First Elective Chapter of the Carmelite Monastery Mater Carmeli in Biella, Italy

The Carmelite community of the Mater Carmeli monastery in Biella, Italy, held its first elective chapter on January 9, the feast of St. Andrew Corsini. The monastery was founded on June 4, 2005, from the monastery of Carmelo S. Anna in Carpineto Romano, Italy. On June 4, 2025, the foundation received the Decree of Canonical Erection.

The monastery's website is www.carmelitanebiella.it

Those elected to leadership are:

Prioress | Priora | Priora:
Sr. Maria Aurora della Risurrezione, Pierconti

1st Councilor | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera:
Sr Rita Mary dello Spirito Santo e di S. Elia, Otorho

2nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera:
Sr. Maria Cristiana del Crocifisso, De Gaspar 

Treasurer | Ecónoma | Economa
Sr. Maria Rosa dell'Eucarestia, Fois

Formator | Formadora | Formatrice
Sr. Maria Aurora della Risurrezione, Pierconti

Sacristan | Sacristana | Sacrestana:
Sr. Maria Veronica del Volto dell'Amore, De Simoni

The prior general and his council nominated Fr. Michael Farrugia, O. Carm., general procurator as the general delegate for the Third Order.

During the last General Chapter, held during September 2025, Fr. Michael Farrugia was re-elected as the Order’s procurator general for a six-year term, from 2025 to 2031. Fr. Michael is also the president of the General Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons.

He previously served as Prior Provincial of the Maltese Province.

“The Cross Is My Joy, Not My Sorrow” Documentary on Spanish Carmelite Pablo María de la Cruz Premiers

The Carmelite Order begins the new year with the premiere of a documentary entitled: The Cross Is My Joy, Not My Sorrow’ the story of Pablo María de la Cruz, a young Carmelite from Salamanca who died in July 2023 at the age of 21. His death came a few weeks after making his religious profession as a Carmelite at the priory of St. Andrew (El Carmen de Abajo) in Salamanca.

The production narrates the young man's life through the testimonies of family members, friends, priests, friars, and monks who had a close relationship with him and were direct witnesses to the work that God in him. It also includes several excerpts from an interview with Pablo that was recorded a few days before his death.

“Heaven exists, Jesus is alive” is the main message that Pablo conveys in this documentary. He makes this clear in the words he speaks openly to the camera: “Through suffering in illness, I found God, and through death in illness, I will go to Him. And that makes me immensely happy.”

Pablo offered his life to God for three intentions: for the conversion of young people through their encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist; for the unity of the Church; and so that the offering of his life might help us all to overcome our fear of death.

The premiere of the documentary will take place in the St. John Paul II Auditorium at the Pontifical University of Salamanca on Friday, January 16th, at 7:30 pm. This production is suitable for all audiences, as the life of this young man will captivate both believers and non-believers alike.

The original audio of the video is in Spanish, but we have added English subtitles. To see a preview of the documentary is on the Carmelite YouTube, go here:

January 9th | Feast

Born in Florence at the beginning of the 14th century, St. Andrew Corsini  entered religious life in the Carmelite house in his native city. He was appointed Provincial of Tuscany in 1348 by the General Chapter meeting in Metz and the following year he was named bishop of Fiesole, near Florence. He governed his diocese well, becoming a model of charity and an eloquent preacher. 

He was distinguished by his zeal for the apostolate, his wise judgement and his love for the poor.

Read more on St. Andrew Corsini here

The Chapel of St. Andrew Corsini in the Lateran Basilica

Fr. Desiderio García Martínez, O. Carm., the prior general, has the following schedule planned for the month of January 2026:

January 8: Visit to the Carmelite monastery of Carpineto Romano. Meeting with Sr. M. Valentina Rita Rossin, president of the St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi Federation of the Order's monasteries in Italy. 
January 12-13: Meeting of the priors provincial, commissaries general, and the general delegates of Europe.
January 18-23: Provincial Chapter of the Province of Pernambuco (Brasil) 
January 25-30: Provincial Chapter of the Rio de Janeiro Province

January 8th | Feast

Peter Thomas was a true Carmelite, not only in his relationship to Mary as the Queen and Decor Carmeli, but also in the way he lived his life according to the customs of the Order. However, his special commitment and concern was primarily for the unity of Christians. He constantly strove for reconciliation between the Church of Rome and the Orthodox Christians who had separated from the See of Peter in 1054. He developed an intensive apostolic activity as a peacemaker and defender of the popes. He always preached reconciliation. Miracles and extraordinary signs accompanied his eventful life.

