View source for Congregation of Mother of Carmel

{{Short description|Religious institute}}
{{Infobox organization
| name                = Congregation of the Mother of Carmel
| native_name         = Suore della Madre del Carmelo
| native_name_lang = it
| image               =
| caption             =
| abbreviation        =
| formation           = {{start date and age|February 13, 1866}}
| founder             = [[Kuriakose Elias Chavara]]
| founding_location   = [[Koonammavu]], [[Kerala]], India
| type                = Religious Institute of Consecrated Life
| headquarters        = Mount Carmel Road, Thaikkattukara P.O., Aluva 683106, Kerala, India
| membership          = 7000|lc=y}}
Charism = ''Be holy and lead others to holiness''
Superior General =Mother Grace Therese CMC
The '''Congregation of the Mother of Carmel''' (C.M.C.) is a [[Syro-Malabar]] holic centralized religious congregation founded by saint Chavara in 1866 Feb 13 at koonammavu, kochi. It is the first indigenous women religious congregation.
==History==
=== ion ===
The congregation was founded as the '''Sisters of the [[Third Order]] of Carmelites Discalced''' by [[Kuriakose Elias Chavara]], on 13 February 1866 at [[Koonammavu]] in the southern state of [[Kerala]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www. kcbcsite.com/kcbc_congregations.htm |work=Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council |title=Religious Congregations |url-status= dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229034003/http://www.kcbcsite.com/kcbc_congregations.htm |archivedate= 2012-02-29 }}</ref>
The first convent of the new community was opened in Koonammavu with three women:  Eliswa, a widow, her daughter Anna, Eliswa's sister Tresa and another young lady named Clara came as the fourth member on the next day.. They were given the rules of the Discalced Third Order under the authority of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly|Roman Catholic Archbishop of Verapoly]], Bernardine Baccinelli. Leopold Beccaro was their spiritual director.
== Division ==
In May 1887, the [[Holy See]] established the Syro-Malabar Church in India as independent of the hierarchy of the [[Latin Church]]. This caused problems for the young congregation, as both Latin and Syrian bishops claimed authority over them. This had to be settled by Rome, which ruled that the Sisters were part of the Syro-Malabar [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur|Vicariate Apostolic of Trichur]]. The Sisters who belonged to the Latin Church separated and  was named the '''Congregation of Teresian Carmelites''' (C.T.C.).
With the eventual reorganization of the Syro-Malabar hierarchy, the Sisters found themselves divided among five different congregations, each under a different bishop and led by its own [[Superior General]]. The first foundation outside of Kerala from among the different groups was to the [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] in 1958.
== Union ==
Full union of the disparate congregations did not take place until  November 16, 1963, when they were recognized by the Holy See as a congregation of the Eastern Church, at which time the congregation took the name of '''Congregation of Mother of Carmel''', by which it is currently known.
==Current==
The congregation today is divided among 25 [[ecclesiastical province|Provinces]] and six regions throughout India and Africa. They also serve in Germany, Italy, Nepal,peru,Canada,Iraq,UK and the United States.<ref name="CMC">{{cite web |title=About the Congregation |url=http://www.cmcgeneralate.org/about.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327154450/http://cmcgeneralate.org/about.php |archive-date=2010-03-27 |access-date=2012-03-26 |work=Congregation of the Mother of Carmel}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>
==Saints of the congregation==
Elias Chavara,founder of the community was [[beatification|beatified]] by [[Pope John Paul II]] in 1986, along with [[Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception]] in the course of his visit to India. One of the congregation's early members, [[Euphrasia of the Sacred Heart of Jesus]], was beatified by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] in 2006. Chavara and Euphrasia were canonised by Pope Francis on 24 November 2014.
[[Mary Celine Payyappilly]], the first Superior General of the united C.M.C. congregation was declared as [[Servant of God]] by [[George Alencherry]], [[Major Archbishop]] of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church on 9 April 2018.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Eastern Catholic orders and societies]]
[[Category:Syro-Malabar Church]]
[[Category:Discalced Carmelite Order]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1866]]
[[Category:1866 establishments in India]]