A new Timor-Leste chapel has been blessed and opened by Bishop Hilton Deakin at the Ta Pinu Shrine in Bacchus March (VIC). The Shrine, described as an ‘all nations Marian Centre’, aims to have a chapel representing every nation. Timor-Leste is the most recent to have a chapel built at the Shrine. The chapel is dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Our young Carmelites were present joining in the celebrations, assisting Bishop Deakin, reading prayers and doing one of the Scripture readings. More photos

Frs Bruce Clark and Nelinho Ferreira Soares have been elected by the Carmelites in Timor-Leste to form the Timor-Leste Council for the next 3 years. Together with Fr Carlito Da Costa Araújo (Provincial Delegate for Timor-Leste) they will share responsibility for fostering the growth of the Order in Timor-Leste, the pastoral care of the Carmelites and managing day-to-day affairs.

Fr Carlito is also one of the formators for the simply professed friars. Fr Bruce is also Director of Novices and Fr Nelinho is Chaplain to the nation's Police Force. Our prayerful congratulations are with these brothers as they begin their ministry.

Born in Avila in Spain in 1515 Teresa entered the Carmelites and eventually made great progress in her spiritual journey. Wishing to share in the spiritual renewal of the Church of her time, she began to live her religious life more ardently and soon attracted many companions, to whom she was like a mother. She also helped in the reform of the friars with Saint John of the Cross. She wrote books which are renowned for their depth of doctrine and which showed her own spiritual experiences. She died at Alba de Tormes in 1582. In 1970 Teresa was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI. "Prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends" - St Teresa of Jesus.

Carmelite student, Br Cesaltino Dos Santos, was present when the President of Timor-Leste, Francisco Guterres Lú Olo, launched the ‘One Citizen, One Tree’ initiative of the Global Association for the Prevention of Climate Change. The Association’s job is to plant trees in schools and in deforested areas in Timor-Leste. The President gave his support to the Association and asked that relevant institutions make Timor-Leste greener.

More photos

The Final Message from the 2019 General Chapter has just been released. Among the points addressed in the message are: The global nature of the Order, passing on the Tradition, living the Carmelite charism today, responding to new situations in the world, the mystical dimension of Carmelite life, tenderness and compassion, the Carmelite Family and continuing the journey in hope.

  pdf Read the Final Message (221 KB)

Recently, 18 current and past students, who have received a scholarship from the Carmelites, gathered together for the first ever Scholarship Student Retreat at our community in Hera.

While some students live with their families in Dili, or the Carmelite communities in Hera or Fatuhada, several past students travelled from their rural villages to participate in the retreat. The day was facilitated by Br Agostinho Dos Santos. More story & photos

In August this year our Community Development Ministry Coordinator, Mayra Walsh, ran a 3-day training with 37 teachers from our two Catholic schools in Zumalai, Timor-Leste. The training introduced the teachers to our new Safeguarding Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults policy and facilitated engaging discussions about how to ensure that these schools are a safe environment for children in Zumalai. More story & photos

Making it real: Genuine human encounter in our digital world. Our October newsletter offers you a summarised version of the Australian Bishops Social Justice Statement. The Bishops invite us to reflect on how the internet has changed the way we communicate, work, learn and do business, and how we can contribute towards a more just and loving digital world.

  pdf Read our Newsletter (695 KB)   |   pdf Read Making it Real (2.57 MB)

1 October is the feast day of St Thérèse of Lisieux famous for her teaching on the 'the little way of confidence and love' found in her autobiography, The Story of a Soul. Thérèse Martin was born in Alencon in France in 1873. Whilst still young she entered the Discalced Carmel of Lisieux. Her writings reveal a very human character. She frequently fell asleep during the long hours of prayer in the monastery chapel. She always had a strong sense of God's love for her and felt her calling was to be love. 'What matters,' she wrote, 'is not great deeds, but great love'. She died on 30 September 1897, just 24 years old. She was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II in 1997.

Some of our loyal donors have been supporting the Carmelites for over 30 years. They are our Lifetime Partners. Recently, we invited those in Victoria to join Fr David Hofman, Br Marcolino Gomes and our Fundraising & Development team, for a morning tea celebration in Middle Park.

We shared with them stories about the positive impact their support is making in Timor-Leste and Australia. We gave them a certificate, a pearl encrusted pin and a Timor-Leste bookmark. These small tokens are our way of saying Thank You – two words that we hold deep in our hearts for having them by our side. More story & photos

Yesterday members of the General Chapter shared a private audience with Pope Francis.

