Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Mary, the Mother of God, has a multitude of titles under which she is invoked.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. Our Lady of Mount Carmel is Mary, mother of Jesus. Carmel is a mountain in Northern Israel, where the Carmelite order was founded in the twelfth century. Our Lady of Mount Carmel personifies the “enclosed garden” created solely for God and watered by Him, containing all beauty, grace, and virtues.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel means Mary as she is honoured in the Carmelite Order. Mary is first seen as patron. This is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The brown scapular and the rosary are given by her. Blessed Virgin Mary said to St. Dominic: "One day through the rosary and the scapular I will save the world." The scapular is an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and queen of Mount Carmel.

The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated each year on July 16. At Lourdes in 1858, the Virgin chose to make her last apparition on July 16. The feast was assigned to 16 July, because on that date in 1251, according to Carmelite traditions, the scapular was given by the Blessed Virgin to St. Simon Stock.