Like every other family, the Discalced Carmelites had a troubled and colourful past. They were even suppressed in Spain and their monasteries confiscated. And then … they were restored.
To celebrate
the 150th anniversary of the restoration of the Discalced Carmelite friars in
Spain, the Spanish Discalced Carmelites are organizing two Congresses which
will be celebrated in Avila and in Larrea.
The
first (Avila) will take place between the 15th and the 18th of January and will
initially present St Teresa’s idea of the Discalced Carmelite friar, in order
to enter into the situation of the Order after the suppression of the Spanish
Congregation, as well as the process and the persons involved in the restoration
of the Order, and
its subsequent expansion in Latin America.
The
second (Larrea), of a more international character, is to be celebrated from
the 29th of April to the 2nd of May and at a scientific level will deal with
the question of the suppression at a European and Spanish level, the
reimplantation of the Order from the Markina monastery, the vital persons in the process of
unification of the two Congregations (Italy and Spain) as well as its development and the
missionary expansion in India and America.
Sometimes the present looks bleak… but God has a way to
change history. This is also our hope now!!!