July 16 + Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land in the 12th and 13th centuries. They built in the midst of their hermitages a chapel which they dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.

Since the 15th century, popular devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel has centered on the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, also known as the Brown Scapular, a sacramental associated with promises of Mary's special aid for the salvation of the devoted wearer. Mary is said to have given the Scapular to St. Simon Stock.

Simon was a Carmelite monk who founded many Carmelite communities. Simon received a private revelation about the Brown Scapular, a monastic garment worn by Carmelites.

The Blessed Virgin Mary with a multitude of angels appeared to Simon holding the Scapular of the Order in her hands, and said, "Receive, my beloved son, this scapular of thy Order; it is the special sign of my favor, which I have obtained for thee and for thy children of Mount Carmel. He who dies clothed with this habit shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger, and a pledge of special peace and protection.”

This vision was the source of the Brown Scapular devotion – a tradition which involves the wearing of an adapted version of the garment, along with certain spiritual commitments, by lay Catholics as well as priests and religious. Through Simon, the devotion of the scapular spread throughout the world, not only among the people, but also among kings and princes who found themselves very honored to wear the sign of the servants of the Blessed Virgin.