The Discalced Carmelites, or Barefoot Carmelites, is a Catholic mendicant order with roots in the eremitic tradition of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. The order was established in 1593, pursuant to the reform of the Carmelite Order by two Spanish saints, St. Teresa of Ávila and St. John of the Cross.
The Discalced Carmelite order is now known by the initials "O.C.D." (The older branch of the order, Carmelites of the Ancient Observance, has the initials "O. Carm."). The secular branch of the order (the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, formerly known as the Third Order), has the initials "O.C.D.S."
[edit] History
In the 16th century, St. Teresa of Ávila's work of reform began with herself. She made a vow always to follow the most perfect course, and resolved to keep the rule as perfectly as she could. A group of nuns assembled in her cell one September evening in 1560, taking their inspiration from the primitive tradition of Carmel and the discalced reform of St. Peter of Alcantara, proposed the foundation of a monastery of an eremitical type. On August 24, 1562, the new monastery dedicated to St. Joseph was founded. Then in Duruelo, with John of the Cross and Anthony of Jesus, they founded the first convent of Discalced Brethren in November 1568.
For a Carmelite, prayer is deeply theological. It is guided by the teachings and experience of St. Teresa of Ávila and St. John of the Cross, as well as the saints who have followed in their steps, such as St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Teresa of the Andes, and martyrs like Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross), Père Jacques and the sixteen Martyrs of Compiegne.
Each day is marked by silence to create an environment for a house of prayer. In addition to the daily celebration of the full Liturgy of the Hours, two hours are set aside for uninterrupted silent prayer. The life is well balanced: community life is marked by much laughter around the meal table and during recreation. Communities are kept fairly small to nourish an atmosphere of genuine sisterhood/brotherhood and sharing.
While the sisters live an enclosed life, the friars live a life that is both contemplative and apostolic, in imitation of Jesus who lived both the prayer in the desert and the ministry of compassion with the multitudes. Their life of contemplation is primarily a service designed for the whole Church. The life is also marked by a serious commitment to a broadly based and thorough discipline of study to more fully develop a knowledge of the human heart that is marked by great personal sensitivity.
[edit] Bishops
[edit] Living Bishops (3 Archbishops, 16 Bishops)
{class="wikitable" ! 
Current Bishops 
! Former and Actual Episcopal see or Assignment ! Current Residency ! Date of Birth
Current Age ! Appointed to Bishop |- | Anders Arborelius | 
Bishop of Stockholm
(1998-Incumbent)
President of Scandinavian Bishops Conference (2005-Incumbent)| Stockholm, Sweden | September 24, 1949 (1949-09-24) (age 60) | November 17, 1998
Pope John Paul II |- | Cástor Oswaldo Azuaje Pérez | 
Auxiliary Bishop of Maracaibo
(2007-Incumbent) | Maracaibo, Venezuela | October 19, 1951 (1951-10-19) (age 58) | June 30, 2007
Pope Benedict XVI |- | Silvio José Báez Ortega | 
Auxiliary Bishop of Managua
(2009-Incumbent) | Managua, Nicaragua | April 28, 1958 (1958-04-28) (age 51) | April 9, 2009
Pope Benedict XVI |- | Paul Bassim | 
Vicar Apostolic Emeritus of Beirut
(1999-Incumbent) Vicar Apostolic of Beirut
(1974-1999)| Jall Ed Dib - Bqennaya, Lebanon | November 14, 1922 (1922-11-14) (age 87) | September 8, 1974
Pope Paul VI |- | Philip Boyce | 
Bishop of Raphoe
(1995-Incumbent) | Letterkenny, Ireland | January 25, 1940 (1940-01-25) (age 69) | June 29, 1995
Pope John Paul II |- | Paul Dahdah | Archbishop-Vicar Apostolic of Beirut
(1999-Incumbent) 
Archbishop of Baghdad
(1983-1999)
| Beirut, Lebanon | June 8, 1941 (1941-06-08) (age 68) | May 30, 1983
Pope John Paul II |- | Brig. Gen. Gonzalo de Jesús María del Castillo Crespo | 
Military Bishop of Bolivia
(2000-Incumbent) Auxiliary Bishop of La Paz
(1983-2000)| La Paz, Bolivia | September 20, 1936 (1936-09-20) (age 73) | November 3, 1983
Pope John Paul II |- | Amancio Escapa Aparicio | 
Auxiliary Bishop of Santo Domingo
(1996-Incumbent) | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | March 30, 1938 (1938-03-30) (age 71) | May 31, 1996
Pope John Paul II |- | Guy Étienne Germain Gaucher | 
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Bayeux-Lisieux
(2005-Incumbent) Auxiliary Bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux
(1987-2005)
Bishop of Meaux
(1986-1987)| Venasque, France | March 5, 1930 (1930-03-05) (age 79) | August 27, 1986
