General Chapter of the Carmelite Order
Istituto "Il Carmelo" - Sassone, Italy
4^th - 22^th September 2007

News Release
For further information, contact:
Office of Communication for the Carmelite Order (CITOC) – citoc1@ocarm.org

Carmelite Order Holds General Chapter to Discuss Its Response to the Needs of the World and Church

Ninety five members of the Carmelite Order are gathered at Il Carmelo Conference Center in Sassone, Italy September 4 – 22 for the celebration of the Order’s 2007 General Chapter. The Chapter’s theme In Obsequio Jesu Christi: Praying and Prophetic Community in a Changing World focused on responding to the questions and challenges that the world in constant change poses for Carmel. Sixteen Carmelites from the Order’s emerging areas were invited to attend the Chapter as a concrete reminder of the changing face of the Order.

An additional 30 members of the Carmelite Family from around the world will join the Chapter members September 15-19 in order to celebrate the 800^th anniversary of the reception of the Formula Vitae from St. Albert, the Patriarch of Jerusalem. This celebration will include Lay Carmelites, cloistered Carmelite nuns, and Superiors General of the Affiliated Congregations as this was the foundational document for the Order.

Members of the Discalced Carmelite Order, who follow the Rule of St. Albert, have also been invited to participate in the celebration of the Rule.

The Carmelite Order dates from the late 12^th century with a group of hermits living on Mount Carmel “near the font of Elijah.” Today members live in 42 countries and number approximately 2,000 priests and brothers divided into 23 Provinces, over 800 cloistered nuns in 78 monasteries, and many thousands of Lay Carmelites in the Third Order, various Confraternities, and new movements around the world.

General Chapters are held by the Carmelite Order every six years and includes the election of the Order’s international leadership and general legislation.