Today, March 29, is the memorial of Saint Berthold of Mount Carmel.

Born in Limoges, France, Berthold was the son of the Count of Limoges and a nephew of Aymeric the Latin patriarch of Antioch.

He was a soldier who battled in the Crusades and was present in Antioch during the siege of the Saracens.

It was at this point that Jesus appeared to Berthold in a vision, rebuking him for his sinful life. Berthold promptly decided to mend his ways and to become a hermit.

In 1185, Berthold went up to Mount Carmel and tried to imitate the life of the Prophet Elijah. He built a chapel there and established a community of hermits. People from all over heard of his holiness, and wanted to meet him for spiritual direction. He died in 1195.

Today, March 20, is the solemnity of Saint Joseph, Husband of Mary.

Principal Protector of the Carmelite Order.

Patron of the Universal Church.

The liturgical feast of St. Joseph already appeared in the Carmelite Order in the second half of the 15th century. In 1680, the Carmelite General Chapter unanimously elected St. Joseph as the Principal Protector of the Carmelite Order.

In 1847, Pope Pius IX declared him as Patron of the Universal Church. Pope St. John XXIII inserted his name in the Roman Canon.

Today, January 20, is the memorial of Blessed Angelo Paoli.

Carmelite priest.

When the future Carmelite was born in 1642, he was named Francesco in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. His parents Angelo and Santa were avid devotees of the saint.

As he was well-educated, he spent his youth teaching catechism and Catholic instruction to poor children in his hometown. When he turned 18, he joined the Order of Carmelites (O.Carm.) together with his brother Tomasso. Francesco received the religious name Angelo.

Angelo was ordained priest in 1667 and given various assignments around Italy. He was known for his works of charity and devotion to Christ’s Passion. He put up wooden crosses to inspire people to meditate on Christ’s Crucifixion. He personally took care of the sick and the poor, even opening a hospice for them.

Angelo was also a miracle worker. Unexplainable multiplication of food for the poor took place a number of times. He was blessed with knowledge of future (and even distant) events.

When Pope Innocent XII and Pope Clement XI wanted him to become cardinal, Angelo humbly refused, as he wanted to be with the poor.

In 1720, Angelo had a high fever that caused his death. Pope Clement XI mourned his passing, calling Angelo “father of the poor.” People from all walks of life, religious and laypeople, rich and poor, attended his funeral. 

Angelo Paoli was beatified in 2010 by Archbishop Angelo Amato at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Rome.

Today, January 3, is the memorial of Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara.

Co-founder of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) and the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (CMC).

The Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic priest Kuriakose Elias was born in 1805 in what is now Kerala, India. He studied with a Hindu teacher until age 10, and learned a variety of languages and regional dialects. He entered the seminary in 1818 and was ordained in 1829. He became the co-founder and first prior-general of the Congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate.

The main work of the Congregation is education aiming at the intellectual, social, economic, moral and spiritual advancement of people, especially women and children. The congregation flourishes today in eight countries with almost 5,000 members.

Kuriakose made his religious profession in the Congregation in 1855. He served as a humble vicar-general for the Syro-Malabar church in 1861. He defended ecclesial unity which was threatened by schism by the consecration of Nestorian bishops in his area and worked to renew the faith in Malabar. He also became co-founder of the Congregation of Mother of Carmel in 1866.

People loved and revered him, recognizing him as a man of prayer with a devotion to the Eucharist and the Virgin Mary.

In his honor, a variety of mango in Kerala called Prior Mango or Priormavu is named after him. In his monastery in Mannanam, Kuriakose took care of a mango tree. He gave away the seedlings to other monasteries and convents. These plants became abundant and the mangoes became premium varieties.

He died of natural causes at age 65 in 1871. He was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II in 1986. He was canonized by Pope Francis in 2014.

Today, December 16, is the memorial of Blessed Mary of the Angels.

Carmelite nun.

She was born Marianna Fontanella in Turin, Italy in 1661 to nobility. She was a distant cousin of St. Aloysius Gonzaga. At around six years old, Marianna already knew she had a vocation to the religious life. One day, she planned with her brother to run away, live in the desert, and imitate the saints. Unfortunately, they overslept and did not push through.

At age 12, she joined the Cistercian nuns, but when her father died soon after, she returned home to help her mother. Four years later, she entered the Discalced Carmelite community in Turin and took the name Mary of the Angels.

It was hard for her to live in community. She was homesick and was not fond of her novice mistress. In her seventh year in the monastery, she went through spiritual dryness. Demonic manifestations tested her.

With her spiritual director, she persevered in this aspect and then found interior peace. She entered into the deeper levels of prayer.

In time she became prioress and established a new house for the community in Moncalieri after being encouraged by Blessed Sebastian Valfre of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. She intended to transfer there, but the people of Turin would not let her go. They valued her wisdom, even royalty went to her for advice.

