Carmelites honor Mary as Patroness and Mother.

St. Teresa, who entered the Carmelite Order in 1536, received mystical graces from the Lord, who led her to undertake the renewal of the Order of Carmel and to make prayer and contemplation its total commit­ment.

The first Carmelites were a group of Crusaders who lived as a community of hermits near the Wadi Carith on Mt. Carmel, a place associated with the prophet Elijah.