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540th Anniversary of the Entrustment of the Parish S. Maria in Traspontina to the Carmelites

On Friday, November 15, the Carmelites will be celebrating the 540th anniversary of presence at S. Maria in Traspontina. Pope Innocent VIII gave responsibility for the church to the Carmelites in the bull Sacrosanctae et militantis Ecclesiae.

The founding of the church has been documented back to 772 under the papacy of Adrian I. It was always dedicated to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The church building was located very close to Castel San Angelo when the Carmelites took possession during the papacy of Innocent VIII in 1484. The intent was to move closer to the Vatican where they popes had decided to maintain their permanent residence after the Council of Constance which ended the Western Schism (1378-1418). Plans to expand the defenses of Castel San Angelo with a ring of ramparts forced the destruction of the old church and the need for the Carmelites to build a new one. The prior general at the time, Nicolas Audet (1523-1562) insisted the Order remain close to the Vatican. The Carmelites were eventually allowed to move even closer to the Vatican, to the current location, with the foundation stone put in place by Giovanni Rossi (1562-1578).

For the celebration on November 15, the schedule is:

6 pm: Rosary

6:30 pm: Mass and prayer of suffrage for all deceased Carmelites in the community

7:15 pm: Organ concert, Gratias agimus tibi, given by Jordi-Agustí Piqué i Collado, OSB, a professor of Theology, Liturgy, and Music at the Pontifical Ateneo Saint’Anselmo in Rome.

8 p.m.: Aperitif in the parish hall.

Concelebrants are requested to bring white surplice and stole with them.

The website of the parish is: www.parrocchiatraspontina.it

(Photos courtesty of parish website and William J. Harry, O. Carm.)

The Provincial Chapter of the Italian Province was held in Istituto Madonna del Carmine “Il Carmelo” (Sassone, Rome) from Sunday, 17th June until Saturday, 22nd June 2024.

The theme for this chapter was “Non temere … Alzati” (Mt 1, 20;3,13) which was seen as having three steps: dreaming, discerning, converting (sognare, discernere, convertirsi).  In the preparation for the chapter, the Province chose the figure and witness of St Joseph. During the first two full days of the chapter, various reports were presented from the Prior Provincial, the Commissary Provincial of the DR Congo, the delegate in Columbia and the prior of the community in Romania and the Provincial Bursar. 

On the third day (Wednesday), the gremiales joyfully approved the request to erect the DR Congo as a new province in the Order. They also agreed to take the steps necessary to establish the Carmelite presence in Columbia as a provincial commissariat. This same day, Professor Fabrizio Carletti (Centro Studi Missione Emmaus) gave a presentation to the gremiales regarding how the Province might initiate a pastoral process of discernment in order to create a vision for this age. 

On Thursday, the chapter was joined for the day by other members of the Carmelite Family who represented the nuns, Third Order, affiliated congregations, youth committees and other lay groups working within the area of the Italian Province. There was a strong desire that the communion of the Carmelite Family would be reinforced so that we could journey together in co-responsibility.

On Friday, the gremiales elected the new government for the next three years. They also worked to write a letter to the Carmelite Family outlining the joy of their week together.

The following members were elected to leadership at the meeting:

Prior Provincial | Prior Provincial | Priore Provinciale
Gian Domenico Meloni, O. Carm.

Vice Prior Provincial | Vice Prior Provincial | Vice Priore Provinciale
Giuseppe Midili, O. Carm.

1st Councilor | 1er Consejero | 1^o Consigliere
Giampiero Molinari, O. Carm.

2nd Councilor | 2do Consejero | 2^o Consigliere
Henry Venecia Cerro, O. Carm.

3rd Councilor | 3er Consejero | 3^o Consigliere
Nicola Sozzi, O. Carm.

4th Councilor | 4to Consejero | 4^o Consigliere
Francesco Sciarelli, O. Carm.

pdf Here is the Final Message of the Provincial Chapter of the Italian Province (236 KB)