Our Lady of Mount Carmel | Feast day | July 16
Today we will talk about the origin of the Marian invocation of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the evolution and main promoters of the Order of Mount Carmel, the fundamental role played by the scapular of Mount Carmel, and the birth of the Salve Marinera.
- 1. Our Lady of Mount Carmel
- 2. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel figures, origin of a Marian dedication
- 3. Virgin of Carmen scapular, symbol of devotion to Our Lady of Carmen
- 4. Virgin of Carmel, patron saint and protector of sailors
- 5. Our Lady of Mount Carmel spanish song, Salve Marinera
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Religious images of the Virgin have faithful followers in all corners of the world. It is worth highlighting the images of the Virgin of Carmel , which have a special relevance and arouse great devotion in Spain and in Latin American countries.
On July 16, the day of the Virgin of Carmel, patron saint of sailors, is celebrated. The celebrations of this day are of great importance in all those cities and towns linked to the sea. Derived from the deep love that sailors have for their patron saint.
The image of the Virgin of Carmel is one of the Marian dedications that arouses the greatest fervor among the faithful, along with others such as the Virgin of El Pilar statue , the images of the Immaculate Conception or the Virgin of El Rocio figures .
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel figures, origin of a Marian dedication
The origin of the devotion to the Virgen del Carmen is very old and was not born in a town with a sea. He takes his first steps in the lands of Israel, in a place known as Mount Carmel (origin of the name of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Carmelites, his followers). Name that derives from the name it received from the Hebrew people, Har ha'Karme (Vineyards of God) and from the Arab people, Jabal al-Karmil (Garden). The Mount Carmel mountain range is located in the district of Haifa, Israel, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
The invocation has its origin in the years after the Third Crusade. In the year 1155 the French crusader Bartholomew Avogadro, who would become known as Blessed Berthold of Mount Carmel , decided to follow in the footsteps of the prophet Elijah and traveled to Mount Carmel to lead a hermit life.
In this way a small community is born that decides raise a church to carry out a religious life. The church, a small building according to the scarce means they had, is located very close to the "Fountain of Elías" and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God. It is root of the construction of the church when they adopt the name of Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel .
The Carmelite community continues to grow and already has a significant number of members when, in the 13th century, Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, gives them a rule based on three pillars: contemplation, meditation on the Holy Scriptures, and work.
After years of prosperous development, the Carmelite community begins to suffer attacks from the Saracen people who want to recover the lands conquered by the Crusaders. The incursions of the Mohammedans are continuous and in the year 1235 the Carmelites decide to abandon Mount Carmel . On the day of their departure, the Carmelite Christians decide to say goodbye to what had been their home by singing the Salve Regina. During the prayer, an image of the Virgin Mary appeared and made them a promise: she would protect them from Saracen weapons and guide them through the seas like a star, she would be their Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) .
The Carmelites who did not suffer any type of damage under the protection of the figure of Virgin of Carmel. Having a star that guided them to their countries of origin. The separation and distribution of the Carmelites throughout the European continent greatly favored the spread of the cult of the image of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Virgin of Carmen scapular, symbol of devotion to Our Lady of Carmen
One of the most important Carmelites who undertook that journey, from Mount Carmel to his home, was the English crusader Simon Stock, Saint of the Catholic Church by the name of Saint Simon Stock (also known as Saint Simon of England).
In 1246, Simon Stock becomes Prior General of the Carmelites . San Simón is considered one of the most important Carmelites of all time. The reasons why it has achieved this consideration are varied: the influence it had in modifying the structure of the Order of Mount Carmel (it became a cenobitic and mendicant when it had been an eremitic), it modified the Carmelite pillars given by Saint Albert , opened houses of the Order of Mount Carmel in a wide variety of places, was a great practitioner of prayer and begged the Virgin Carmen every day to give some token of her protection to the Order of Carmelites (“Flower of Carmel vineyard Florida protects your name and that of the Carmelites”).
Despite his incessant work, the fact for which Simon Stock is most remembered has to do with his unwavering will to pray. Every day he directed his prayers to the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for the protection of the Carmelite Order. It is so, in Cambridge, on July 16, 1251 when he was praying to the Virgin, an image of the Virgin of Mount Carmel with her brown dress appeared to him and gave him a Brown Scapular of Mount Carmel saying:
“Here, dear son. This scapular will be like the motto of my confraternity and, for you and all Carmelites, a special sign of grace; whoever dies wearing it will not suffer eternal fire. It is the sign of salvation, a safeguard in danger, a commitment to peace and harmony.
News of the apparition quickly spread. The Holy Scapular of Carmen began to be essential for many devotees of the Virgin.
