The Institutum Carmelitanum and the community of St. Albert’s International Centre (CISA) are holding a series of evening lectures under the title, “Carmelites and the Second Vatican Council”, at CISA each month until this coming May. The idea is to let people know about the importance of the Vatican Council for the life and work of the Order.

The first lecture, on the 13th of December, was given by Fr. Claudemir Rozin, O.Carm.  (Par) on the theme, “A Church of Communion. The Ecclesiology of the Carmelite Rule in the Light of Vatican II”. The second was given on the 10th of January by the Prior of CISA, Míceál O’Neill, O.Carm., on the theme, “The Church in the World. The Commitment of Carmelites to Justice and Peace”. In the coming months further lectures will be given by Carmelites on the universal call to holiness, on the members of the Order who took part in the Council and on the liturgy. As part of the programme a book will be launched on the life and witness, and contribution to the Vatican Council of the Carmelite bishop, Donal Lamont (1911-2003).

On the 28th of December, 2012, on the occasion of the celebration of the unification of the two German provinces, in Bamberg, Germany, the Prior General, Fr. Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm. received the first copy of the Monasticon Carmelitanum, edited by Edeltraud Kleuting, Third Order Carmelite (Ger), Stephan Panzer, O.Carm., (Ger) and Andreas H. Scholten, O.Carm., (Ger). The work contains 80 articles by 51 authors. It is the first scientific account of the houses and monasteries in Germany and it is offered as a reference work, in which the story of each house and monastery is given in systematic fashion: history, building, significance, sources (archives, literature, documentation) etc. regarding every location where the Carmelites lived. It deals with all the houses of the Carmelite Order in Germany from the beginning right up to the present day. The work is intended for the wider public, but also for researchers as a tool and guide for future investigation. It is divided into three main sections: I. the history of the Provinces of Upper and Lower Germany, II. the houses before the napoleonic secularisation 1802/1803 c.e., (60 articles),  III. the new foundations from the 19th century onwards.

The Monasticon Carmelitanum of Germany follows Monasticon Carmelitanum of the Netherlands (Citoc-online 56/2011) as the second volume in a series of Monastica Carmelitana, and with encouragement from the Institutum Carmelitanum in Rome.

More than forty thousand young people from across Europe arrived in Rome for an experience of prayer and communion organized by the Taizé community (France) from the 28th December to the 2nd January. Our Carmelite brethren from S. Maria in Traspontina, SS. Martino and Silvestro ai Monti and S. Maria Regina Mundi were fully involved in this gathering. About four hundred young people were received into the family homes of these Carmelite parishes. Together with this hospitality, the young people and the Carmelite families participated in the organization of various moments of prayer and sharing in each of these churches as part of the event's programme. On the 1st January there was a meeting in our parish of S. Maria Regina Mundi at Torrespaccata of all the young Carmelite Italians who had participated in the event.

Recently, on the 28th of December, at a solemn event in the Carmelite house in Bamberg, Germany, the unification of the Provinces of Upper Germany and Lower Germany to form the one Province of Germany took place. The ceremony began with an historical overview by Dr. Edeltraud Klueting, Third Order Carmelite, of the presence of Carmelites in Germany  for more than 750 years. The Prior General, Fr. Fernando Millan Romeral, O.Carm. then spoke. He pointed to the unification as a sign of vitality towards a better service of the people of God. Far from being a defeat this unification comes as a challenge to sow the seeds in Germany of the Carmel of the future. The decree of unification was read and then the two outgoing provincials in a symbolic gesture handed over the seals of their former provinces to the Prior General who gave the seal of the new Province of Germany to the Prior Provincial, Fr. Dieter Lankes, O.Carm.

The Archbishop of Bamberg, Ludwig Schick, the President of the German Conference of Religious, the Representative of the Minister for Culture of Bavaria, all addressed the gathering, offering their good wishes. The Prior Provincial of the Province of the Netherlands, Fr.  Ben Wolbers, O.Carm. gave a gift of the artistic representation of the Carmelite Rule by the Dutch artist, Arie Trum, written in German. At that point there was a presentation of the Monasticon Carmelitanum, which describes each of the houses of the Carmelites in Germany since the Order first began there. The new website of the united province (www.karmeliten.de) was then presented.

In the afternoon, the Prior General led the solemn celebration of the Mass of Thanksgiving. The concelebrants included, the Vice Prior General, Fr. Christian Kőrner, O.Carm., the Councilor General for Europe, Fr. John Keating, O.Carm., the two German provincials, Fr. Wilfried Wanjek, O.Carm., and Fr. Dieter Lankes, O.Carm. along with numerous German Carmelites and representatives of the Provinces of Britain, St. Thomas in India, the General Commissariat of Paraná, the communities of the Cameroon, all of these last three in different ways linked closely to the Province of Germany. In his homily, the Prior General spoke about Bl. Titus Brandsma, the Patron of the new province, as an important figure of reconciliation, unity and hope, and a shining example for the united province.