Pope John Paul II |- | Gustavo Girón Higuita | 
Bishop of Tumaco
(1999-Incumbent) Vicar Apostolic of Tumaco
(1990-1999)| Tumaco, Colombia | May 20, 1940 (1940-05-20) (age 69) | February 8, 1990
Pope John Paul II |- | Julio Xavier Labayen | 
Territorial Prelate Emeritus of Infanta
(2003-Incumbent) Territorial Prelate of Infanta
(1966-2003)| Parañaque, Philippines | July 23, 1926 (1926-07-23) (age 83) | July 26, 1966
Pope Paul VI |- | Gonzalo López Marañon | 
Vicar Apostolic of San Miguel de Sucumbíos
(1984-Incumbent) Apostolic prefect of San Miguel de Sucumbíos
(1970-1984)| Nueva Loja, Ecuador | October 3, 1933 (1933-10-03) (age 76) | July 2, 1984
Pope John Paul II |- | Luis Alberto Luna Tobar | Archbishop Emeritus of Cuenca
(2000-Incumbent) Metropolitan Archbishop of Cuenca
(1981-2000)
Auxiliary Bishop of Quito
(1977-1981)| Cuenca, Ecuador | December 15, 1923 (1923-12-15) (age 85) | August 17, 1977
Pope Paul VI |- | Francis George Adeodatus Micallef | 
Vicar Apostolic Emeritus of Kuwait
(2005-Incumbent) Vicar Apostolic of Kuwait
(1981-2005)
| 
Cospicua, Malta | December 17, 1928 (1928-12-17) (age 80) | November 5, 1981
Pope John Paul II |- | Aníbal Nieto Guerra | Bishop of San Jacinto de Yaguachi
(2009-Incumbent) Auxiliary Bishop of Guayaquil
(2006-2009) | Yaguachi, Ecuador | February 23, 1949 (1949-02-23) (age 60) | June 10, 2006
Pope Benedict XVI |- | Braulio Sáez Garcia | Auxiliary Bishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra
(2003-Incumbent) Bishop of Oruro
(1991-2003)
Auxiliary Bishop of Oruro
(1987-1991)| Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia | March 23, 1942 (1942-03-23) (age 67) | February 18, 1987
Pope John Paul II |- | Jean Benjamin Sleiman | Archbishop of Baghdad
(2001-Incumbent) | Baghdad, Iraq | June 30, 1946 (1946-06-30) (age 63) | November 29, 2000
Pope John Paul II |- | Jusztin Nándor Takács | 
Bishop Emeritus of Székesfehérvár
(2003-Incumbent) Bishop of Székesfehérvár
(1991-2003)
Coadjutor Bishop of Székesfehérvár
(1990-1991)
Auxiliary Bishop of Székesfehérvár
(1988-1990)| Székesfehérvár, Hungary | January 15, 1927 (1927-01-15) (age 82) | December 23, 1988
Pope John Paul II |- | Rolando Joven Tria Tirona | Territorial Prelate of Infanta
(2003-Incumbent) Bishop of Malolos
(1996-2003)
Auxiliary Bishop of Manila
(1994-1996)| Infanta, Philippines | July 22, 1946 (1946-07-22) (age 63) | November 15, 1994
Pope John Paul II |}
[edit] Deceased Bishops (7 Cardinals, 14 Archbishops, 51 Bishops)
{class="wikitable" ! 
Discalced Carmelites Cardinals ! Episcopal see or Assignment ! Date of Birth and Death ! Appointed to Bishop |- | Anastasio Alberto Ballestrero | 
Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Turin
(1989-1998) Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
(1979-1998)
President of Italian Episcopal Conference
(1979-1985)
Metropolitan Archbishop of Turin
(1977-1989)
Metropolitan Archbishop of Bari-Canosa
(1973-1977) | October 3, 1913(1913-10-03) - June 21, 1998 (aged 84) | December 21, 1973
Pope Paul VI |- | Girolamo Maria Gotti | Prefect of Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith
(1902-1916)
Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria della Scala pro hac vice Title
(1895-1916)
Prefect of Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars
(1899-1902)
Prefect of Prefect of Sacred Congregation of Induglences and Sacred Relics
(1896-1899)
Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals
(1896-1897)
Apostolic Internuncio of Brazil
(1892-1895)
| March 29, 1834(1834-03-29) - March 19, 1916 (aged 81) | March 22, 1892
Pope Leo XIII |- | Giovanni Antonio Guadagni
(Nephew of pope Pope Clement XII) | Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome
(1732-1759)
Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals
(1743-1759)
Cardinal Vice-Dean of Sacred College of Cardinals
(1756-1759)
Cardinal-Bishop of Porto-Santa Rufina
(1756-1759)
Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati
(1750-1756)
Cardinal-Priest of San Martino ai Monti
(1731-1750)
Bishop of Arezzo
(1896-1897)
| September 14, 1674(1674-09-14) - January 15, 1759 (aged 84) | December 20, 1724
Pope Benedict XIII |- | Daniel Acharuparambil | 
Metropolitan Archbishop of Verapoly
(1996-2009) Apostolic Administrator sede plena of Cochin
(2008-2009)| May 12, 1939(1939-05-12) - October 26, 2009 (aged 70) | June 14, 1996
Pope John Paul II |- | Antônio do Carmo Cheuiche | Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Porto Alegre
(2001-2009) Auxiliary Bishop of Porto Alegre
(1971-2001)
Auxiliary Bishop of Santa Maria
(1969-1971)| June 13, 1927 (1927-06-13) (age 82) - October 14, 2009 (aged 82) | April 2, 1969
Pope Paul VI |}
[edit] Communities of Carmelite Tradition
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
