St. Raphael Kalinowski and the Carmelite Secular Order 1 The ...

It is true of course also that the Carmelite Order would have been known through the
presence of the sisters in England in the preceding centuries , but inevitably their hidden
contemplative life would have placed limits on how well the Order was known.
Secondly, interest springs from a former religious culture itself and the desire people
traditionally have had to identify with the spirit or charism of a particular Order: to that
extent the faithful wished to be closely connected with religious Orders which were - in their
opinion - the most certain way to salvation. People often wished to wear a symbol of the
particular Order such as a medal or scapular, and to follow the Orders' spiritual practices,
as well as to be buried in the habit of the Order . The latter was quite common in countries
like Ireland up to the recent past.
There was a widespread revival of this wish to find support and guidance for a life of prayer
on the part of many people towards the end of the nineteenth century. This development led
to a growth in the Carmelite Secular Order.
St. Raphael Kalinowski, was a restorer of Carmelite life in Poland for Friars and nuns as we
saw. He was also instrumental in renewing the Third or Secular Order of Carmel.He was
sensitive to the needs of the faithful and he devoted himself fully to them , spending a lot of
time celebrating the Sacrament of Penance and opening to them the treasures of Carmelite
spirituality . He could be said to have brought Carmelite spirituality closer to lay people in
many different ways - publishing various leaflets, books, giving talks, promoting the Brown
Scapular, writing letters to people in a number of surrounding countries, such as Russia,
Hungary and Romania.
The Secular Carmelite Order and the Confraternity of the Brown Scapular.
In 1902 Kalinowski established, a scapular Confraternity in Sulina, Romania, through his
friend Teresa Moruzi, a member of the Secular Order , and he tried to obtain for it
canonical recognition from the General of the Order by sending him the necessary
application forms . He encouraged Jesuits working in a place called Jassy 3 to propagate
devotion to the Scapular and also wrote to the Austrian Consul`s daughter Fanny Jelinek
4 in Sulina asking her to spread the scapular devotion.
3 The second most populous city in Romania, also known as Lassey and Lasi.It is an important cultural center.
4 Her father Franz Jelinek was Consul in Sulina at this time. I t not clear how Kalinowski knew them, perhaps
through the Moruzi family.
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