Discalced Carmelites

In August 1562 Saint Teresa of Ávila founded a new style of Carmelite community in Ávila, Spain. It was to become the first of a new Order – the Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCD). Thus the Discalced Carmel acknowledges Saint Teresa as its mother and foundress. She envisioned an Order fully dedicated to poverty. She felt strongly about this and thus the virtue of poverty became integrally related to this Religious Order.

The Barefoot Carmelites is a more common name for the Discalced (from Latin: without shoes) Carmelites. The Discalced Carmelites are a Roman Catholic religious community of priests, brothers, nuns, and laity serving the Church. We embrace the religious life in friendship and service of Jesus Christ.

Our religious Order’s heritage reaches back to a community of hermits living on Mount Carmel in Palestine during the late-12th century. But in 1592 the Discalced Carmelites or of the Teresians became independent from the Original Carmelites (O Carms) and grew independently but be it the Teresian Carmelites or the O Carms, the ultimate vocation of the Carmelites is to live in allegiance to Jesus Christ who loves us.

 

India

The Discalced Carmelites came to India in the beginning of the 17th Century. They founded their first residence at Tatta in Sind, now in Pakistan, and the second, in Goa in 1620.

Sebastiani and four friars, the first Carmelite Missionaries, were sent to India by Pope Alexander VII and with them begins the history of Carmelites in our country. Fr. Benigno of St. Michael, Fr Leander of the Annunciation, who had been sent to the Persian mission, came to Goa in 1619 and the Carmelites were able to establish roots there in 1621. They began their mission in India at Old Goa. Carmelites were a prominent Order at Old Goa along with Jesuits, Franciscans and Augustinians since 1619 till the Portuguese suppressed religious orders in 1834.

The Carmelites, on their refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance to the king, were expelled from Goa in 1707. The church fell into disuse and ruins soon after. Nothing remains of the Church of the Carmelites built in 1621, except the façade and a raised pavement which served as an altar. It is located to the south-east of the Church of St. Cajetan on a hill more or less contiguous to the hill on which the Chapel of Our Lady of the Mount stands.

Today there are around 1000 Discalced Carmelite friars and some 500 Discalced Carmelite nuns (34 monasteries) spread across India.

The present monastery building Convent do Carmo (Carmelite Convent/Monastery) was a novitiate house and was built in 1943. Today Carmelites have three foundations (Margao, Mapusa and Xellim) in Goa.

In 2019, the Discalced Carmelites celebrated 400 years of their presence in India.  This celebration was held from February, 8-10 in Goa.