Displaying items by tag: Province of Aragon, Castile and Valencia (Spain)

The Carmelites of the Province of Aragon, Castille and Valencia would like to remember Br. Pablo Maria de la Cruz (Pablo Mary of the Cross) as we approach the first anniversary of the gift of his life in the convent of St. Andrew, Salamanca. Firstly, we wish to give thanks to God and to the Virgen Mother for this fruitful gift.

The same feelings of gratitude are extended to the Prior General and the General Curia for their accompaniment, discernment and welcoming of Br. Pablo’s call to Carmel. We also thank Bishop José Luis Retana, Bishop of Salamanca, and to Archbishop Luis Argüello, Archbishop of Valladolid and President of the Bishops’ Conference of Spain (Conferencia Episcopal Española) for their closeness, welcome and ecclesial accompaniment to the testimony of our brother. And to Miguel Márquez, Superior General of our Discalced brothers for the same closeness and accompaniment.

We continue to encourage all of our brothers and sisters in the great Carmelite family to make our own the intentions which Br. Pablo offered his life. Namely (1) That all movements, congregations and orders in the Church may be one; (2) For the conversion of young people through Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist; (3) and that all Christians may banish the fear of death. In the same way, we pray for the gift of a spiritual littleness which brings us closer to the weakest and most suffering, as this brother of ours has taught us.

To the Eucharistic victim God who, in his ineffable mystery of sacrificial love, continues to unite souls to the mystery of his glorious cross and his crown made of thorns, we continue to entrust the memory of our brother Pablo Maria de la Cruz knowing that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a God of life. We do this through the hands of our Mother and Sister, the Blessed Virgen Mary of Mount Carmel, at whose feet Br. Pablo offered his life on the eve of her Solemn commemoration in 2023. To her, ‘the sunflower in the garden of Carmel’ we entrust, like a seed planted in fertile ground, the memory and testimony of our brother. And to her we sing, with gratitude, joy and confidence our hymn of praise: Flos Carmeli, vitis florigera, carmelitis, esto proitia.

The XXIX Meeting of the Carmelite Family of the Iberian Region was held in Fatima from June 28 to 1. The theme of the Meeting was: "This way is holy and good: follow it. Figures of holiness in Carmel". With this theme we sought to continue the increasingly conscious and current reflection that the vocation to holiness is common to all Christians.

In this context, the reflections made and the conferences presented were inspired by Carmelite figures and documents that, from our spirituality, encourage us towards holiness. Thus:

- Friar Pedro Bravo spoke on the Rule of the Third Order of Carmel;

- Cardinal Emeritus of Lisbon, Don Manuel Clemente, spoke about St. Nuño de Santa Maria;

- Sr. Angela Coelho, vice postulator of the cause of the visionaries of Fatima, spoke about the Carmelite traits of the spirituality of Sr. Lucia de Jesus, one of the 3 visionaries of Fatima and who lived most of her life as a Carmelite nun;

- Mariana Frazão and Carmo Diniz, two people who were in the central organization of the World Youth Day in Lisbon in 2023, shared a reflection on the challenges of holiness launched by Pope Francis from his words and gestures during that Day.

In addition to the lectures, group work was divided into 7 workshops. Each one reflected on an inspiring figure of the Carmelite Order: St. Titus Brandsma, Friar Pablo Maria de La Cruz Hidalgo, Blessed Isidore Bakanja, St. Celia Guérin and Louis Martin, St. Nuño de Santa Maria, St. Teresa of the Child Jesus and Sister Lucia de Jesus.

In addition to the formative dimension, the meeting gave a central place to the prayerful dimension. The Organization provided a bilingual booklet that served as the basis for the liturgical moments. On Sunday, June 30, the participants joined the pilgrims from Fatima and participated in the celebration of the Eucharist at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Fatima.

In the afternoon, the group celebrated the Way of the Cross in the space provided by the sanctuary for this exercise of popular devotion. In this Way of the Cross, the meditations for each station were written by the groups in the work previously presented and based on the life and spirituality of the respective inspirational figure.

On the evening of June 30, a fraternal meeting was held in which each participating group presented something about its place and entity. It was a very festive moment in which we gave thanks for the immense cultural richness present in the Order today.

About 150 participants from the following Carmelite entities, including friars, sisters and lay people, participated in this meeting: Carmelite Sisters of the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Carmelite Nuns, Province of Aragon, Castile and Valencia, Province of Betica, Province of Catalonia, General Commissariat of Portugal.

