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Welcome to CMC

The Congregation of the Mother of Carmel was founded by St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Rev. Fr. Leopold Beccarro on February 13, 1866 as the first indigenous religious congregation for women in the Syro Malabar Church in India. The Congregation has a lifestyle deepened in the “Abba experience” of St Chavara, with the right blending of contemplative prayer and apostolic service. As a Congregation dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Blessed Virgin Mary who responded to God’s call with unwavering faith, hope, and love is our model. More than 6,250 sisters serve throughout 25 provinces and 4 regions in Asia, Africa, America, Europe, Canada, Iraq, and Peru.

Sr. Grace Therese CMC

Superior General

The charism of our Congregation is personal sanctity and redemptive uplift of the people of God, especially women and children, through the right blending of contemplation and action. Be holy and lead others to holiness is its essence.

OUR FOUNDERS

St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara was the recognised leader of the people of God of his time. He was a visionary who integrated contemplation and action harmoniously in his life. Adorned with the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, this man of God led a holy life preserving the baptismal grace all the while, and thus became a beautiful lamp and mirror not only for us but also for all the Christians of Kerala.

Rev. Fr. Leopold Beccaro OCD
(Co-Founder)

Rev. Fr. Leopold Beccaro,an Italian Carmelite Missionary was a man of deep prayer and zealous action. He studied Malayalam language and wrote spiritual books imbued with the zeal to work for the salvation of souls, to help them practice virtues, to tend his flock and to give them spiritual direction. He found joy and consolation in the Blessed Sacrament and remained content even in the midst of sufferings, surrendering himself to the will of God.

OUR SAINTS

St Euphrasia Eluvathingal
(Our First Saint)

St Euphrasia Eluvathingal was an Indian Carmelite nun of the Syro-Malabar Church, which is an Eastern Catholic Church in Kerala. Euphrasia is said to have had a vision of the Holy Family, at which point the illness she had long felt ceased. She was canonised as a saint by Pope Francis on 23 November 2014 in Vatican City. Saint Euphrasia is a humble CMC nun who has personalized the prayer heritage of Carmel and lived according to the divine inspirations and rose to the heights of sanctity. For all of us who are called to be the beloved of God that is to be saints (Rom1:7), the spirit-filled life of St. Euphrasia is an example and to take a peep into her holy life would be proper and useful.

Mother Mary Celine was born on 4th July 1906, to Ouseph Payyappilly and Kochumariam as seventh child in Muzhikulam. She had her education in the Govt. school at Vattapparambu and became a CMC sister in 1928. She did her B.A. in Maharajas College, Ernakulam. She was a teacher in Ollur, Karukutty. In 1963, the different wings of TOCD(at present CMC) got united into one Congregation. She was elected first as the Superior General of Ernakulam and Kothamangalam Provinces and then the Superior General of the whole CMC Congregation. Her intense deep prayer life, spirit of sacrifice and foresight enabled her to overcome the difficulties and struggles of unification and the beginning of the Central House Generalate at Thaikattukara, Aluva.

CARMELITE HERITAGE

The richness of our heritage springs out from the fountains of Indian culture, spiritual traditions of the St Thomas Christians and Carmelites’ legacy. The heritage of Carmel is its deep prayer life. There is no Carmel without prayer and there is no prayer without silence and solitude. Prophet Elijah who burned with zeal for the Lord, God of Hosts, St Simon Stock who enjoyed special protection from Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St Teresa of Avila who lived in constant intimacy with the indwelling guest, and St John of the Cross who reached the heights of prayer are sublime models in Carmel for a life of union with God in prayer. In constant intimacy with the indwelling Holy Trinity, everything becomes sacramental, a visible sign of the power and the presence of God. This spirituality of Carmel is handed down to us by our founding fathers who imbibed this heritage from the saints of Carmel, who are the sources of our spirituality.

CMC

It is governed by the Common law of the Catholic Church, especially by the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, the Particular Law of the Syro-Malabar Church and the Constitutions, Directives and Synaxes Decisions of CMC.

VISION AND MISSION

The mission of our Congregation is to promote the salvation and redemptive uplift of the people of God especially women and children, through catechism and faith formation, intellectual and vocational training, and other apostolic activities according to the needs of the people. We live out this mission following the spiritual vision that permeated the life of our founder father, Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara, who viewed God as his loving Father, fellow human beings as his brothers and sisters, the Church as his mother, and the whole world as his own family.