The General Congregation of the Order began on Monday, September 5 at the Villa Aurelia, a retreat/conference center near the Vatican. The theme of this year’s meeting is Gift and Mission: The Radical Witness of Consecrated Carmelites in the World of Today. “By This Everyone Will Know that You Are My Disciples” (Jn 13: 35).

These meetings are held three years before a General Chapter. Forty-three members plus “experts” are participating in the meeting. The priors provincial and those provincial commissaries and general delegates who have at least twenty voting members (solemn vows) in their reality have the right to vote.

In an interview before the start of the meeting, the prior general, Fr. Míceál O’Neill, expressed his hope for the two-week gathering. “My principal interest is for this to be a kind of extended general council in which we get a chance to share leadership, information, and responsibility with those who are leaders in the various provinces.”

The first week is dedicated to the topic of the consecrated life. The former master (superior general) of the Dominican Order, Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, will address the group of the topic of consecrated life. Fr. Timothy, a noted speaker and author, had previously addressed the 2007 General Chapter of the Order. These first days will also be facilitated by Mr. Danny Curtin who will help guide the work of the participants.

Topics to be covered in the second week include reports from each geographical area of the Order as well as the various entities that are the responsibility of the general council (there is a commission or a delegate responsible to the general council) including CISA; the Carmelite nuns; the Institutum Carmelitanum; the archives; aggregated congregations; communications; Lay Carmelites; postulation; Carmelite youth; Justice, Peace, and the Integration of Creation; new foundations; and liturgy and prayer. 

Other topics to be discussed include the Carmelite NGO, which affiliates the Carmelite Family to the United Nations; synodality; financial self-sustainability; integral ecology; safeguarding minors and vulnerable adults; and formation.

The congregation will conclude with a message to the Carmelite Family, discussed and approved by the gathering in its final days.

The gathering officially opened with a Eucharist on Monday, September 5, celebrated by the prior general of the Order. This was followed by an opening address from Fr. Míceál to set the tone for the meeting. He offered a reflection on leadership and mission. In the second part of his address, the prior general highlighted areas of concern, the issues the general council is dealing with and have been shared with the provinces. The third part was an overview of the four geographical areas (the individual general councilors will give a more in-depth report of each area in the second week). The prior general concluded his remarks with some indications of areas the group might focus on going forward as leadership.

The General Congregation will conclude on Friday, September 16.

The General Congregation of the Order will take place from Monday, September 5th until Friday, September 16. This year the meeting will be held at Villa Aurelia, near the Vatican in Rome. The theme of the gathering is Gift and Mission: The Radical Witness of Consecrated Carmelites in the World of Today. “By This Everyone will Know that Your are My Disciples” (Jn 13: 35).

a) assisting the prior general and his council in their task of governing and animating the Order;

b) fostering communication and contact between the General Curia and the various areas of the Order;

c) ensuring the implementation of the decisions and decrees of the previous General Chapter; to assess the effectiveness of the directions proposed; to make decisions and issue decrees, which shall be valid only until the following Chapter;

d) assisting in the preparation of the next General Chapter, and to advise the prior general concerning the venue of the Chapter;

e) to discuss the financial matters of the Order.

1 September Optional Memorial

Saint Teresa Margaret Redi was born in Arezzo on 1st September 1747 into the noble family of Redi. In 1764, she entered the monastery of the Discalced Carmelites in Florence, changing her baptismal name of Anna Maria to that of Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

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Real reality
(Luke 14:25-33)

There is very little that is real in so-called ‘reality TV’. 

We know that, in fact, situations and circumstances are highly contrived and rather artificial. People are deliberately set up to fail, tensions are fuelled and contestants often exploited emotionally and physically. 

Today’s Gospel contains a rather heavy dose of real reality about what is required in order to be a disciple of Jesus. 

The words of Jesus have to be read against the background of the Kingdom life God is inviting us into and the central message of Jesus that we need to place God in the centre of our hearts. 

The language about hating family members and even our own lives comes from a Semitic idiom which expresses preference. If you prefer one person or thing over another you are said to ‘love’ the first and ‘hate’ the second. The Gospel is not calling us to hate either our relatives or ourselves.

