Edizioni Carmelitane Editions published a new book by Ruggiero Doronzo—  Iconografia carmelitana al femminile nelle incisioni dell’Archivio Generale dell’Ordine dei Carmelitani di Roma fra Seicento e Settecento. To learn more about this work, we asked the author three questions:

We know that you are involved in the history of Apulian art and have taught a course on the subject at the University of Bari. You also published several essays and monographs on painting and sculpture in southern Italy in the modern period. How did the idea for this volume on Carmelite iconography come about?

 This book is the result of research commissioned by the General Archives of the Carmelites entitled: Engravers and Painters for the Virgin of Mount Carmel, Saints and Venerables of the Carmelite Order. These are from Sister Isabella Piccini, Sebastiano Conca, and other artists active between the second half of the seventeenth century and the early eighteenth century. While initially the study was to focus on the engravings by a few artistic personalities, as the research progressed, new discoveries continued to be made. Some were seemingly insignificant but others were extraordinarily important in order to broaden the iconographic and iconological analysis to all engravings depicting the female subjects of the Carmelite Order.

The book we have in our hands is a real catalog. How did you plan to set it up?

To make the work easier to consult, the criterion used in setting up the volume takes into account the subject and the chronology of the print. These are translations or d'aprés prints, made on a source model, which was almost always a painting. Then there are “reproduction” prints derived solely from the drawings. When signatures were to be placed at the bottom of the print, that of the author was placed on the left, according to a hierarchical order and in a better position, while the engraver's signature was on the right. The terms pinxit, invenit, and delineavit thus indicate the author of the original and the intellectual and creative person responsible. Facit and sculpsit refer to the engraver. For each engraving, in fact, the name of the draughtsman or painter, that of the engraver, the subject, the technique, the measurements, any inscriptions, the current inventory number and the bibliography of reference (if it is already published) are indicated. This is followed by an iconographic and iconological examination of the image. It was decided to draw up also a biographical profile of the draughtsman and the burinist, their field of reference, as well as to offer some indication of the commissioner where such is indicated.

The subjects represented include Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the great saints Teresa of Avila and Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi, and twenty-three blessed and venerable women. Which authors and engravings have impressed you most?

On the basis of philological analysis, it appears that the prints were executed by engravers active in Italy, Flanders, Spain, Bavaria, and Poland. But there are some signed by authors who have escaped the major repertories or others who are anonymous. But they still pose interesting questions both about their identification and their place in the history of engraving. I was most impressed by those for which I was able to find the model they started with. This was the case with an engraving by Leonardo Germo depicting the Virgin of Mount Carmel appearing to Antonio Chiavassa. There is also one by Gaetano Bianchi reproducing a painting of the Virgin preserved in the sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie at Colletto near Pinerolo. I also find great beauty in the engravings of Abraham van Diepenbeeck, a Flemish artist. He is capable of conveying theological and Marian messages through images drawn with meticulous graphic skill.

57th World Day of Social Communications - 2023
Speaking with the Heart: "The Truth in Love"

After having reflected in past years on the verbs “to go and see” and “to listen” as conditions for good communication, with this Message for the LVII World Day of Social Communications, I would like to focus on “speaking with the heart”. It is the heart that spurred us to go, to see and to listen, and it is the heart that moves us towards an open and welcoming way of communicating.

Once we have practiced listening, which demands waiting and patience, as well as foregoing the assertion of our point of view in a prejudicial way, we can enter into the dynamic of dialogue and sharing, which is precisely that of communicating in a cordial way. After listening to the other with a pure heart, we will also be able to speak following the truth in love (cf. Eph 4:15).

Read the message of Pope Francis for World Day of Social Communications

World Communications Day - May 23, 2023

Dicastery for Communication

On the occasion of Archivissima 2023, examples of travelogues, whose editions are based on the manuscripts preserved in the Archives, will be presented on June 9 at the General Archives and Library of the Order of Carmelites.

Speakers

Flavia Di Giampaolo (Institutum Carmelitanum), The Diary of Giovanni Antonio Filippini

Cristiano Garcia Dias Barbosa (Pernambuco Province), The Roman Diary of Ludovico Perez

Glen Attard (University of Malta), The Journey of the Cross of Jan Pascha

Moderator

Sara Bischetti (Carmelite General Library)

6:30 p.m., St. Albert International Center

Via Sforza Pallavicini 10, Rome

For information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Called, chosen & sent
to be God’s heart in the world
(Matthew 28:16-20)

The feast of the Ascension commemorates the return of Jesus to the Father. Jesus leaves in body but remains with us through the gift of the Spirit. We will celebrate the gift and presence of the Holy Spirit in next Sunday’s feast of Pentecost.

The true meaning of our feast today is not found in Jesus’ leaving, but in the way he calls his disciples back together, to re-form them as a new community entrusted with the spread of the Gospel. Jesus sends the disciples out to make disciples of all nations, to baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and to teach them his way. But the disciples are not left to do all that on their own.

Jesus promises that he is with them always.

Jesus has called the ragged, group of disciples, scattered after his crucifixion, back to himself to form them, fragile and doubtful as they are, into a community for mission in the name of God. It is comforting to recognise that Jesus doesn’t insist on perfection before he calls us and entrusts us with his mission.

This mission is authorised by God and passed on to us through Jesus. It is not about authority over others. It is actually a call to act as God would act, true to God’s heart as Jesus has taught us.

Ever since Easter, we have been proclaiming that Jesus is alive. The feasts of the Ascension and Pentecost help us to realise that we are part of a long tradition of faithful disciples. We have our faults and failings, but our call is to witness to and teach the way of Jesus by the kind of people we are, the values and attitudes we hold, in thought, word and action - to be the living presence of God in the world today.

