Chronicles of  Karmel

The Mount Carmel:  The Legend.

Each adventure begins when we leave our world and enter Karmel, and this is where we discover thousands of other worlds, where the adventures form a very mysterious chain…

When I joined our venerable Order, its physical place in the temporal world was still the “Monastery of Água Espraiada” in the city of Atibaia-SP, Brazil.

Hidden in this valley lived our first sisters, some of whom still persevere today. When I entered, there were nine. An atmosphere of mystery hung over the place and the nuns, whose "face" has never been seen!

The monks were also there, very close, across the street to be exact.

In both monasteries, the liturgical life was deep, silence, solitude and simple works.

In its beginnings, our community had a majority of young people / adults, who had arrived there by the most diverse routes and places. I became the youngest member of the group, also 17 years old. We were a majority of trainees, counting on me: 3 postulants, 4 novices and only 3 professed.

During this period, the days passed quietly and simply.

In October of that same year 2012 (we were already 15 nuns), a first event, precursor of many others, will deeply mark our lives as individuals but also as a community. The expulsion from the monastery of the place where he was born.

The diocese of Bragança Paulista, to which the city of Atibaia belonged, was governed by Dom Sérgio Colombo. At the beginning of his government in the diocese, he esteemed the monks and came to visit them, a normal agreement between shepherd and flock. However, "love" turned into hatred and this led to persecution, obsession, from the bishop to the person of our Father and, therefore, to the community, since when the shepherd was injured, the sheep were scattered…

The peaceful and simple days that had now become painful and painful due to the expulsion of the bishop. Our schedules were still maintained but imbued with an atmosphere of questioning: what now? We asked ourselves …

Despite the general shock, the Community remained strong and measures are gradually being taken. And the grace of God has not abandoned us.

The deadline for restitution of the lands of the diocese has been set for July 31, 2013. Until this date, a lot has happened …

The first and perhaps the most difficult task was to find a new place.  At that time, we counted on the presence of a sister of Paraguayan nationality, who often said how good the bishop of the diocese of Ciudad del Este, in Paraguay, was, how many changes he brought to the diocese, what which really makes it an example to be imitated. 

There was a model seminary, many seminarians, excellent teachers and everything for a solid formation of true priests. For this reason, there was the first contact of our Reverend Father and Monsignor Ricardo Livières, Bishop of Ciudad Del Este, after all the monks needed to study for the priesthood.

And the story continues....



Many adventures, pains, sufferings, joys, doubts and more closeness to God. Finally we settled in Europe, especially in France, and in the Arctic. In France, an hour and a half from Mont Saint Michel, in the Mayenne region between Normandy and Brittany. And from the North, from the Arctic Circle, Karmel sends the Creator's light to the world.

By Hagia Sophia