held in Carmelite Monastery "St. Joseph" in Palangkaraya, Indonesia
The Carmelite Monastery of St. Joseph in Palangkaraya, Indonesia, celebrated its elective chapter on March 12, 2026. During the Chapter only the prioress and two councilors were elected.
The monastery was founded by five nuns from the Carmelite monastery in Batu (Jawa-Timur) on July 16, 1993. It is part of the Diocese of Palangkaraya which itself was established in April 1993.
The nuns elected to leadership are:
Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sr M. Bernadetta Nurhadiyati, O. Carm.
1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sr M. Joseph Tinawati, O. Carm.
2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sr M. Xaveria Mulyanti Sri Mahanani, O. Carm.
Carmelite Nuns Held Elective Chapter in Cabanatuan
Carmelite Monastery Our Lady of Nazareth in Cabanatuan Celebrates Elective Chapter
The Carmelite nuns of the Our Lady of Nazareth Monastery in Cabanatuan, Philippines, recently held their triennial chapter.
The monastery was founded on April 8, 1983, by seven nuns from the monastery of the Holy Family in Guiguinto, Philippines. It is part of the Stella Maris Federation.
Those elected to leadership are:
Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sr. Ma. Dorotea Santiago
1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sr. Ma. Dolores Asuncion
2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sr. Ma. Teresa Canillo
3rd Councilor | 3ª Consejera | 3ª Consigliera:
Sr. Ma. Regina Gutierrez
4th Councilor | 4ª Consejera | 4ª Consigliera:
Sr. Ma. Raquel Ylagan
Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Sr. Ma. Dolores Asuncion
Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Sr. Ma. Teresa Canillo
Sacristan | Sacristana | Sacrestana:
Sr. Ma. Raquel Ylagan
Nuns in Guiguinto Celebrate Elective Chapter
The Monastery of the Holy Family in Guiguinto, Philippines Celebrates Elective Chapter
On Friday, June 9, 2025, the Carmelite community of the monastery of the Holy Family in Guiguinto (Philippines) held their elective chapter under the presidency of the Bishop of Malolos, Dennis C. Villarojo.
During the Chapter, the nuns confirmed that their activites are ordained in and subordinate to contemplation. The decision was made to form a community centered in the presence of Christ among us and whose relationships tend toward a deeper union in charity. The nuns confirmed their intent to intensify their prayers and sacrifices in communion with the present needs of humanity.
In 1966, the nuns of the Monastery of St. Anne landed in the Philippines and first established a monastery in the city of Meycauayan in the Diocese of Malolos and then in the city of Guiguinto. In 1983, seven nuns from Guiguinto went to the Diocese of Cabanatuan and established a monastery there. In 1993, seven nuns of the Guiguinto community went to the Diocese of Alaminos to found a new monastery in Burgos. Then, four nuns founded a new monastery of the federation of nuns in Tanay, in the Diocese of Antipolo. Finally, on December 7, 2001, seven nuns founded a new community in the town of Sta Ignacia in the Diocese of Tarlac. In 2017, five sisters were sent to seek a new foundation in the village of San Fabian, in the Province of Pangasinan, in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.
The monastery of the Holy Family belongs to the Stella Maris Federation. The monastery has a Facebook page.
Those elected to leadership are:
Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sr. Mary Jenicca L. Mariano
1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sr. Mary Ruth Alethea C. Clavio
2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sr. Ma. Liza G. Jeremias
3rd Councilor | 3ª Consejera | 3ª Consigliera:
Sr. Mary Josephine B. Faustino
4th Councilor | 4ª Consejera | 4ª Consigliera:
Sr. Ma. Teresa E. Santos
Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Sr. Ma. Fatima B. Faustino
Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Sr. Mary Josephine B. Faustiono
Sacristan | Sacristán | Sacrestana:
Sr. Mary Ruby Ann D. Aurelio
Carmelite Order Celebrates Day of the Cloistered Nuns
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.
Triennial Chapter of the Carmelite Nuns in the Philippines
Triennial Chapter of the Carmelite Nuns of Santa Ignacia (Tarlac), Philippines
The Elective Chapter of the Carmelite Monastery of Mater Carmeli in Santa Ignacia (Tarlac), Philippines was held on October 24, 2024. Due to the death of the Bishop of Tarlac, the prior provincial of the Philippine Province of St. Titus Brandsma, V. Rev. Rico Ponce, O. Carm., presided.
The monastery was founded on December 7, 2001 by seven nuns from the Carmelite monastery of the Holy Family in Guiguinto, inspired by the 750th anniversary of the Scapular. Among several possible locations for a monastery, founding Carmel in Sta. Ignacia seemed the best suited for a cloistered life of prayer, sacrifice and contemplation.
The monastery belongs to the Stella Maris Federation.
The following were elected:
Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sr Arlene Marie Reporte, O. Carm.
1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sr Mary Ann Inosanto, O. Carm.
