As we attempt to follow Christ more closely, we Carmelites find inspiration in the Old Testament Prophet, Elijah, and in the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Prophet Elijah

Elijah's memory was kept alive especially on Mount Carmel where he challenged the people to stop hobbling first on one foot and then on the other but to choose who is God in Israel - Yahweh or Baal. According to the story, which can be found in the First Book of Kings, chapter 18, Elijah's sacrifice was consumed by fire from heaven which proved to the people that Yahweh was the true God.

Elijah in the presence of the Lord on Mount Horeb

Elijah made himself available for God's work and was sent into various situations to proclaim God's word. Elijah undertook a long journey through the desert where he began to despair. He sat down under a bush and wished he were dead but God would not allow him to die and prodded him to continue his journey to Mount Horeb. When he arrived there, God became present to Elijah. God came not with the signs usual in the Old Testament of fire, earthquake and mighty wind but in the sound of a gentle breeze. Elijah was sent back to his people to carry out God's will.

From Elijah, Carmelites learn to listen for the voice of God in the unexpected and in silence. We seek to allow the Word of God to shape our minds and our hearts so that the way we live and the things we do may be prophetic and therefore faithful to the memory of our father Elijah.

The Blessed Virgin Mary

The first hermits on Mount Carmel built a church in the middle of their cells. This was the centre of their lives where they converged each day to celebrate Mass together. This little church they named in honour of Our Lady. By this fact the first group of Carmelites took her as their patroness, promising her their faithful service and expecting her protection and favour. They were proud to bear the title of "Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel" and they defended this title with vigour when their right to it was challenged.

Mary ever ready to accomplish the wish of God

Mary consented to God's will when she was asked to be the mother of the Saviour. She pondered on the events of her life and was able to see in them the hand of God at work. Mary did not become proud about her unique vocation but instead praised God for looking on her lowliness and doing great things in her. She was with Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry when, at the marriage feast at Cana, she made known to him the simple need, "They have no wine". She was with him as he died and there she became the mother of all believers. At the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles we find Mary gathered in the upper room praying with the other disciples waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. For us Carmelites, Mary is a constant presence in our lives, guiding us and protecting us as we seek to follow Christ.

The brown scapular has for many centuries summed up the Carmelite's relationship with Our Lady. The scapular is a piece of cloth based on the traditional Carmelite friar's garb. Wearing the scapular is a sign of consecration to Mary, the Mother of God, and is a symbol showing that the person is putting on the virtues of Mary and is being protected by her.

Mary symbolises for the Carmelite everything that we hope for - to enter into an intimate relationship with Christ, being totally open to God's will and having our lives transformed by the Word of God. Carmelites have always thought of Mary as the Patroness of the Order. We seek to live in spiritual intimacy with her so that we can learn from her how to live as God's children.

Elijah and Mary are inspirational figures for all Carmelites. They play a very important part in the life and spirituality of the Order which sees itself as belonging to Mary and looks to Elijah as our spiritual father.

We do not know exactly when the forbears of the Order of Carmelites first came to Mount Carmel: it was around the year 1200 AD. They settled in a small valley on the western slope of the mountain, near a spring known since antiquity as the "spring of Elijah".

The Carmelites shared many of the spiritual aspirations of the hermits and pilgrims in the Holy Land at the time of the Crusades: the commitment to poverty and simplicity of lifestyle, their desire for spiritual freedom, their intimacy with the Scriptures and their longing to hear the Word of God in the quiet of solitude, the central place given to love, their wish to build a brotherhood in which they could learn to see Jesus in each other.

These values continue to inspire Carmelite life today.

The Carmelite travels the most demanding journey of all … the journey inwards into one’s own heart.

As Prophetic Contemplatives …

Carmelites find inspiration in the persons of Elijah, prophet of Mount Carmel, and Mary, the first disciple of the Lord.

Like them, Carmelites create an open space in themselves in order to recognise God, and so embark on the most demanding of all journeys, the journey into one’s own heart. As prophets they are called to share this experience of God with all people.

In Ministry …

Carmelites work in many and varied ways … Welcoming people to participate in their life and spirituality in…

  parish life   hospitality   education & formation

 spirituality ministry   communications    retreat work

Through Our Life Together…

Carmelites are called to share their commitment to Christ within a community.

They live a common life — sharing their time, their income, their wisdom, their talents, their prayer. The way of poverty, chastity and obedience offer great freedom to live life fully.

Download our pdf vocations brochure.