She had a deep devotion to St. Joseph, and dedicated the city of Turin to him after his intercession helped save the city from being destroyed in a war with the French.

She died of natural causes in 1717. In the last 20 years of her life, Mary of the Angels possessed a distinct odor. People described it as a scent of sanctity—it came from her body and spread to things she touched. The scent stayed after 1702, and was even difficult to remove from things that she had contacted. Some of her relics still retain this scent to this day. Her body could be seen under the altar of the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of St. Joseph in Moncalieri.

Mary was beatified by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1865.

Today, December 14, is the feast of Saint John of the Cross.

Carmelite and Doctor of the Church.

Born in Fontiveros, Spain in 1542, Juan de Yepes y Álvarez lived in poverty. In Medina del Campo, John was able to study and become an altar boy at a nearby Augustinian nunnery. There, he also cared for the poor in the hospital.

In 1563, he became a Carmelite lay brother at age 21 and took the name John of St. Matthias. As a Carmelite, he lived more strictly than the Rule required. He was ordained priest in 1567 at age 25.

After his priestly ordination, John considered joining the very strict Carthusian Order. He was persuaded by St. Teresa of Avila to begin the Discalced (or barefoot) reform within the Carmelite Order. St. Teresa wanted to bring back the purity of the Carmelites by returning to the Primitive Rule of the Carmelites of 1209. Later during this reform, he changed his name to John of the Cross.

His reforms did not sit well with some of his brothers, and he was ordered to return to Medina del Campo. He refused, and was imprisoned at Toledo, Spain, escaping after nine months. He became vicar-general of Andalusia, Spain. His reforms brought back much-needed energy into the Order.

John is one of the greatest spiritual writers. He wrote masterpieces of mystical theology, such as “Spiritual Canticle,” “Dark Night of the Soul,” “The Ascent of Mount Carmel,” and “Living Flame of Love.”

He died of erysipelas in 1591. He was beatified in 1675 in Rome by Pope Clement X. John was canonized in 1726 by Servant of God Pope Benedict XIII.

In 1926, Pope Pius XI declared St. John of the Cross a Doctor of the Church (“The Mystical Doctor”).

Today, December 5, is the memorial of Blessed Bartolomeo Fanti.

Bartolomeo was born in Mantua, Italy in 1428. He was a Carmelite priest for 35 years. He served as spiritual director and rector of the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for which he composed a rule and statutes.

He was also the spiritual teacher of Blessed John Baptist Spagnuoli and was a noted preacher and healer with a strong devotion to the Eucharist.

He died in 1495 at age 67. He was beatified in 1909 by Pope St. Pius X.

Today, November 29, is the memorial of Blessed Denis of the Nativity and Blessed Redemptus of the Cross.

Carmelite martyrs.

They were Discalced Carmelite missionaries sent to Sumatra in Indonesia during the Christian persecutions.

There, on November 29, 1638, the two friars were led to a desolate spot on the seashore, where Brother Redemptus was shot with arrows, after which his throat was slit.

Father Denis, a crucifix in his hands, was the last to die, his skull shattered by a blow of a scimitar.

They were beatified by Pope Leo XII in 1900.

Today, November 19, is the memorial of Saint Raphael Kalinowski.

Carmelite friar.

He was born Jozef Kalinowski to a noble Polish family in Vilnius, Lithuania in 1835. When he turned 18, he joined the Imperial Russian Army and got promoted to Captain years later. He later resigned from the Army and became minister of war of a Polish insurrection. He vowed never to hand a death sentence to anyone. He later became a prisoner of war. His faith reached greater heights during this period; he even served as spiritual adviser to fellow prisoners.

Along the way, he almost got killed by firing squad, and became a researcher and a tutor to a teenage prince. All along Jozef held on to what was, in fact, his vocation.

In 1877, he joined the Discalced Carmelites and received the religious name “Raphael of St. Joseph.” He became a priest and a prior. He contributed greatly to the restoration of the Discalced Carmelites in Poland. He was known for his zeal for Church unity and by his dedication to his ministry as confessor and spiritual director.

He died of tuberculosis in 1907 at age 72. Pope St. John Paul II beatified him in Krakow, Poland in 1983. The same pope canonized him in Rome in 1991.

Today, November 15, is the Commemoration of All Carmelite Souls.

These brothers and sisters of ours may not have been famous spiritual writers nor renowned for extraordinary experiences of prayer, but they made their mark on the Carmelite Order and on each of us through their own efforts to live in allegiance to Jesus Christ in service to the Order and to the Church. Whether as priests or brothers, nuns or sisters, consecrated lay or third order members, they brought the spirit of Carmel to their daily lives and to all those around them.

Others were not official members of the Order, but through their generosity of time, talent and support, encouraged us Carmelites to an ever-deeper fidelity to our vocation.