EWTN Report on Carmelites
- cpblamires
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
We have received a report from American Catholic broadcaster EWTN on the recent World Meeting of Discalced Carmelites, and I have extracted a few passages from it below: ‘The first world meeting of OCDS Carmelites in the history of the order was held July 23–26, 2026, in Ávila, Spain, where the leaders of the Order of Discalced Carmelites called upon their almost 33,000 Seculars to fully embrace their vocation as coequal members of the order. This historic call was enthusiastically embraced by the more than 900 Secular Carmelites who attended from almost 80 of the 92 countries in which Secular Carmelite communities are present. “In the past, people thought, ‘Whatever the priests say.’ Seculars were more like followers whereas now, they are called to be leaders,” said Father Ramiro Casale, OCD, general delegate to the OCDS, in an exclusive interview with EWTN News. “The Fathers are called to the sacraments, preaching, teaching, accompanying people. Carmelite nuns are cloistered so they offer their lives for Christ and the Church and the world. [But] the Seculars have access to so many places where the friars and nuns are not present. They have biological children and are very engaged in their work and in different apostolates in the Church, and they are very well-prepared. I tell them that they have a voice and that voice needs to be heard,” Casale said. Of course, this call to the laity is partly due to the fact that Secular Carmelites outnumber Carmelite priests by more than 8 to 1. This imbalance is not limited to the Carmelite order. The Secular Franciscan Order outnumbers its friars by roughly 25 to 1, while Lay Dominicans outnumber their friars by more than 26 to 1.
“We need only look around us to see that the world is still on fire,” Ramiro said. In a world in which consumerism, secularization, self-promotion, and a thirst for power rule, the Secular Carmelite order needs “a greater awareness of its professional and vocational identity … [a] rich prayer life … [and a] growing cooperation with the entire Carmelite family. We live in a time where human beings — even if they do not often express it in words — want to find a path that gives meaning and direction to their lives. They thirst for God.”
‘Everyone is a house for God’
Father Miguel Marquez Calle, OCD, superior general of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, explained in a one-on-one interview with EWTN News that the charism of the Carmelite order is what Carmelites lovingly refer to as “a call to ‘The Interior Castle.’” That is a reference to St. Teresa’s masterwork in which she compares the soul to a mansion with many rooms, all of which lead to the center of the castle, which is where God dwells. “We offer an invitation to live this richness of the presence of God in the soul of everyone, and to share it as St. Teresa did, with a joy that is contagious. We show the world that we are not empty, everyone is a house for God, and that gives life meaning.”
When asked for examples of successful community apostolates, Casale highlighted two that he finds especially impressive. “There is one in Venezuela called Nagoanagoa,” he said. “Thatʼs an Indian name. It was formed by medical doctors who began to go to the jungle to help people with no access to healthcare. It was something so attractive to others that many other people began to join them: engineers, people who knew about agriculture, dentists — so many people wanted to help. But everything began in the OCDS. Thatʼs something really beautiful, and itʼs happening still.” The other example is a project in Portugal called Casa de Comunión. “The interesting thing about this is that they have a community of nuns, a community of friars, and two communities of OCDS and they share life together,” Casale explained. “They don’t live together, but they do things together. They organize retreats, they organize talks for young people and for marriages, and they help in the local diocese, so this is an example of collaboration between the three branches of the order.” The three branches don’t just work together; they enjoy one another’s company via various forms of recreation and by sharing the joys and challenges of the work. As Casale said: “We [the Discalced Carmelites] are a team; we are a family, and we need to help each other.”
The closing Mass at the Ávila Cathedral ended with more than 30 priests on the altar, a magnificent choir, and more than 900 Carmelites raising their voices in the song that ends every Carmelite meeting around the world: the Salve Regina, a salute to the Queen of Heaven and Earth and of the Carmelite order under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. As Marquez said, in this divided time, the spirituality of the Blessed Mother is of central importance. Just as she was literally filled with the presence of God, her Carmelite order witnesses to the fact that “the presence of God is in every soul without exception. The world needs to understand that everyone is a home for God.”
For the full version of the report with accompanying pictures, see
Intercessions
RIP Fr Jon Bielawski, Jacqui, Sister Maisie
Cancer: Brian Davis, Bernard (and wife Angela caring for him), Catherine, Alex (43 with five children), Theresa K, Elena
Sophie – newborn having heart surgery; Sianna, young child in the post-operative phase; James, recovering from heart surgery
Ivy – sick child
Brian (recovering from Pneumonia)
Kevin (heart attack)
William Gove (in recovery)
Illness: Katy Keeling
Siena, Elara – sick children
David OCDS – housebound
Grace – troubling ailments, job difficulties, family (deceased mother and health of father)
Mark – brain infection
Michael, Kira – vulnerable youngsters
Defence of the unborn and the elderly
We are asked to pray for the Diocese of Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand, as the Northern Mission celebrates its centenary. The process of selecting a new bishop continues.
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