When we let the presence of God flood our hearts and minds all other aspects of our lives, including our relationships, find their proper place. Relationships become more genuine and less exploitive; possessions have less hold over us and we begin to share them more generously, our need for power and status fades. 

To do this, however, is no easy thing. It requires many daily decisions, choosing to see with God’s eyes, to feel with God’s heart and to act according to God’s vision for human life: to choose love over hate, generosity over hoarding, to let go of power and status and be of real service to our sisters and brothers. That is what ‘carrying the cross’ is all about. 

Jesus warns that this is a difficult and demanding way, and that a disciple needs to be clear-eyed and ready to take up the task.

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The XVII General Chapter of the Congregation of the Corpus Christi Carmelites was held August 15-26, 2022, at the Generalate/Novitiate in Tunapuna, Trinidad.

Pictured above (left to right) are Sr. Marcella Ali, Sr. Geraldine George, Sr. Katrina Charles, Sr. Clare Marie Nero, Sr. Joanne Browne.

The following sisters were elected to the new Leadership Team:

General Superior | Superiora General | Superiora Generale:
Sr. Katrina Charles, O. Carm.

1^st Councilor  | 1ª Consejera | 1ª Consigliera
Sr. Joanne Brownie, O. Carm.

2^nd Councilor | 2ª Consejera | 2ª Consigliera: 
Sr. Clare Marie Nero, O. Carm.

3^rd Councilor | 3ª Consejera | 3ª Consigliera: 
Sr. Geraldine George, O. Carm.

4^th Councilor | 4ª Consejera | 4ª Consigliera: 
Sr. Marcella Ali, O. Carm.

The prior general and his council made the appointments for the leadership of the Institutum Carmelitanum until the next General Chapter. Renewed for a new term as president of the Institute is Giovanni Grosso of the Italian Province. He will be assisted by Kuba Walczak (Poland) as secretary and Mario Alfarano (Neapolitan) as librarian of both the Carmelite library and the CISA house library.

Also appointed were the members of the scientific board of the Institutum. Members until 2025 are Simon Nolan (Ireland), Rico Ponce (Philippines), Edimar Fernando Moreira (Paraná), Edison Tinambunan (Indonesia) and Dr. Elizabeth Hense of Radboud University. Dr. Hense is an editor of the multi-volume series of the collected words of Titus Brandsma in English.

The Institutum Carmelitanum is the scientific research and educational arm of the General Curia of the Carmelite Order. It was instituted in November 1951 by then prior general Kilian Lynch. The Institutum focused on Carmelite themes in the fields of Mariology, the spiritual life, history and bibliography. In 1954 the Institutum's official journal, Carmelus, was initiated. Other activities of the Institutum include collaboration with articles for dictionaries and encyclopedias, as well as scientific magazines, contact with other research institutes, and the organization of congresses and conventions. Within the Carmelite Family, the Institute is a resource for commissions, formation courses, and conventions.

August 26

Like the majority of his fellow clergy, Jacques refused to accept the civil law, unilaterally introduced by the state, which decreed, among other things, the election of bishops and parish priests by the people, only afterwards to be approved by the hierarchy and the pope. In addition to this refusal, Jacques was accused of siding with a group of political emigres who had invaded the country against the revolutionaries. He was arrested and condemned, together with many other priests and religious, and sentenced to exile in French Guinea in South America. Taken to Rochefort, he was held there in a prison ship. 

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Following consultations, the General Council appointed three members of the General Delegation in Kenya to leadership positions. They are:

Delegate General: Patrick Musyimi Kitaka
Delegation Councilors: Eugine Ekeya
                                            Peter Wafula

Fr. Patrick has been serving as the joint novitiate director in Zimbabwe. In his new role he will be supporting the formation program for Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, according to the prior general, Míceál O’Neill. Fr. Eugine is the assistant pastor of the Carmelite parish in Nkoroi. Fr. Peter has been involved with the formation program.

The Delegation of Kenya was established on July 16, 2010. It was originally formed as a mission under the former Upper German Province with responsibility for its administration and staffing given to the Indian Provincial Commissariat. Formation of the first candidates was entrusted to the Provinces of Catalonia and Argo-Valentine in Spain. In June of 2005, the first house, Bustani ya Karmeli in Ngong was opened. Some nine men are now professed members of the Delegation.