Today, November 6, is the memorial of Saint Nuno Álvares Pereira. Carmelite lay brother and Portuguese military leader (“The Holy Constable”). Nuno was born in Portugal in 1360. He was the illegitimate son of Brother Álvaro Gonçalves Pereira, Hospitalier Knight of St. John of Jerusalem and prior of Crato and Donna Iria Gonçalves do Carvalhal. …
Today, November 5, is the memorial of Blessed Frances d’Amboise. Carmelite nun. Frances was born in 1427 in a castle in Thouars, France. Her father was Louis d’Amboise, Prince of Talmont and Viscount of Thouars, and Louise-Marie de Rieux. At the age of three, Frances was already engaged to marry Peter II, a son of …
Today, October 15, is the feast of Saint Teresa of Avila. Virgin and Doctor of the Church. Foundress of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada was born in 1515 to the Spanish nobility, the daughter of Don Alonso Sanchez de Cepeda and Doña Beatriz. She grew up reading the lives …
Today, October 1, is the feast of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face. Carmelite virgin and Doctor of the Church. Patron saint of missionaries. Thérèse was the daughter of St. Louis Martin and St. Marie-Azelie Guérin Martin. She had four sisters, all of whom became nuns. Marie-Azelie died of breast …
Today, September 17, is the feast of Saint Albert of Jerusalem. Law-giver of the Carmelites. Albert was born in Castel Gualtieri, Italy. He was educated in theology and law. He entered the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross at Mortara and was elected prior in 1180. Albert was a canon lawyer who became bishop of …
Today, September 11, is the memorial of Blessed Maria of Jesus. Maria Lopez de Rivas Martinez was born in 1560, and grew up in a small hamlet near Madrid. She inherited a vast amount of wealth after her father’s death. When her mother re-married, she was left to the care of her paternal grandparents. When …
Today, September 1, is the memorial of Saint Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart. Carmelite nun. The future Carmelite was born into the noble family of Redi, wth cavalier Ignatius Redi and Camilla Ballati as her parents. In 1764, she entered the Discalced Carmelites’ monastery in Florence, changing her baptismal name of Anna Maria to …
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Today, August 26, is the memorial of Blessed Jacques Retouret. Carmelite priest and martyr. Born to a family of merchants in Limoges (France) in 1746, Jacques was an educated man and was known as a lover of books. He joined the Carmelites of the Ancient Observance (O.Carm.) at age 15. He was a priest, whose …
Today, August 25, is the memorial of Saint Mary of Jesus Crucified. Carmelite nun. Mariam Baouardy was born at Abellin in Galilee in 1846 to very poor and devoted Greek-rite Catholic parents. She became an orphan at three years old when both her parents died of natural causes days apart. An uncle adopted Mariam and …
Today, August 18, is the memorial of the Blessed Carmelite Martyrs of Rochefort. The three Discalced Carmelites were Frenchmen: Fr. Jean-Baptiste Duverneuil (Leonard in religious life) was born in 1737, other accounts contend it was 1759; Fr. Michel Louis Brulard was born in 1758; Fr. Jacques Gagnot (Hubert of St. Claude in religious life) was …
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