THE FIVE ASSOCIATIONS OF THE DISCALCED CARMELITE NUNS IN THE USA

[graciandelamadrededios]

Association of Christ the King

Member Monasteries:

Lake Elmo 
Traverse City 
Kensington
Buffalo 
Ada-Parnell
Arlington

 

Association President: Mother Marie of the Incarnation of Lake Elmo Carmel

 

St. Joseph’s Association

Member Monasteries:
Denmark, WI
Des Plaines, IL
Flemington, NJ
Jefferson City, MO
Launceston, Tasmania
Loretto, PA
Rochester, NY
Sacramento, CA
San Francisco, CA
Santa Fe, NM

Association President: Sister Mary Elizabeth of the Trinity of Des Plaines Carmel

 

St. Teresa Association

Member Monasteries:
Carmel
Danvers
Lafayette
Miami
Mobile
Port Tobacco
Salt Lake City
Spruce Grove
St Agatha
St. Louis

Association President: Sister Celeste of the Immaculate Conception of St. Agatha Carmel

 

 

Mary, Queen of Carmel Association

Member Monasteries:
Alhambra
Armstrong
Clintontownship
Covington
Eugene
Jackson
Kaneohe
Little Tock
Pewaukee
Piedmont
San Antonio
San Diego
Santa Clara
Savannah
Seattle
Sioux City
Terre Haute
Zephyr

Association President: Sister Mary Clare of St Joseph of Terre Haute Carmel

 

Carmelite Communities Associated 

Member Monasteries:
Baltimore  
Barrington 
Beacon 
Boston 
Cleveland 
Concord 
Danville 
Eldridge
Latrobe 
Oldenburg 
Reno

Association President: Sister Marjorie Robinson OCD of Beacon Carmel

 

 

[nikita92]

Thank you for posting this! 

[graciandelamadrededios]

12 hours ago, nikita92 said:

Thank you for posting this! 

YW!

[Graciela]

I add my thanks.

I notice that almost all of the Carmels of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (Valparaiso, Fairfield-formerly Elysburg, Post Falls, and their Australian foundation) appear not to hold membership in any association. Kensington Carmel JMJ is with the Christ the King association.  San Francisco, out of which Valparaiso (through a time in Las Vegas) was a foundation, is in the St Joseph Association.

Of course, Valparaiso and Fairfield PA Carmels JMJ are still awaiting results of apostolic visitations from late 2021. Those visitations came after nine JMJ Carmel nuns went to Philadelphia Carmel to increase its number of nuns. Philadelphia Carmel was a member of the Association of St. Joseph and was scheduled for a visitation by the association, in accord with Cor Orans, in 2021. Prior to that happening, the JMJ nuns suddenly decamped from Philadelphia Carmel to Valparaiso. Philadelphia Carmel was subsequently suppressed. 

<sigh> 

 

[graciandelamadrededios]

On 8/20/2023 at 1:00 PM, Graciela said:

I add my thanks.

I notice that almost all of the Carmels of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (Valparaiso, Fairfield-formerly Elysburg, Post Falls, and their Australian foundation) appear not to hold membership in any association. Kensington Carmel JMJ is with the Christ the King association.  San Francisco, out of which Valparaiso (through a time in Las Vegas) was a foundation, is in the St Joseph Association.

Of course, Valparaiso and Fairfield PA Carmels JMJ are still awaiting results of apostolic visitations from late 2021. Those visitations came after nine JMJ Carmel nuns went to Philadelphia Carmel to increase its number of nuns. Philadelphia Carmel was a member of the Association of St. Joseph and was scheduled for a visitation by the association, in accord with Cor Orans, in 2021. Prior to that happening, the JMJ nuns suddenly decamped from Philadelphia Carmel to Valparaiso. Philadelphia Carmel was subsequently suppressed. 

<sigh> 

 

 

There is a posibility that some of these Carmels applied membeship to Santa Teresa Association in Spain whose core group are the Carmels founded by St Maravillas of Jesus, the same group who went to Rome to submit the 1990 Constitutions of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns.

excerpts from 

https://wherepeteris.com/the-parting-of-the-ways-reactions-and-responses-to-cor-orans/#

One exception was when the Philadelphia Carmel attempted to withdraw from the association. In 2018, there was a rumor that the Santa Teresa Association in Spain would be granted an exemption from the demands of Cor Orans, and about a dozen Carmels in North and South America expressed the desire to transfer to that Association. The Carmel of Philadelphia, with the support of Archbishop Chaput, sent in their application for transfer.[6] Though the St. Joseph’s Association was “sorry to have one of the founding members leave,” our association’s president was “happy to know that Your Excellency [Archbishop Chaput] approves the desire of the Community to transfer to another Association.”[7]

However, Rome decided that “all applications for membership in the Santa Teresa Association from monasteries outside Spain have been refused”;[8] Considering that the Santa Teresa Association already numbered 52 Spanish Carmels as members, it is understandable that Rome would refuse to increase their numbers. This meant that the Philadelphia Carmel remained a member of the St. Joseph’s Association.[9]

 

 

 

[Graciela]

5 hours ago, graciandelamadrededios said:

" In 2018, there was a rumor that the Santa Teresa Association in Spain would be granted an exemption from the demands of Cor Orans, and about a dozen Carmels in North and South America expressed the desire to transfer to that Association." 

You raise a reasonable possibility here. Perhaps, that Spanish Santa Teresa Association was the one to which Morristown had applied but was denied approval, not the USA's Assoication of Saint Teresa. 

As I consider the thread with Santa Fe Carmel's letter about their road to affiliation, their experiences seem to demonstrate exactly the kinds of problems that led to the promulgation of Cor Orans. What is blessedly refreshing and mature is Santa Fe's honest self-reflection and openness about the issues they faced and their gratitude for the resources that have put them on a path that (hopefully) will lead to rejuvenation.

Meanwhile, the same Carmels that worked diligently through Vatican back channels to  undermine the Consitutions developed with input from Carmels around the world (1991) and to get their desired Constitutions (1990) approved, now look for ways to avoid following Cor Orans. Not very edifying or healthy, IMHO. 

I love the Carmelite charism, and see these kinds of dynamics and public scandal as detracting from the gift that Carmel and Teresian-SanJuanist spirituality are for the body of Christ.

Mary, Queen of Carmel, intercede for us.

 

 

 

[graciandelamadrededios]

15 hours ago, Graciela said:

 

Morristown Carmel applied to become a member of the Christ the King Association but was denied.  This was communicated by the Coordinator of CKA to the Coordinator of Saint Joseph Association.  

taken from their yearly report:

 

You all know from a recent email that neither our Dallas nor our Morristown Sisters would join us at the Assembly. Even before my election three years ago, I knew that the Carmels of Dallas and Morristown had each expressed a desire to transfer from our Association. Up to recently, there seems not to have been much movement or information reaching me regarding this intention. However, I did take care early on to assure the prioresses of these communities that we supported their desire and would do all we could to assist them. Late last year, the Carmel of Morristown petitioned to join the new Association of Christ the King but this petition was denied; Mother Marie of the Incarnation of the Lake Elmo Carmel, the Association President, informed me of this in her letter to me of April 18.

 

 

[graciandelamadrededios]

POST-CONCILIAR RENEWAL OF THE LEGISLATIVE TEXTS FOR THE ORDER OF THE DISCALCED CARMELITE NUNS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF MOUNT CARMEL

1995 by Sr. Mary Kathleen Kuentsler, P.H.J.C.:

December 11, 1990           

Father Baranda issued a letter informing the Order that the Supreme Pontiff had again made another decision concerning the minority of group of Nuns in the Order.  He approved the text which Mother Dolores of Jesus, Prioress of the Monastery of St. Joseph, Avila and Mother Maria Josefa of the Heart of Jesus, Prioress of the Monastery of Cerro de lost Angeles, Getafe (Madrid) had presented to him directly in the name of 92 monasteries.  This text, the Rule and Constitutions (1581), followed the guidelines of Cardinal Casaroli's letter.  The letter assured the rest of the Order that the text being prepared by the Congregation for Religious has not been rejected, but only that its decree of implementation would be postponed.

[inperpetuity]

On 8/22/2023 at 3:30 PM, Graciela said:

 

Quite the contrary actually.

[graciandelamadrededios]

Carmelite Communities Associated 

Association President:  Sr. Colette Ackerman of Baltimore Carmel

[Nunsuch]

The Oldenburg monastery (Carmelite Communities Associated) is now closed. [It used to be Indianapolis.] The remaining sisters live in the health care wing of the Oldenburg Franciscan motherhouse. I visited them last March, as two of the nuns are good friends of mine.

[graciandelamadrededios]

St. Teresa Association

 

Established in 1975

In order to strengthen each other in living their contemplative vocation in the Church, a group of American Discalced Carmelite Monasteries joined together as an association. The five original founding Carmels were Danvers (Massachussets), Pittsford (New York), Lafayette (Louisiana), Fort Worth (Texas), and Terre Haute (Indiana). Since then it has developed to include communities from Canada, as well.

 

Nature of the Association

• Our monasteries share the same vision of the Teresian ideal. We seek to go ever deeper into the life and doctrine of Our Holy Mother, St. Teresa, the source of our authentic renewal and the true source of our spiritual affinity.
• Our monasteries respect the juridical autonomy of each Carmel.
• Our monasteries are guided by the 1991 Constitutions of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns, the documents and teachings of the Catholic Church