Carmelite Friars-National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - (845) 344-0876

Carmelites strive to bring the presence of God to all men and women and to promote devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and her Scapular.

The first Carmelites were 12th-century Christian hermits who settled at Mount Carmel, a mountain range in Israel. A Rule of Life was given by St. Albert, the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Driven from Mount Carmel, these early Carmelites relocated to Italy, France and England, where they became Friars. It’s from these three countries that the Carmelite Order spread throughout the world.

Irish Carmelites came to America in 1889, founding the Province of Saint Elias and opening the Church of Our Lady of the Scapular of Mount Carmel in Manhattan. Our ministry included helping the poor in New York’s Bellevue Hospital. From here, the Province grew and spread its ministries throughout the North East.

In 1912, we arrived in Middletown, New York, where we staffed Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and its five mission churches. The National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, first established in Manhattan in 1941, was transferred to Middletown in 1991. Thousands of pilgrims visit the Shrine each year for prayer, reflection and devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

As part of our ongoing missionary efforts, we have established active and productive foundations in Vietnam and Trinidad. In these places, we are working to bring physical relief to the poor, as well as spiritual renewal through ministry and the nurturing of religious vocations among the people there.

Today, Carmelites strive to bring the presence of God to all men and women and to promote devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and her Scapular. We do this through ministries in parishes, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, retreat centers… wherever there is a need.

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