Who we Are
The Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, officially Ordo Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Saecularis (OCDS), is a religious association of the Roman Catholic Church composed primarily of lay persons and also accepted secular clergy.
Professing promises to strive to live evangelical perfection in the spirit of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, obedience, and of the beatitudes, we live a "fidelity to contemplative prayer with the spirit of detachment it entails".
Secular Carmelites are an integral part of the Discalced Carmelite Order (OCD), juridically dependent upon the Discalced Carmelite Friars, and in "fraternal communion" with them and the cloistered Nuns of the Order. We share the same charism with the Friars and Nuns, each according to his or her particular state of life, forming a single family with the same spirituality, and called by God to holiness and apostolic mission.
There are two Carmelite orders in the Church, the Carmelite Order of the Ancient Observance (O. Carm.) and the Discalced Carmelite Order (OCD). The Discalced became a separate order under Teresa of Ávila, so as to return to the more austere and contemplative life lived by the first Carmelites, and eventually by the end of the 17th century the Discalced developed their own secular order. "Discalced", meaning "shoeless", signifies this greater austerity. However, Seculars do not consider foregoing shoes to be a necessity for living internal austerity and poverty.
Members of the OCDS are distinct from the secular order known as the Lay Carmelites (T. O. Carm.).
Professing promises to strive to live evangelical perfection in the spirit of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, obedience, and of the beatitudes, we live a "fidelity to contemplative prayer with the spirit of detachment it entails".
Secular Carmelites are an integral part of the Discalced Carmelite Order (OCD), juridically dependent upon the Discalced Carmelite Friars, and in "fraternal communion" with them and the cloistered Nuns of the Order. We share the same charism with the Friars and Nuns, each according to his or her particular state of life, forming a single family with the same spirituality, and called by God to holiness and apostolic mission.
There are two Carmelite orders in the Church, the Carmelite Order of the Ancient Observance (O. Carm.) and the Discalced Carmelite Order (OCD). The Discalced became a separate order under Teresa of Ávila, so as to return to the more austere and contemplative life lived by the first Carmelites, and eventually by the end of the 17th century the Discalced developed their own secular order. "Discalced", meaning "shoeless", signifies this greater austerity. However, Seculars do not consider foregoing shoes to be a necessity for living internal austerity and poverty.
Members of the OCDS are distinct from the secular order known as the Lay Carmelites (T. O. Carm.).
Discalced Carmelite Friars
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Secular Discalced Carmelites
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Discalced Carmelite Mothers
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Way of Life
The members of the OCDS seek to live the Teresian Carmelite charism in the midst of the world, in the family, in their work and the normal circumstances of civil life, by managing temporal affairs and ordering them according to the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels and in conformity with the charism of Saint Teresa of Jesus. They follow Teresa’s guidelines on prayer and try to live it as friendship with God, there where they are, so that “the real lover everywhere loves and remembers the beloved”. But they also live prayer in the liturgy, in listening to God’s Word, in the sacraments and in devotion to Our Lady of Mt Carmel, their model for a life that is Christian and Carmelite.
We seek to live in fraternal friendship in the community to which we belong and attend, and which is governed by a council elected every 3 years. This council takes care of their training and admission to the promises. The cultivation of human virtues and the climate of trust in the community allows sharing and fosters growth in charity and friendship with the others. We collaborate in the apostolate by our witness of a Christian life and assist the sanctification of the world, by means of our life of faith, hope and charity and according to the personal talents of each member.
The Secular Order is governed by its own Constitutions (2003) in which are condensed our style of life, our identity, values and commitments in following Christ Jesus and in our search to live in intimacy with God, fraternal communion and apostolic service. At present, secular Carmelites number around 25 thousand members throughout the world. There are 1,736 communities in 75 countries.
We could say that the seculars live the spirit of Carmel in the heart of the world and enrich the religious life of Carmel by their secular state.
We seek to live in fraternal friendship in the community to which we belong and attend, and which is governed by a council elected every 3 years. This council takes care of their training and admission to the promises. The cultivation of human virtues and the climate of trust in the community allows sharing and fosters growth in charity and friendship with the others. We collaborate in the apostolate by our witness of a Christian life and assist the sanctification of the world, by means of our life of faith, hope and charity and according to the personal talents of each member.
The Secular Order is governed by its own Constitutions (2003) in which are condensed our style of life, our identity, values and commitments in following Christ Jesus and in our search to live in intimacy with God, fraternal communion and apostolic service. At present, secular Carmelites number around 25 thousand members throughout the world. There are 1,736 communities in 75 countries.
We could say that the seculars live the spirit of Carmel in the heart of the world and enrich the religious life of Carmel by their secular state.
