Carmelite Daughters of the Divine Heart of Jesus
Encyclopedia
The Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus is a Roman Catholic religious order
founded by Maria Teresa of St. Joseph (Anna Maria Tauscher) on July 2, 1891. Mother Mary Teresa traveled to the U.S. in 1912 to establish a congregation. The Provincial House was opened in 1917 in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
and the first American Postulant was received in 1920, right from the Milwaukee area.
Saint Joseph
Saint Francis Xavier
Saint Teresa of Avila
Saint John of the Cross
Saint Thérèse de Lisieux
Prophet Elijah
, or spiritual focus, of this order is to offer reparation to Jesus for the denial and unbelief of his divinity. This is done through prayer
, meditation
and especially through weekly adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
The apostolate of this order is to provide "A Home Away from Home" for children and the elderly. For this purpose the order has houses in Europe, the United States, Canada, Central America, South America, and Africa.
In the U.S. the Sisters have cared for the elderly, since 1929, at St. Agnes Home in Kirkwood, MO, since 1952 at the Carmel Nursing Home in Owensboro, KY, since 1917 at St. Joseph Home for the Aged in Kenosha, WI, since 1951 at Saint Ann's Home in Grand Rapids, MI; and since 1954 at Mount Carmel Home in Corpus Christi, TX.
On the same property in Kirkwood, the Sisters care for children ages 2–5 at their Carmelite Child Development Center. They maintain a Residential Treatment Center for boys in Wauwatosa, WI opened in 1917 ; a Residential Treatment Center for girls (originally an orphanage opened in 1913) in East Chicago, IN with an Emergency Shelter Care for infants and small children who are victims of trauma, abuse or neglect.
The General Mother House is in the city of Sittard
, Holland; where the Mother General
resides. The General Mother House serves as the highest authority after the Holy Father
and the Sacred Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes
in Rome as the principal body that regulates religious life in the Congregation.
East Chicago, IN
Kenosha, WI
Grand Rapids, MI
Kirkwood, MO
Owensboro, KY
Corpus Christi, TX
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
founded by Maria Teresa of St. Joseph (Anna Maria Tauscher) on July 2, 1891. Mother Mary Teresa traveled to the U.S. in 1912 to establish a congregation. The Provincial House was opened in 1917 in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
Wauwatosa is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States, and was incorporated on May 27, 1897. As of the 2006 census estimate, the city's population was 44,798. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is a part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area...
and the first American Postulant was received in 1920, right from the Milwaukee area.
Patrons of the Order
Our Lady of Mount CarmelOur 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 during the late 12th and early to mid 13th centuries...
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
Saint Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...
Saint Teresa of Avila
Teresa of Ávila
Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer...
Saint John of the Cross
John of the Cross
John of the Cross , born Juan de Yepes Álvarez, was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystic, Catholic saint, Carmelite friar and priest, born at Fontiveros, Old Castile....
Saint Thérèse de Lisieux
Thérèse de Lisieux
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux , or Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, was a French Carmelite nun...
Prophet Elijah
Areas of concern for the Order
The charismCharism
In Christian theology, a charism in general denotes any good gift that flows from God's love to man. The word can also mean any of the spiritual graces and qualifications granted to every Christian to perform his or her task in the Church...
, or spiritual focus, of this order is to offer reparation to Jesus for the denial and unbelief of his divinity. This is done through prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
, meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
and especially through weekly adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
The apostolate of this order is to provide "A Home Away from Home" for children and the elderly. For this purpose the order has houses in Europe, the United States, Canada, Central America, South America, and Africa.
In the U.S. the Sisters have cared for the elderly, since 1929, at St. Agnes Home in Kirkwood, MO, since 1952 at the Carmel Nursing Home in Owensboro, KY, since 1917 at St. Joseph Home for the Aged in Kenosha, WI, since 1951 at Saint Ann's Home in Grand Rapids, MI; and since 1954 at Mount Carmel Home in Corpus Christi, TX.
On the same property in Kirkwood, the Sisters care for children ages 2–5 at their Carmelite Child Development Center. They maintain a Residential Treatment Center for boys in Wauwatosa, WI opened in 1917 ; a Residential Treatment Center for girls (originally an orphanage opened in 1913) in East Chicago, IN with an Emergency Shelter Care for infants and small children who are victims of trauma, abuse or neglect.
The General Mother House is in the city of Sittard
Sittard
Sittard is a city in the Dutch province of Limburg, which is the southernmost province of the Netherlands.On the east Sittard borders on Germany . It has some 48,400 inhabitants . Sittard is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen...
, Holland; where the Mother General
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
resides. The General Mother House serves as the highest authority after the Holy Father
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
and the Sacred Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for everything which concerns institutes of consecrated life and Society of Apostolic Life regarding their government, discipline, studies, goods, rights, and...
in Rome as the principal body that regulates religious life in the Congregation.
U.S. states and cities where the order is to be found
Wauwatosa, WIEast Chicago, IN
Kenosha, WI
Grand Rapids, MI
Kirkwood, MO
Owensboro, KY
Corpus Christi, TX