We are a small community of contemplative women whose lives are dedicated to prayer for the Church and for all people.  Our foundation, which was originally located in Houston, TX, was made in 1958 from the Carmel in San Antonio, TX.  In 1974 we moved to New Caney,  in a wooded area at the northern end of the diocese of Galveston-Houston.

The Carmelite Order began  when a group of Crusaders decided to stay in the Holy Land and live on Mount Carmel as hermits, in imitation of the prophet Elijah.  They called themselves the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and their chapel was dedicated to her.  Today we still look to Mary as the model of the contemplative.

After the Crusades, the Order gradually spread to Europe.  Due to the  different living conditions, some changes were made to the Rule which St. Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, had given to the brothers in the early 13th century. As time passed, the population of Europe was decimated by the Black Plague, more changes took place in society, and these were reflected in the lives of the Carmelites.

In the 1500's, a Spanish Carmelite Nun, Teresa of Avila, began thinking about the original hermits on Mount Carmel, and wanted to found a monastery of nuns who would live as "our fathers of old" lived.  Her first convent was San José, in Avila.  This was the beginning of what came to be known as the Discalced Reform.  During St Teresa's lifetime, she founded seventeen monasteries of nuns, and, with the help of St. John of the Cross, began the Reform among the friars as well.  Eventually the Discalced Carmelites became a separate Order, which in our day has houses all over the world.

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 To contact us through e-mail:  newcaneycarmel@icansurf.net

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