Already in the year 1314, a new momentous event for the Carmelite community took place, the conclave that was held for the election of a successor to Pope Clement V. After two years and two months of conclave, it had still not been decided who would be the new pope. It is in these circumstances that an image of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel appeared to Jacques Duèze (Jaime Duesa), a French Cardinal. He announced that with the name John XXII would be the new Pope. In addition, he made a new promise (which would be known as the "Sabatino privilege") : "I want you to announce to the Carmelites and their brothers that those who wear the Carmelite scapular , observe chastity in accordance with their state, and pray the divine office –or those who cannot read refrain from eating meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays–, if they go to purgatory, I will see that as soon as possible, especially on the Saturday following their death, their souls are transferred to heaven”.
Virgin of Carmel, patron saint and protector of sailors
Our Lady of Carmen is the patron saint of sailors . There are many and well-known apparitions of the image of Virgin of Carmel to intercede on behalf of her devotees and, in most cases, save their lives.
One of the most remembered episodes took place in 1845. In the summer of that year an English ship (The King of the Ocean) He was sailing to Australia when, passing the Cape of Good Hope, he found himself in the middle of a hurricane. The force of the waves and the winds shook the ship as if it were a simple walnut shell.
A Protestant pastor, in charge of the spiritual guidance of the embarked sailors, began to pray to try to appease the weather. After a while, the sailors realized that the shepherd's prayer was not enough to stop the storm that threatened their lives. Among the brave sailors was an Irishman devoted to the image of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel , John McAuliffe. Seeing that the pastor's prayers had no effect, he took out a Holy Scapular of Carmen that he wore around his neck. Without hesitation, he made the sign of the Cross with the Carmelite Scapular over the waves and launched it. It was at that very moment, that by the intervention of the Virgin of Carmel, the elements calmed down. The hurricane disappeared as quickly as it had formed. Only one more wave hit the ship, the one that brought back Sailor John McAuliffe's Carmen Scapular.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel spanish song, Salve Marinera
The celebration of the day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16, has special roots in Spain (patron saint of the sea and of the Armed Forces) and Latin American countries (Queen and patron saint of Chile; patron saint of the National Police and shippers). Colombia; in Bolivia she is the patron saint of the Nation and its Armed Forces; in Peru she is the "Patron of Criollismo" and "Mayor of the City of Lima"; and in Venezuela she is the patron saint of the Army; in Costa Rica she is the patron of the sea, for example) as does the celebration of the day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary .
This deep devotion that is professed in Spanish and South American lands was born in the 18th century. One of the first to promote love for the image of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the Majorcan admiral Antonio Barceló Pont de la Terra, granting it the patronage of the Spanish Navy that San Telmo had held to date.
In 1768, Juan José de Navarro Viana y Búfalo, the first Captain General of the Royal Spanish Navy, on his return from his Italian journey, vigorously introduced the devotion to the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Many years had to pass before the Virgin of Carmel was officially named patron saint of the Spanish Navy. It was not made official until 1901 : what most of the ships was a fait accompli, the image of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel patron saint of the Navy:
"HM the King, and on his behalf the Queen Regent of the Kingdom, in accordance with the proposal of the Undersecretary of this Ministry, and a favorable report from the General Military Provicariate, has served to order the Blessed Virgin to be declared Patron Saint of the Navy del Carmen, which is, in fact, of all sailors, and is celebrated on July 16, his feast day ”.
One of the most popular songs is the Salve Marinera . Song dedicated to the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel . This composition is part of a zarzuela entitled "El Molinero de Subiza", which premiered in 1870 in the city of Madrid. History tells us that sailors on board the “Asturias” Floating Naval School went to see a performance of this work when they were anchored in the city of Ferrol (1872). The zarzuela was performed with great public success. The sailors left in love with the show they had just seen, especially a scene in which "Hail Star from the heavens" is sung. After showing the verses to their classmates, they decided to sing this song after the mass they received daily on the ship.
With the expansion of the recently established tradition among all the ships and boats of the Spanish Armanda, numerous versions begin to appear, with small variations in the lyrics and rhythm of the song of the Virgin of Carmel.
At the beginning of the forties, the authorities responsible for the Spanish Navy, seeing the great acceptance that the song of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel had had among the sailors, decided to unify the score and instrumentalization to give all ships and boats the same song. Knowing this new version with the name of Salve Marinera.
Since then, and to this day, it has been one of the most popular songs in all the celebrations related to the Spanish Armada.
The photographs of figures of the Virgin of Carmel that accompany this entry are spanish handmade Our Lady of Mt. Carmel figurines. Christian art pieces handmade in Spain following a craft process designed more than a century ago. In our online store we have for sale other catholic spanish handmade figurines .
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