OFFICIAL NAME
Secular Missionary Carmel
ACRONYM
CMS (Carmelo Misionero Seglar)
ESTABLISHED
1994
HISTORY
The Carmelo Misionero Seglar arose on the initiative of Morelia Suárez, a young lay Catholic, attracted to Carmelite spirituality and the missionary dynamism of the Blessed Francisco Palau, founder of the Carmelite Missionaries. She put a proposal, to the Sisters in Colombia, to set up a lay association to share the Palautian charism. The 17th General Chapter of the Carmelite Missionaries (1994) agreed to this proposal and invited the Congregation to respond to the promptings of the Synod of Bishops regarding the vocation and mission of the laity in the Church, devoting particular attention to the comprehensive formation of the lay faithful, and encouraging the constitution of the CMS in every country where the Congregation was present. On 20 March 1996, the Pontifical Council for the Laity issued a decree recognising Carmelo Misionero Seglar as an international association of the faithful.
IDENTITY
CMS brings together lay faithful of all ages and sets out to promote the identity and the mission of the lay person in the Church through a commitment to discover the greatness of the Christian vocation in the mystery of ecclesial communion; to practise a prayer life as a sign of friendship with God and as an experience of the universality of the Church, in the light of the Word and of history; to cultivate listening, reflecting, and contemplating; to adopt an attitude of service towards one’s neighbour, paying particular attention to the urgent needs of the Church and society; to contemplate Mary as a model, Mother and companion in a constant search for communion with God and with our fellows; to live a simple, joyful and hard-working style of life; to work for the construction of a more just and solidarity-based society. Formation and guidance for members of CMS focuses on the unity of life of the lay faithful, and gives pride of place to the human, Christian and missionary dimension according to the spirituality of Francisco Palau, a Discalced Carmelite, preacher, spiritual director and catechist. The members of CMS perform their apostolate in groups and individually, bearing witness through their lives to Gospel values; they strive to help the marginalised; and they seek to respond in practical ways to the needs of their environment and of the Church.
ORGANISATION
CMS is organized in autonomous groups whose work is coordinated by a management board composed of a Coordinator, a Secretary and a Treasurer. Coordination and activity at a local level is the competency of a local committee and assembly. On an international level, coordination and activity is the competency of the international committee and assembly.
The ultimate guarantor of the Association internationally is the Superior General of the Carmelite Missionary Sisters.
WEB SITE
https://www.carmelitasmisioneras.org/carmelo-misionero-seglar/
HEADQUARTERS
Carmelo Misionero Seglar
Via del Casaletto, 115
00151 Roma
Tel. [+39] 06 535472 / 5827216 - Fax 06 58232279
E-mail: cms@carmelitasmisioneras.org