2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sr Maria de San Jose Arquita, O. Carm.
3rd Councilor | 3ª Consejera | 3ª Consigliera:
Sr Rachel Marie Perez, O. Carm.
4th Councilor | 4ª Consejera | 4ª Consigliera:
Sr Kayzel Marie Tumambing, O. Carm.
Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Sr Mary Ann Inosanto, O. Carm.
Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Sr Rachel Marie Perez, O. Carm.
Sacristan | Sacristana | Sacrestana
Sr Kayzel Marie Tumambing, O. Carm.
Triennial Chapter of the Carmelite Nuns Held in Philippines
On August 26, 2024, the Carmelite nuns of the monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Tambacan, Burgos, Pangasinan, Philippines held there triennial elective Chapter. The local bishop, Napoleon Sipalay, Jr., OP, the bishop of Alaminos presided. Twelve nuns with both active and passive voice and four nuns with passive voice only participated.
The monastery was founded on May 1, 1993 with nuns from the monastery of Guiguinto. It was canonically erected on May 6, 1993. It belongs to the Federation of Stella Maris.
More information about the monastery and the nuns' lives can be found at: ocarmburgosph.weebly.com
The following were elected:
Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sr Ma. Barbara C. Pulido, O. Carm.
1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sr Ma. Elena de la Eucaristia Z. Tolentino, O. Carm.
2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sr Ana Maria del Sagrado Corazon D. Bernardo, O. Carm.
3rd Councilor | 3ª Consejera | 3ª Consigliera:
Sr Ma. Florencia Giuseppe M. Cruz, O. Carm.
4th Councilor | 4ª Consejera | 4ª Consigliera:
Sr Ma. Leonora of the Holy Trinity J. Borlongan, O. Carm.
Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Sr Ma. Elena de la Eucaristia Z. Tolentino, O. Carm.
Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Sr Miriam Therese of the Holy Spirit C. Albeza, O. Carm.
Sacristan | Sacristana | Sacrestana
Sr Ma. Florencia Giuseppe M. Cruz, O. Carm.
Message for the World Day of Cloistered Life
Fr. Míċeál O’Neill, O. Carm., the prior general, has sent a letter to each enclosed Carmelite monastery in the world on the occasion of the Church’s celebration of World Day of Cloistered Life or Pro Orantibus Day (For Those Who Pray).
In the letter, dated November 18, 2022, the prior general says:
“By your dedication to God, you adorn and strengthen the Carmelite Order throughout the world and you offer to the Carmelite family, amid the many gifts that express Carmel’s love for silence and solitude, the example of cloistered life, as a way of making space for God in our lives and deepening our love for God.” He then reflects on family life today and calls on their communities to become one that “stands before God and finds its dignity in responding everyday not with marvels beyond us, but with the simple knowledge that God is love and in him we find love.”
This annual celebration on November 21 is connected to the Feast of the Presentation of Mary. The day is intended to support—both spiritually and materially—the gift of the cloistered and monastic life. Pope Francis has spoken of the day as “an opportune occasion to thank the Lord for the gift of so many people who, in monasteries and hermitages, dedicate themselves to God in prayer and in silent work.
In 1953 Pius XII first introduced the idea of the Church reflecting on those who have answered the vocation to cloistered life. It is celebrated locally in the monasteries of men and women. In 2018, Pope Francis held a convention organized by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life at the Pontifical Lateran University. Entitled “Deepening Vultum Dei Quaerere and Cor Orans,” the gathering of 300 cloistered women, studied the two relatively recent Church documents. Vultum Dei Quaerere, was written by Pope Francis and issued on June 29, 2016. The implementing instruction, entitled Cor Orans, was written by the Vatican Dicastery for Consecrated Life and issued on April 1, 2018.
These two documents introduce new aspects for the living out of this state of life in the Church. They also emphasize the importance of this vocation for the Church and the world. Pope Francis reminded contemplatives in Vultum Dei Quaerere that they intercede for the world like Moses. “Now, as then,” the Pope wrote, “we can conclude that the fate of humanity is decided by the prayerful hearts and uplifted hands of contemplative women." He has also said that those who devote the whole of their lives to the contemplation of God “are a living sign and witness of the fidelity with which God, amid the events of history, continues to sustain His people.”
Read the Letter pdf here (136 KB)
Vietnam
CARMELITE NUNS
Carmelite Monastery – Ba Ria
134/11 (c3) Trần Phú F 5
Bãi Dâu, TP Vũng Tàu
VIETNAM
Indonesia
Biara Rubiah Karmel “Flos Carmeli”
Jln. Ridwan, 7
BATU 65311 (Jawa Timur)
Indonesia
Tel. (+62) 0341-591913
e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
website: www.floscarmelibatu.org
Biara Pertapaan Karmel St. Joseph
Jln. Bukit Karmel, 14
Banturung – 73224
Tangkiling – PALANGKA RAYA
Indonesia
Tel. (+62) 082 333 675 045