Finding out what God wants – Discerning My Personal Vocation

Discernment is experiencing with understanding and commitment
the presence and guidance of God in my whole life….
Ernest Larkin, O.Carm

For further information please contact:

Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish is in Zumalai, a sub-district in Covalima Municipality on the south-west coast of Timor-Leste. There is only one main church in Zumalai, so the parish serves all the 8 villages, approximately 15,000 people. Many villages also have small chapels where mass services and prayer groups are held, as well as local youth groups.

The main work undertaken by people in the area is subsistence farming, followed by small business enterprises and employment by State-based institutions such as the police, military, schools, or local government. Education levels in the community are generally low, with 35% of the population having either never been to school or not completed their education.

Around the Zumalai church there are several buildings and institutions connected to the Carmelite community there. The compound includes Our Lady of Mount Carmel Central Catholic School (a primary and junior high school), the Beato Tito Brandsma boarding house accommodation, two residential accommodation facilities for Carmelite friars and visitors, and a kindergarten currently run by Carmelite Sisters.

Zumalai is also a central part of the Carmelites’ community development work in Timor-Leste. The Carmel Impact charity supports several projects there, including: paying volunteer teacher subsidies; providing teaching resources and school building maintenance; running an annual youth festival; organizing safeguarding children training for local education and parish leaders; offering Community Scholarships for students at senior high school, vocational training courses and university; funding the boarding house; and providing emergency assistance when required, such as after Cyclone Seroja caused storm damage in April 2021.

For further information about the Carmelites in Timor-Leste, please contact:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
75 Wright Street
Middle Park Vic 3205

Telephone: (03) 9699 1922

Fatuhada - Blessed Titus Brandsma Community

Blessed and opened in July 2005, Blessed Titus Brandsma House serves as the main administration centre for the Carmelites. It is the only Carmelite house with a  postal service. It is a 'transit house' for Carmelites and other visitors travelling between the parish of Zumalai and Dili.

Blessed Titus Brandsma Community is also the formation house for the Pre-Novices - young men beginning their formation as Carmelites. The two-year pre-Novitiate is an introduction to Carmelite life and formation and a time of deeper discernment.  During their second year these students take part in an Inter-Congregational programme for young men and women who are beginning their formation in religious life. The daily programme for the Pre-Novitiate includes attendance at Eucharist, community and personal prayer, manual and pastoral work and sporting activities, studies in English, Portuguese, introduction to scripture and theology, and a programme for human development.

The Carmelite sisters “Hermanas Carmelitas” live nearby so the Carmelite priests celebrate daily Mass for them and also at the Mission Centre.

As well as providing accommodation for the Carmelite friars and pre-novices, there are also rooms for male high school students from Zumalai. There are few senior high schools in East Timor. By providing accommodation in Dili for these students, the Carmelites are making it possible for at least some students from Zumalai to complete their secondary or technical education. Most families cannot afford to pay for board and education expenses for their children. The Carmelites are helping these students by providing for their needs while they study. These students with the Pre-Novices also contribute to the daily up-keep of the house and the community.

Fr Carlito Da Costa Araújo looks after the Pre-Novices at Fatuhada.

Hera- Santo Elias Community

In April 2007 Santo Elias Novitiate in Hera was blessed and opened. Hera is a 20 minute drive east from Dili. Santo Elias was built with generous financial assistance from Australia, Rome, Ireland, Britain and USA. It was a two year project that was managed with patience and hard work with those close by. This beautiful building has 20 rooms for students and  novices and 5 rooms for professed Carmelites. Among the rooms there is also a classroom, a small library and a chapel which is large enough to invite the local people to join the community for Mass on Sunday and other feast days. In the grounds a fruit and vegetable garden has been established as well as a soccer field. There are many flowering plants in the internal garden of the Novitiate building, most of which are tended lovingly by our young Carmelite students.

The novitiate is a special time of formation in the Carmelite spirit. During these two years the Novices learn more about the Carmelite Order and its charism and try to grow in a life of prayerful union with God. It is a journey of personal transformation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, supported by the Novice Director and the Carmelite community.

São Nuno House

The Carmelite students in Timor-Leste who are preparing for priesthood study at the Diocesan seminary at Fatumeta, Dili. These young Carmelites now study the Portuguese language and take their seminary classes in Portuguese and Tetum, the other national language.

São Nuno House was blessed and opened by Carmelite Prior General, Fr Fernando Millan, in May 2010. It provides accommodation for twelve young Carmelites and two rooms for formators. It is quite close to the Santo Elias building. The new building is named for the Carmelite, Saint Nuno, known as Portugal's "Father of the Nation" and declared a saint by Pope Benedict XVI on 26 April 2010.

