With the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Saint Teresa of Jesus we come to the summit of the commemoration of this great Carmelite saint. Various news of CITOC-online has reported the initiatives celebrated in many Provinces of the Order. In addition, during the General Chapter of the Discalced Carmelites, our Prior General presided at the Eucharist in the “Holy place”, the birthplace of Saint Teresa. He was accompanied by Fr. Xavier Cannistrà, Superior General of the Teresian Carmelites who was just re-elected as Superior General. In this issue of our magazine, we dedicate a large part to this Saint of Carmel: a biography of her life, an article on her characteristics, and finally a portrayal of her as a woman of prayer.
Another great figure of more recent times was beatified on May 23, 2015, in El Salvador: Bishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero. His beatification, so long-awaited, gives us the opportunity to present two articles on his love and pious devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and a presentation of Carmel in El Salvador.
It was a great honor for the whole Order that Fr. Bruno Secondin, O.Carm, preached the retreat to Pope Francis and members of the Roman Curia. We are excited to share an article in which he shares with us this unique experience.
The history of Carmel has always responded to the challenges resulting from the changes of the historical moment. An example of this is the report on the merger of the two Institutes of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Carmelite Sisters of Grace. This issue also features another article on Carmelite nuns, presenting a look at the reality of our nuns in Asia.
In addition to these articles, and other information from around the world, we present a selection of top news, some of which was already published in CITOC-online, as we catch a glimpse of the current activities of the Order.