The Meeting took place in an atmosphere of great fraternity, prayer, exchange and healthy coexistence.

The XXX Meeting of the Carmelite Family of the Iberian Region will be organized by the Province of Catalonia.

1st Councilor  | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sor María de la Trinidad Rodríguez Barbosa, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sor. María Antonia de Jesús Sacramentado Acevedo Lorenzo, O.Carm.

Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Sor María de la Trinidad Rodríguez Barbosa, O.Carm.

Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Sor María Damaris de Jesús Sacramentado y del Niño Jesús Acevedo López, O. Carm.

Sacristan | Sacristana | Sacrestana
Sor Ivette deal Carmen Mediaville Maldonado, O. Carm.

The prior general, Míceál O’Neill, conducted the canonical visitation of the Arago-Castille-Valencia Province (Spain) took place from 18th February until 2nd March 2024. He was accompanied by the General Councillor for Europe, Richard Byrne. During a canonical visitation each friar has a personal one-to-one conversation with the visitators about their life and their vision of the province and Order. These conversations happen once every years.

Over the two weeks of the visitation, they visited all eight communities of friars of the province within Spain. At times journeying long distances, the Prior Provincial, Salvador Villota Herrero, drove them from one community to the next. This meant visiting the Carmelite communities of Ayala and Flor del Carmelo (both in Madrid), Salamanca, Valladolid, Zaragoza, Onda, Valencia and Caudete. In Zaragoza, they were able to attend a concert to raises funds for the social services of the parish. In Onda and Villa-Real, they were able to visit two Carmelite schools.

The visitators also had an opportunity to visit all the monasteries of enclosed nuns and to spend time with each of the communities. This involved visiting the monasteries in Fontiveros, Madrid, Zaragoza, Valencia, Caudete, Onteniente and the two monasteries in Huesca. These were special moments too of sharing.

Finally, the visitators also met with the two General Councils of the Orihuela and Málaga Carmelite sisters. While it was in many ways a very busy program, both found the visits to be enriching and very rewarding.

The Provincial Chapter of the Province of Aragon, Castile and Valencia was held April 12-14, 2023, at the "St. Ignatius" Spirituality Center in Salamanca, Spain. The theme of the meeting was: "The radical witness of consecrated life. Faithful to our Carmelite charism".

On April 14, 2023, in a festive atmosphere, Bishop José Luis Retana Gozalo, Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo and Salamanca, visited the capitulars, thanking God for the richness that the Carmelite charism brings to the Church and for its presence in the Diocese of Salamanca. Sister Merry Teresa Sri Rejeki, Superior General of the HHCVMMC, and Sister Francisca Rubio, Vicar General of the HHCVMMC, accompanied the capitulars at the closing meal of the Provincial Chapter.

The Province has a long and rich history. Following the suppression in 1835 of religious life in Spain, the “Province of Spain” was restored (circa 1889), then in 1906 was divided into two provinces, Valentine Arago and Baetica. The name recalls the ancient Province of Aragon which was established in 1416 although the name appeared in records as early as 1330.

Beginning in 1894, before the division of the Province of Spain," the members worked in restoring the Provinces of Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco. From 1920, the province carried out missionary work in other countries of Latin America, founding houses in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic. A general commissariat was established in Catalonia in 1932 from houses of the province. Catalonia became a province itself in the 1950s. In 1932 Castile as well was broken off from the Arago Valencia Province and a commissariat general was established in 1948; it became a province in 1984.

A provincial commissariat of the Antilles was set up. Under the patronage of Maria Magdalena de’Pazzi. The commissariat comprises the Republic of Santa Domingo and Puerto Rico.

The new Province of Aragon-Castile-Valencia was born in 2014 from the union of the Provinces of Castille and Aragon-Valencia. The new province is under the patronage of St. John of the Cross.

The following were elected to leadership:

.     .      .

Provincial | Provincial | Provinciale
P. Salvador Villota Herrero, O. Carm.

1st Councilor | 1er Consejero | 1^o Consigliere
P. Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2do Consejero | 2^o Consigliere
P. Luca Zerneri, O. Carm.

3rd Councilor | 3er Consejero | 3^o Consigliere
Fra. Manuel García Villaescusa, O. Carm.

4th Councilor | 4to Consejero | 4^o Consigliere
P. Vicente Aranda Guillén, O. Carm.       

Commissary Provincial of the Antilles | Comisario Provincial de las Antillas | Commissario Provinciale delle Antille
P. Randy Rudecindo Marte, O. Carm.