A fresco created in 1880 by the Munich painter Max Fürst in the Carmelite church in Straubing shows St. Peter Thomas surrounded by confreres caring for the needy and giving communion to the sick. However, the painting also points to an essential characteristic of the saint's piety: his fervent devotion to Mary, who appears to him with the infant Jesus in her arms, accompanied by angels, and assures him of her protection and blessing. Tradition also credits him with writing a treatise on the Immaculate Conception of Mary (De Immaculata Conceptione BMV). Four volumes of his sermons have also been preserved.

In 1366, his chancellor and friend Philippe di Mézières, of whom he was also a spiritual director, wrote the biography of Petrus Thomas. Noted Carmelite historian, Joachim Smet, edited the Latin text from hitherto unpublished manuscripts. (The introduction and notes are in English.) 

For more on St. Peter Thomas and his work, click here

Books Available from Edizioni Carmelitane:

The Life of Saint Peter Thomas by Philippe de Mézieres (Latin)
     Introduction and Notes by Joachim Smet, O. Carm.

The Bollandist Dossier (1643) on St. Peter Thomas, O. Carm.
     Edited and translated by Patrick Mullins, O. Carm.

The Revised Bollandist Dossier (1659) on St. Peter Thomas, O. Carm.
     Edited and translated by Patrick Mullins, O. Carm.

• pdf Lectio Divina January, 2026 [Pdf](983 KB)
• default Lectio Divina January, 2026 [ePub](217 KB)
• default Lectio Divina January, 2026 [Mobi](353 KB)
  

God Is With Us!
(Matthew 1:18-25)

We began Advent with the cry, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. Now we end it with the joyful shout, ‘God is with us!’
Reflecting on the historical birth of Jesus, the Church proclaims the truth that God is, and has always been, with his people. And if God is with us, then God is for us. God is on our side.
God has no desire to live in houses made of wood, stone or gold. God’s deepest desire is to live in human flesh. Just as God did that in the human flesh of Jesus Christ a long time ago, God continues to do so now in us.
Like Mary, we accept God’s invitation, allowing Jesus to become flesh in us, too; to be seen and experienced in good thoughts, good words and good actions, in deeds of loving kindness which bring life, not death, to God’s people.

• pdf Celebrating At Home - Christmas - Nativity of the Lord [PDF](640 KB)
• default Celebrating At Home - Christmas - Nativity of the Lord [ePub](1.46 MB)
• pdf Celebrando en Familia - La Natividad del Señor(320 KB)
• pdf Celebrando in Casa - Natività del Signore(322 KB)
• pdf Celebrando em família - Natal – Natividade do Senhor(317 KB)

Dear brothers and sisters of the Carmelite Family: I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2026! May the Child Jesus fill you with his blessings and grant you peace.                        

1. A few years ago, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI illustrated this Holy Night, which we are about to celebrate, by reminding us that anyone who tries to enter the Church of the Nativity of Jesus in Bethlehem will find that the entrance gate has been largely bricked up. Only a small opening of about one and a half metres remains. As he pointed out, “the intention was probably to better protect the church against possible attacks but, above all, to prevent horses from entering the house of God.” This is providential, because "those who wish to enter the place where Jesus was born must bow down... if we want to find the God who appeared as a Child, we must dismount from the horse of our “enlightened” reason. We must lay aside our false certainties, our intellectual pride, which sometimes prevents us from perceiving God's closeness." What is humility if not lowering oneself in order to enter through the door of faith and find God? May the Christ Child teach us to bow down before the mystery of God. Let us also pray this Christmas for those who have to live in poverty, pain, sickness and abandonment, so that through our hands, the goodness that God, with the birth of His Son, brought to the world may also reach them.

2. The Music of Silence. Entering the Sacred Space by David Steindl-Rast and Sharon Lebell is a book that a friend gave me. The authors of this book remind us that the biblical stories of Christmas are full of “angels.” In fact, they are omnipresent in our lives. Voltaire, quite sceptically, went so far as to write mockingly that “no one knew precisely where angels lived.” Our era, happily freed from understanding reality literally, no longer concerns itself with the wingspan of angels, their gender, or how many can fit on the head of a pin. We focus on the meaning of their name: angel, which, as we well know, originally means “messenger, herald.” “Beings of light,” dedicated “totally to the service of God,” and defined, above all, by the mission they carry out. Mary and Joseph, through an angel, were able to meet the Lord. In our communities there too are many “angels.” To discover them, we must pause, connect with God, and contemplate our surroundings. Those who accompany our sick brothers and sisters to the doctor; those who quietly close or open doors every day; those who take out the rubbish for collection; those who bring in the mail ...; those who smile kindly every morning... All of them are inspired by an angel. Perhaps what Voltaire did not realise is that angels dwell in the community. That is where they live!

May the Child Jesus bless us, sustain our families and all those who have been forced to be far from their loved ones, their friends and their homeland. May He strengthen our leaders in their commitment to defend life and the most vulnerable. May our communities be the new dwelling place of the angels.

Fraternally in Carmel,