The Discalced Carmelites, or the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, are members of a Catholic religious order that follows on from the tradition of the Old Testament prophets and the early Christian hermits. The name of the Order is taken from the biblical Mount Carmel in Palestine, where the first brothers established themselves during the time of the crusades so as to live a life of obedience to Jesus Christ. They took their inspiration from the Old Testament prophet Elijah and the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, to whom their first church, and later the whole Carmelite Order, was dedicated.

In the sixteenth century, when many of the older Order were being reformed - either from within or from without because of the decrees of Trent - St. Teresa of Jesus, the great Spanish mystic, established her first cloistered Carmel at Avila in 1562.  She secured permission to extend the reform to the friars.  Providence gave her St. John of the Cross, another extraordinary mystic for the realization of this project.  The net result of their combined efforts was the foundation of the Discalced Carmelite Order in 1593. 

While the sisters live an enclosed life, the friars live a life that is both contemplative and apostolic, in imitation of Jesus who lived both the prayer in the desert and the ministry of compassion with the multitudes. Their life of contemplation is primarily a service designed for the whole Church.

Our Patroness: Our Lady of Mount Carmel

 Our Holy Parents: St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross