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Kuriakose Elias Chavara Kuriakose Elias Chavara, C.M.I. (10 February 1805 – 3 January 1871) was an Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic priest, philosopher and social reformer. He is the first canonised Catholic male saint of Indian origin and a member of the Syro- ...

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Koonammavu Koonammavu ( ml, കൂനൻ) is a northern suburb of Kochi city which is associated in the Kochi metropolitan area. Koonammavu (Valluvally) is a census town in Kottuvally Panchayat, North Paravur Taluk, Ernakulam District, Kerala, India and ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, India , type = Religious Institute of Consecrated Life , headquarters = Mount Carmel Road, Thaikkattukara P.O., Aluva 683106, Kerala, India , membership = 6,250 , leader_title = Motto , leader_name = ''Be holy and lead others to holiness'' , leader_title2 = Superior General , leader_name2 = Nadia Coppa , main_organ = , parent_organization = Syro-Malabar Catholic Church , website = , former_name = Sisters of the Third Order of Carmelites Discalced The Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (C.M.C.) is a Syro-Malabar Catholic centralized religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women founded in 1866. It was the first native congregation for women in that church.

History

Foundation

The congregation was founded as the Sisters of the Third Order of Carmelites Discalced by

, on 13 February 1866 at

in the southern state of

. The first house of the new community was opened in Koonammavu with three women: Eliswa, a widow, her daughter Anna, Eliswa's sister Tresa and another young lady named Clara came as the fourth member on the next day.. They were given the rules of the Discalced Third Order under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Verapoly, Bernardine Baccinelli. Leopold Beccaro was their spiritual director.

Division

In May 1887, the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

established the Syro-Malabar Church in India as independent of the hierarchy of the

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

. This caused problems for the young congregation, as both Latin and Syrian bishops claimed authority over them. This had to be settled by Rome, which ruled that the Sisters were part of the Syro-Malabar Vicariate Apostolic of Trichur. The Sisters who belonged to the Latin Church separated and was named the Congregation of Teresian Carmelites (C.T.C.). With the eventual reorganization of the Syro-Malabar hierarchy, the Sisters found themselves divided among five different congregations, each under a different bishop and led by its own Superior General. The first foundation outside of Kerala from among the different groups was to the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

in 1958.

Union

Full union of the disparate congregations did not take place until November 16, 1963, when they were recognized by the Holy See as a congregation of the Eastern Church, at which time the congregation took the name of Congregation of Mother of Carmel, by which it is currently known.

Current

The congregation today is divided among 20

Provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

and six regions throughout India and Africa. They also serve in Germany, Italy and the United States.

Saints of the congregation

Elias Chavara was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in 1986, along with

Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception or Saint Alphonsa, christened at birth as Anna Muttathupadathu (19 August 1910– 28 July 1946), was a nun and an educator by vocation (profession). She was also known for being a victim soul, visionary a ...

in the course of his visit to India. One of the congregation's early members, Euphrasia of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, was beatified by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

in 2006. Chavara and Euphrasia were canonised by Pope Francis on 24 November 2014. Mary Celine Payyappilly, the first Superior General of the united C.M.C. congregation was declared as Servant of God by

George Alencherry George Alencherry ( syr, ܡܵܪܝ ܓܝܼܘܲܪܓܝܼܣ ܐܵܠܲܢܫܝܪܝ, Mar Giwargis Alencherry) is the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and also a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was elected by the Holy Synod of the ...

Major Archbishop In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch of an autonomous ('' sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarchal title". Major ar ...

of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church on 9 April 2018.

References

{{Authority control Eastern Catholic orders and societies Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Discalced Carmelite Order Religious organizations established in 1866 1866 establishments in India