Receiving the General Chapter members of the Carmelite Order on September 21, Pope Francis urged them in the contemplation of God and in the service of His people, especially the poor.

Read the story & see photos   |   pdf (203 KB)   pdf Read the Pope's Address to the General Chapter (203 KB)

See the video (commentary is not in English).

Today the participants at the Carmelite General Chapter in Rome elected the members of the General Council who will represent the four geographic regions of the Order.

The General Councillor for Africa is Fr Conrad Mutizamhepo, from Zimbabwe (a mission of the Irish Province) who served in this role in the previous term (2013-19).

The General Councillor for the Americas is Fr Luis Maza Subero, a Venezualan friar of the Catalonian Province where he is currently Prior Provincial. More + photos.

As well as electing Fr Mícéal Prior General yesterday, the General Chapter elected also Fr Benny Phang as Vice Prior General, Fr Michael Farrugia as Procurator General and Fr Christian Körner as Bursar General.

Over the past 6 years Fr Benny, from the Indonesian Province, has served as the General Councillor for our region of the Order (Asia, Australia & Oceania). Fr Michael, from the Maltese Province, was re-elected as Procurator General - the Order's Canon Lawyer and liaison with the Holy See. Fr Christian, from the German Province, has served the past 6 years as Vice Prior General and has been elected to a new role as Bursar General for the Order.

Fr Mícéal O'Neill has been elected the new Prior General of the Carmelites. Fr Mícéal, a member of the Irish Province, is currently the Prior of St Albert’s International Centre in Rome. He has previously served on the General Council and has also worked in Latin America. He is a popular presenter and writer about Carmelite Spirituality, Social Justice and the care of creation.

We offer our congratulations and prayerful support as Mícéal takes up his ministry as Prior General.

Acclaimed Australian spiritual author, retreat master and scholar, Fr Michael Casey OCSO, gave one of the major addresses at the General Chapter. Fr Michael from the Cistercian Abbey at Tarrawarra (VIC) reflected on the theme of the Chapter, “You are my witnesses” (Is 43:10). From one generation to the next: called to be faithful to our Carmelite charism in terms of Tradition, Challenge and Witness. pdf Read Michael's talk. (323 KB)

The Provincial Council has appointed Gabrielle Fogarty as the new Moderator of the Lay Carmelites and Vera Cleary as Secretary. Both attended the recent Provincial Chapter in June. Gabrielle has previous experience of being on the Lay Carmelite Council and is currently the Chair of our Provincial Commission for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation. Vera, a member of the Wollongong Lay Carmelites, also looks after the Lay Carmelite Resource Store. Two more members of the Lay Carmelite Council will be elected at the Lay Carmelite Assembly 6-9 October in Ormiston (QLD).

Some of our young Carmelite students in Timor are learning photography. The course is being taught by Mr Isidoro dos Santos Correia over 4 Saturdays covering the basics of camera use, lighting and composition. Isidoro recently graduated from Swinburne University (VIC) with a masters degree in communications and is offering the course free to our students.  Good photography skills are vital for recording the activities of the Carmelites in Timor and for involving our friends and supporters in our work. The students are: Brs Agostinho Dos Santos, Estevão Mendonça De Jesus, Estevão De Deus Gomes, Narcisizio Da Costa Vilanova, Alipio Godinho, Lukas Dos Santos Martins, Paulo Martins De Araújo, Gaudensio Do Rosario and Elias Soares Sin. More photos

On Wednesday 10 September Pope Francis gathered the 3 dioceses in Timor-Leste into a new 'ecclesiastical province' with Dili now becoming an Archdiocese and the dioceses of Baucau and Maliana being suffragan dioceses. The bishop of Dili, Virgílio do Carmo da Silva was also made an archbishop.

The Diocese of Díli has an area of 4,775 sq km, covering 5 districts in the central part of East Timor. Out of a total of population of over 667,000, Catholics number more than 630,000 (94.4%), who are spread across 30 parishes.  They are served by 149 priests, 132 men religious and 432 women religious.

You can view highlights from the Opening Mass of the General Chapter and listen to some points from Fr Fernando's homily by clicking here.

You can see more photos of the first day of the Chapter here.

You can follow the General Chapter on our Facebook page.

You are warmly invited to join the Carmelite Family in prayer for the General Chapter. Here is the official General Chapter prayer:

Lord, you have chosen and called each one of us to Carmel
to be witnesses of your love to every generation.

Send your holy spirit to guide us towards the future,
just as you did in the first days of our spring on Mount Carmel.