Carmelite Saints
Icon of Carmelite saints, written by the Carmelite nuns in Ravenna, Italy. Private collection.
Across the centuries the Carmelite Order has given witness to the primacy of God. As is the case throughout the Church, very many people live lives of faithful service and holiness. From these the Church chooses individuals whose lives can serve as an example to those of us still on our pilgrim way. A number of these holy women and men come from the slopes of Carmel. Here we highlight just a few of them, including some with particular relevance to Lay Carmel. To know about more, consult the calendar of Carmelite saints, and the comprehensive article Holy Men and Women of Carmel (a survey of saints from the earliest days of the Carmelite Family to the present).
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Simon, an Englishman, died at Bordeaux in the mid-thirteenth century. He has been venerated in the Carmelite Order for his personal holiness and his devotion to Our Lady. A liturgical celebration in his honour was observed locally in the fifteenth century, and later extended to the whole Order. One of his principal shrines is in the British Province at Aylesford Priory ("The Friars") in Kent.
St. Simon Stock depicted in ceramic by Adam Kossowski at Aylesford Priory, Kent.
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Joan was born probably sometime in the 15th century into a noble family of the Kingdom of Navarre (a Basque territory between present-day Spain and France). Because of her devotion to Our Lady, Joan wished to live as a recluse near the Carmelite convent of friars in Toulouse, where she led a life of great austerity. She loved to speak about heavenly things with the young friars and prayed much for them, which was to their great spiritual benefit. We do not know her exact vocation within the Carmelite Family - whether she lived as some kind of tertiary, 'converted lady', or nun - nor the date of her death, but after her entry to heaven many miracles were attributed to her intercession. She was beatified in 1895.
Bl. Joan of Toulouse depicted by an unknown artist (1916-17) in a painting at CISA (Saint Albert's International Centre), Rome.
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Jean Soreth was born at Caen in Normandy, France, and entered Carmel as a young man. He took a doctorate of theology in Paris and served as regent of studies and provincial of his province. He was prior general from 1451 until his death at Angers in 1471. Jean restored observance within the Order and promoted its reform, wrote a famous Commentary on the Rule of Saint Albert, issued new Constitutions for the friars in 1462, and promoted the growth of the nuns and Lay Carmel. Through the papal bull Cum Nulla, issued in 1452, Jean gave formal recognition to the growing movements of lay people associated with the Carmelite friars, and laid the ground for the development of the Third Order.
Bl. John Soreth depicted in ceramic by Adam Kossowski at Aylesford Priory ("The Friars") in Kent.
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Teresa was born at Avila in Spain in 1515. She entered the Carmelites and made great progress in the way of perfection and was granted mystical revelations. Wishing to share in the spiritual renewal of the Church of her time, she began to live her religious life more ardently and soon attracted many companions, to whom she was like a mother. She also helped in the reform of the friars, and in this had to endure great trials. She wrote books which are renowned for their depth of doctrine and which showed her own spiritual experiences. She died at Alba in 1582. She was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1970.
Saint Teresa of Jesus. Statue from c.1700 at Snowshill Manor, Gloucestershire.
Photo courtesy of The National Trust. |
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Lliberada Ferrarons i Vivés (1803 - 1842) was a working class woman in the town of Olot (Catalonia, northern Spain). As a young worker in a textile factory, she was a model for Christians in the workplace. She joined the Carmelite Third Order Secular, and as such demonstrated the true meaning of ‘heroic sanctity’; not performing superhuman feats, but rather loving and living Christ in the joys and boredoms of daily life. Like the Lord on Horeb, Lliberada was a 'still small voice' who brought others to know the presence of God in gentleness and quiet. She offered to the Holy Trinity her whole life, including her poverty and sickness. Lliberada was declared 'venerable' by Pope Benedict in 2009, and her cause for beatification is being actively promoted by the Carmelite Order and the Diocese of Girona.
Lliberada Ferrarons i Vivés drawn by Modest Fluvià.
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