The family of Carmel is spread throughout the world wherever men and women follow the Rule written by St. Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem (1206-1214) for the first group of hermit brothers living near the fountain of Elijah on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. From 1238 Carmelites began to establish communities in Europe and eventually became an Order of mendicant friars. Lay men and women near Carmelite communities learned from the friars how they too might live a life of allegiance to Jesus Christ based on the spiritual heritage of the Rule, and the inspiration and example of the Carmelite patrons, Mary the mother of Jesus and the Prophet Elijah.
Although for many years women who wanted to live a religious life had been affiliated to the Order, it was only when Blessed John Soreth was Prior General of the Order (1451-1472) that Carmelite Nuns received official approval from the Pope, Nicholas V, in 1452, for their cloistered, contemplative witness to the love of God. The Duchess of Brittany, Blessed Frances d'Amboise (1427-1485) who became a nun on the death of her husband, is credited with being a co-foundress of the Carmelite Nuns. The Church has been graced with outstanding women among the Carmelite Nuns, two examples being Saint Teresa of Jesus (1515-1582) the first woman Doctor of the Church, and St. Therese of the Child Jesus (1873-1897) whose "little way" has profoundly influenced countless numbers of people.
It was also Blessed John Soreth who adapted the Carmelite Rule in 1455 for the numerous groups of lay people associated with the Order. With this Rule for the Third Order as it was then called, lay Carmelites were given a framework of spiritual direction enabling them to develop the life of the Spirit as members of the Carmelite family but according to their own particular circumstances of home and work. Lay Carmelites provide a remarkable variety of examples of living Christian holiness in widely diverse historical, cultural and social conditions.
Many congregations of Carmelite Sisters were founded in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries responding to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the needs of the times. These have served and continue to serve the Church in many different apostolates while following the Rule of Carmel. As part of the Carmelite family these Sisters express in their vocation the diversity of life style which contributes to the living witness and perennial vitality of the Carmelite spiritual heritage.
A challenging contemporary approach to living the Carmelite Rule is The Leaven, a Carmelite Secular Institute founded in England in 1949. With fidelity to the decree of Pope Pius XII in 1947 encouraging the growth of Secular Institutes, members of The Leaven live out their vocation as consecrated persons in a secular environment bringing the richness of the Carmelite spiritual heritage to their varied places of work.
A further recent development of the Carmelite family are the Missionary Workers "Donum Dei" - lay women serving the Lord in several countries through the apostolate of the restaurant and assisting mothers and children in the Christian development of family life on sound principles of faith.
Together with the people throughout the world wearing the brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, seeking to imitate her faith and humility while cultivating a listening heart for the Lord, the family of Carmel continues to be fully committed to the Church's mission of bringing the Kingdom of God to its fullness in Christ.