Fr Roque Soares da Cruz is the Prior of the community looks after our students in various stages of formation. Fr Fausto Tilman De Araújo is Novice Master and Fr Agostinho Exposto is the Director of our Pre-Novitiate program.

For further information about the Carmelite Formation Programme in Timor-Leste, please contact:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Carmelite Province Centre
75 Wright Street
Middle Park Vic 3206

Telephone: (03) 9699 1922
Fax: (03) 9699 1944

For further information about the Carmelites in Timor-Leste, please contact:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Carmelite Province Centre
75 Wright Street
Middle Park Vic 3206

Telephone: (03) 9699 1922
Fax: (03) 9699 1944

The Carmelite Friars have been in Timor-Leste (East Timor) since January 1999. Two friars from the Indonesian Province, Frs Gheta and Mandius, lived first with the Carmelite Sisters at Maubara about 60 kilometers from Dili. During the final stages of the struggle for independence they witnessed the suffering and hardship of the people and the destruction of the country. In 2000 Bishop Belo asked the Carmelites to go to Zumalai.

In January 2001, the Indonesian Carmelites asked the Australian Carmelites to take responsibility for the Timor-Leste mission and the Parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Zumalai. On 15 August 2001, the Australian Carmelites formally took responsibility for the Timor-Leste Mission.

20 years later, the Timor-Leste Mission is now firmly established with a formation program, a parish in Zumalai, and a community development program.

The Carmelite friars work closely with the Carmelite Sisters in providing pastoral care, health and education services and in community building.

Two Carmelite Centres - Dili & Zumalai

Dili

There are two main Carmelite centres in Timor-Leste. In Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste,

Titus Brandsma House in Fatuhada, a suburb in central Dili, serves as the mission centre and a transit house for Camrelites travelling to and fron the parish of Zumalai. As well as providing accommodation for Carmelites, there are rooms for Carmelite seminarians and for several Community Scholariship recipients from Zumalai.

At Hera, just outside Dili, the Saint Elijah community is the main formation house for young Carmelites in Timor-Leste. Here the novices and professed students live, work and study. The professed students preparing for ministry study at the Diocesan Seminary and other technical centres in Dili. The community has a library and a chapel.

In all, there are over 40 young Timorese Carmelites in formation.

Click here for further information on the Carmelites in Dili

The Parish of Zumalai

The Parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Zumalai, is situated on the south coast of Timor-Leste, near the regional centre of Suai in Covalima Municipality. The parish comprises 8 villages, each of which have their own locally elected village chief and village council. The population is approximately 15,000 people and the median age in the community is 19.5 years old. The Carmelites visit each of the village centres to celebrate mass and the sacraments for the people. During the wet season it is only possible to visit some of the villages.

Connected to the Zumalai parish are three Catholic schools with over 500 students enrolled, and the Beato Tito Brandsma College boarding house which provides accommodation for 24 students each year from remote areas in Zumalai and throughout Timor-Leste.

Click here for further information about the Carmelites in Zumalai

Carmelite community development projects – Carmel Impact

After nearly 2 decades of consistent project work in Timor-Leste, The Carmelites of Australia and Timor-Leste established Carmel Impact in 2019, a charity organization dedicated to transforming lives and helping to build communities in East Timor – one of the poorest countries in the world. This work for change is achieved together with the help of supporters around the globe.

With a focus on education and youth, the aim is to create lasting, positive change in Timor-Leste. Carmel Impact is proud to build on the Carmelites’ legacy in the region, drawing on experience and a wealth of local knowledge. This long-term commitment has built strong relationships with local Timorese communities. Carmel Impact’s community building programs are designed to provide the people of Timor-Leste with the same fundamental human rights all people deserve.

Carmel Impact implements projects that are largely focused on the local rural communities in Zumalai and Hera. There are currently four key program areas:

• Education = Freedom
• Youth Engagement
• Leadership for Change
• Critical Emergency Response

 
Transforming Lives, Building Communities, Together

Carmelite Mission Support Groups

The Carmelites have established a number of support groups in Australia who are providing friendship and material support to help the people of Timor-Leste.

If you are interested in setting up a group to help the people of Timor-Leste, please use the link below.

For further information about the Carmelites in Timor-Leste, please contact:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
75 Wright Street
Middle Park Vic 3205

Telephone: (03) 9699 1922
Fax: (03) 9699 1944