“Stella Maris” Monastery
Local Church
Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem: Father Rafic Nahra Appointed Auxiliary Bishop
Father Rafic Nahra was appointed by Pope Francis as auxiliary bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, this Friday, March 11, 2022, announces the Holy See. Ordained a priest in 1992 for the diocese of Paris, he was until now Patriarchal Vicar for Israel within the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Father Rafic Nahra was born […]
Stella Maris and Carmelite parish in Haifa: one family
We Carmelites celebrated on December 7, 2021 the 150th anniversary of the consecration of the parish church, ocd in the lower part of the city of Haifa near the sea. In the same act, we celebrate S. José patron of the parish, also celebrated in 2021 as patron of the universal Church. The Carmelite parish […]
Celebration of thanksgiving on the 150th anniversary of the old St. Joseph Church
Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph You who, in the company of the Divine Jesus and of your spouse Mary Most Holy, knew the bitterness of emigration in your flight to Egypt, accompany along the roads of the world our countless brothers and sisters who, far from their homeland, struggle to overcome the difficulties of a life […]
Saint Albert, author of the Rule of Carmel
Today, September 17, the Latin Diocese of Jerusalem celebrates the memory of its Patriarch Saint Albert (+1214). St. Albert is closely linked to the birth of the Order of Carmelites. He writes a Rule (way of life) for the Cenobite hermits who inhabited the caves of Mount Carmel, particularly those in the Siah Valley, about […]
Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriach of Jerusalem
Most Reverend Excellencies Your Excellencies the Consul Generals of Jerusalem Dear priests, religious and faithful, The Lord give you Peace! “Non est hic, surrexit enim sicut dixit” (Mt 28,6). Al Masih kam, haqan kam “He is not here! He is risen as He said” (Mt. 28:6) Here we are, again, in front of the Empty […]
A Carmelite interpretation of the Jewish holiday of Sukkoth
The word «sukkoth» is the plural of the Hebrew word sukah which means «hut». The term sukah in the common language indicates precisely the hut that is built for the celebration of the feast in memory of the period “in the desert” after the biblical Exodus of the Jewish people after having been in Egypt. […]
Prayer to the Mother of Carmel
Dear Virgin of the Scapular, I have to say that our humble brother and great worker Luigi Poggi so many years ago, when he thought of you and manufactured you, leaned on his personal devotion, expressing the sense of beauty: and this year it is one hundred and once you come down from Mount , […]
Current news
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – 2022
We saw the star in the East, and we came to worship him (Mt 2,2) For this Week of Prayer, the Christians of the Middle East chose the theme of the star that rose in the east for a number of reasons. While many Western Christians celebrate Christmas, the more ancient feast, and still the […]
Stones with a message. Father Kubrianus from Mount Carmel
For a few weeks, in the Latin parish of San Joseph of Haifa, from the top of Carmel, a nice initiative has emerged. Father Kubrianus, from Lebanon, who is helping the Delegation of Israel since November 2020, artist, painter, singer and many other things … has started to paint «stones with a message» that are […]
Regina Decor Carmeli
We, brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, joyfully celebrate her feast. Our heart is illuminated by her maternal presence, our life is inspired by what she lived in the simplicity of Nazareth, our spirit seeks her as Sister on the journey of life, Mother who touches us in her closeness and help, […]
Earth Day: “We have the means to face the challenge”
In a video message, the Pope warns: the movement to destroy nature is very difficult to curb, but “there is still time” if “we work together instead of doing it alone”. For a long time now, we have become more aware that nature deserves to be protected, and that human interactions with the biodiversity that […]
PATRIS CORDE, Apostolic Letter about Saint Joseph, patron of the Universal Church
On the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of Saint Joseph as patron of the universal church. WITH A FATHER’S HEART: that is how Joseph loved Jesus, whom all four Gospels refer to as “the son of Joseph”.[1] Matthew and Luke, the two Evangelists who speak most of Joseph, tell us very little, yet enough for […]
«All brothers» – the latest Encyclical letter from Pope Francis
What are the great ideals but also the concretely practicable ways for those who want to build a more just and fraternal world in their daily relationships, in society, in politics, in institutions? With this Encyclical, signed on 3 October 2020, in Assisi, on the vigil of the feast of St. Francis, the Pope intends […]
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE CARE OF CREATION
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Each year, particularly since the publication of the Encyclical Laudato Si’ (LS, 24 may 2015), the first day of September is celebrated by the Christian family as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and the beginning of the Season of Creation, which concludes on the feast of Saint Francis […]
Spirituality
Celebrating at grotto of Fr. Prospero with a group of parishioners
Today I celebrated (Fr. Paco ocd) the Holy Mass with a small group of parishioners in the convent where Fr. Prospero lived and died and in which the Carmelite friars lived from 1632 to 1762. The convent is located on the promontory of the mount, not far from the current Stella Maris monastery. The photos […]
Teresa of Jesus, divine and human together, founder of Discalced Carmel
To speak of Teresa of Jesus is to speak of the Mother who gave us life in the Church, inspired by the Lord who was the vital center of her experience. Each birth goes through suffering, the pain of difficulties, misunderstandings, hostilities, little revenge; Almost the entire local Catholic hierarchy has participated in this project, […]
26th August: Saint Mariam of Jesus Crucified
Big day for all the Carmel of the Holy Land: August 26, feast of Saint Mariam of Jesus Crucified. She was Born in Abellin, a small town near Nazareth and not far from Mount Carmel. Her memory guides the Carmel family in the right direction: towards the land where she was born. The Land of […]
Give your Spirit, prophet Elijah
This year, today, on the feast of Saint Elijah the Prophet, we want to remember the link there is between the Prophet Elijah and John the Baptist. We reaffirm with great force this truth of faith for us believers in Jesus Christ, namely that John Baptist, the forerunner of the Lord, worked with the spirit […]
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
When the memory and prophecy of the Church seem to fade, when our spirits darken and fail to recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd, they see SPIRIT OF WISDOM. When with our words we fail to transmit to this world (which is ours) joy and peace, when our faith seems to vanish, when docility […]
The Week of Christian Unity in confinement mode
Prayer for Christian unity is of course not a 20th century initiative: Christians have never ceased to pray, in so many ways, for their reconciliation. But it was in 1908, in the United States, that this prayer took the particular form that we know today, that of an “octave” between January 18 (which was the […]
Walking with St. John of the Cross – Meditations from the Muhraqa
God, you love me even in the night, because in the night you speak to me. You, O God, are the center of my soul, you are there, in a very mysterious and very incomprehensible way, but you are there! Something good must happen, in the life of each of us, to discover your loving […]