• pdf Celebrating At Home - The Ascension of the Lord [PDF] (6.12 MB)
• default Celebrating At Home - The Ascension of the Lord [ePub] (2.97 MB)
• pdf Celebrando en Familia - Domingo de la Ascensión (349 KB)
• pdf Celebrando in Casa - L'Ascensione del Signore (354 KB)
• pdf Celebrando em familia - Domingo da Ascensão (586 KB)

On July 27th the feast day of Titus Brandsma, CITOC would like to feature some of the ways the canonization of Titus Brandsma continues to impact your world--- be it your province, monastery, hermitage, lay community, parish, school, sanctuary, community, your town or just yourself.

Articles should be no more than 500 words in English, Spanish, Italian, French, or Portuguese. The article should emphasize what impact these celebrations have had on the community. We welcome good quality pictures along with a description of the picture.

We thank you in advance for your help!

Two members of the Order recently received their doctorate degrees from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

On April 26, Joseph Dinh Van Diep, a member of the North American Province of St. Elias Province, defended his dissertation entitled “Jesus Christ “the Word-made-flesh” in Asia: A Christological Study of the Documents of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.

On May 11, Jacob Roby Chakkalaparambil, a member of the General Commissariat of St. Thérèse and St. Albert of Jerusalem, defended his dissertation on The Leadership of Communication of Pope Francis. This presentation took place online.

Both men were successful in their defenses. Fr. Jacob will continue working in Indonesia and Fr. Diep will be returning to Vietnam in a few weeks.

Scholars from around the world gathered at CISA in Rome on April 27-30, 2023 for a Workshop on Medieval Carmelite Scholastics. The gathering was sponsored by the European Research Council, the Institut de recherche et d'histoire des textes (IRHT), and the Institutum Carmelitanum.

Around 139 commentaries on the Sentences of Peter Lombard composed by Carmelites in universities and priories all over Europe survive to this day. This workshop aimed to invite scholars to share their expertise and experience with texts produced by Carmelite authors. Servant of God Bartomeu Xiberta, O. Carm., is the author of a magisterial body of work in medieval studies that continues today to represent a pioneering approach to the scholastic heritage of the Order.

This workshop recognized Fr. Xiberta's contribution, highlighted medieval Carmelite intellectual production, identified the most preeminent authors, and depicted the doctrinal tendencies of these Carmelite scholarstics.

Among those participating were Stephen Metzger of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; Niccolo Bonetti of the Università degli Studi di Udine; David Piche of the Université de Montrèal, Christopher Schabel of IRHT-Paris; Simon Nolan, O. Carm., St. Patrick's Pontifical University; Richard Cross of the University of Notre Dame; Mario Alfarano, O. Carm., Institutum Carmelitanum; Alexandra Baneu of Babes-Bolyai University; Calla Ledsham of Catholic Theological Colege-Melbourne; Wouter Goris of Universität Bonn; Monica Brinzei of IRHT-Paris; Iona Curut of Babes-Bolyai University; Matteo Esu of Paris; William Duba of the University of Fribourg-Fragmentarium; Andrei Marinca of Babes-Bolyai University; Alexander Anisie of Babes-Bolyai University; and Roberto Lanbertini of the Università di Macerata. 

The principal organizer of the event was Monica Brinzei assisted by Carmelites Mario Alfarano, Giovanni Grosso, and Simon Nolan.

The leadership of the Congregations and Institutes affiliated to the Carmelite Order will meet at the Passionists Retreat Center in Rome on May 22-26, 2023. The gathering is held every six years. This year the theme of the meeting is Carmelite Identity and Experience.

According to Benny Wing, the vice general of the Order, the gathering provides an opportunity to strengthen the collaboration between the Order and the various groups as well as among the groups themselves.  “We will spend time exploring how to cooperate more effectively in evangelization, formation, and vocation promotion,” said Fr. Benny.

Along with the General Delegate for the Affiliated Congregations and Institutes, Luis Maza Subero, who also serves as General Councilor for the Americas, the sisters will have an opportunity to speak about the various groups they represent. There will also be presentations and discussions on Contemplative Fraternity, Challenges and Issues on Safe Environments, Prophetic Inculturation (with the experience in the Americas being highlighted), Shared Mission, and Carmel as a Gift.

The prior general, Míċeál O’Neill, will welcome the group at the opening session on Monday.

The Global Plan of the General Council for 2019-2025 has 3 steps to be taken by the General Secretariate for the Affiliated Congregations during this term of government. These are available on the Order’s website here.

As part of the opening of the 50^th anniversary celebrations in Congo, two members of the commissariat were ordained to the priesthood during the Mass on May 16. Bishop Dieudonne Uringi of the Diocese of Bunia ordained Philémon Kambale Sivasi, O. Carm., and Emery Losinu Ngadjole, O. Carm. during the celebrations. Fr. Emery is originally from Pimbo, Dem. Rep. Congo and Fr. Philémon is from Mutambi, Dem. Rep. Congo.

The celebrations continue in various places with various activities planned during the coming year.

On May 15, 2023, on the first anniversary of the Canonisation of Saint Titus, the city council named the road over the main bridge that enters the city of Nijmegen in honour of Titus Brandsma.

The roads ends at the place where every year the memorial of the victims of the Second World War are remembered.

This is especially appropriate because Titus built bridges between both God and people, and between humans and one another.

A ceremony was held which was attended by Huub Welzen and Marieke Rijpkema gave a speech in tribute to Titus.