Apparitions of Our Lady of Mount Carmel:

10 July 2019

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the patroness of the Carmelite Order. The liturgical feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated on 16 July and is mainly associated with the apparition of Our Lady to Saint Simon Stock in 1251. We take a look at the apparitions of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

The origin of the Carmelite Order can be traced back to Prophet Elijah who ascended the holy mountain of Mount Carmel and lived a reclusive life devoted to prayer and contemplation. After he was taken up to Heaven (Book of Kings) many men began to live as hermits in the caves of Mount Carmel and followed his example of contemplative prayer. In the late 12th to mid-13th century, they built a chapel in the midst of their hermitages which they dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, whom they believed to be their patron.

The popular devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel began in the 15th century and is believed to have originated from the apparition that Our Lady gave to Saint Simon Stock who was the Prior of the Order. It is believed that on July 16, 1251, when Simon Stock was praying to the Blessed Virgin, suddenly a great flood of light filled his cell. In the company of many angels, the Blessed Virgin, with the Child Jesus, presented the brown scapular to him with this promise, “This shall be the privilege for you and for all Carmelites that whoever dies piously wearing this scapular shall not suffer eternal flames.” The scapular at that time was already being used at times as a protective garment during work and consisted of two lengths of fabric joined at the shoulders so that the scapular lies front and back. After the apparition, from 1287, the scapular became a permanent addition to the Carmelite habit. It became a devotional sacramental signifying the wearer's consecration to Mary and affiliation with the Carmelite order and symbolized her special protection.

Some years later, when Saint Peter Thomas (1305-1366) was engaged with important papal missions, Our Lady of Mount Carmel appeared to him and said “Have confidence, Peter, for the Carmelite Order will last until the end of the world. Elijah, its founder obtained it a long time ago from my Son.” It was during this Century that many were attracted to the Order because of its special graces and privileges.

In another vision to Pope John XXII on March 3, 1322, now known as the Sabbatine Privilege, Our Lady of Mount Carmel revealed, “I, the Mother of Grace, shall descend into Purgatory on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I shall find in Purgatory I shall free.” St. Robert Bellarmine explains the promise to mean, “that anyone dying in Mary’s family will receive from Her, at the hour of death, either the grace of perseverance in the state of grace or the grace of final contrition.” On learning of this vision, Pope Benedict XV encouraged all to wear this “common armor...which enjoys the singular privilege of protection even after death.” Sixteen popes have given their approval to this Privilege, including Pope Paul V who issued a decree on its behalf.

Six hundred years after the vision of Pope John XXII in which the Sabbatine Privilege was revealed, Pope Pius XI in 1922, observed in writing “It surely ought to be sufficient to merely exhort all the members of the confraternities and third orders to persevere in the holy exercises which have been prescribed for the gaining of the indulgences to which they are entitled and particularly for the gaining of the indulgence which is the principal and the greatest of them all, namely, that called the Sabbatine.” In the 21st century, the Carmelites do not promote the Sabbatine Privilege. They encourage a belief in Mary's general aid and prayerful assistance for their souls beyond death, especially her aid to those who devoutly wear the Brown Scapular, and commend devotion to Mary especially on Saturdays, which are dedicated to her.

Many saints patronised the scapulars and it is regarded as the most indulgenced of all sacramentals. It is claimed that Bernadette always wore the scapular and had one of her apparitions on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. At Fatima too, Our Lady of Mount Carmel appeared during the spectacular miracle of the sun.