Carmel takes its name from the Mountain range overlooking the Mediterranean. It rises above modern day Haifa in Israel. Elijah the Prophet whom we know from Sacred Scripture is revered to have lived in this land. Because he defended the faith of Israel in the living God on Mt. Carmel it has been a place where men of all faiths have come to pray.

In the 13th Century men from Europe came to the Holy Land to reclaim the early shrines of Christians, which had been confiscated by the Saracens (an early offshoot of the Muslims). They succeeded in reclaiming the area and some of the men decided to settle on the land. It was among these settlers that a group formed and began religious life. They lived in the caves on Mount Carmel but gathered periodically for community life. The Bishop of Jerusalem approved their rule and thus the Carmelite Order of men was begun.

In the latter part of the 13th Century the tide turned – the Saracens returned to claim “their land” and the ancient feud was rekindled. The Christians were routed and many fled to Europe – the Carmelite hermits among them.

It wasn’t until the 15th century that a Carmelite Friar named John Soreth formed a group of laywomen in the Spirit of the Order. Up until this time the Order had no female counterpart.

In 1562 an indomitable woman named Teresa from the walled city of Avila in Spain reformed the Order of Carmel that had grown somewhat lax due to mitigations necessitated by the black plague that ravaged Europe. She established a group called the Discalced Carmelite – literally without shoes (sandals). She had been a nun for twenty-eight years in a monastery of some 180 people but Teresa aspired for something more dedicated to God and felt a smaller group would be more effective. For a life of prayer would thrive in solitude with fewer numbers. This endeavor was most successful and the Order spread quickly. By the time she died in 1582 she had established seventeen monasteries of nuns in Spain. She initiated a reform for the men in the Order as well.

After the death of Teresa the Order spread through France and early in the 17th century to Belgium. Here is where the American story begins. Although America was founded on the principal of religious liberty, the living situation turned out quite differently. There were deep pockets of prejudice in the new world – they apparently brought their bias with them. Depending on the Governing party – your faith expression might be the privileged one.

For years Catholics were forbidden to practice their faith in public. Instead of dying out the faith grew stronger by being practiced in the homes of devout Catholics. Obviously there were no convents in America so a young lady would have to travel to Europe to embrace this form of life.

England would seem the obvious choice because of language but its doors were closed to Catholics. They had left there for religious freedom. Some had come to America but others fled to the lowlands – Belgium and France. There were English speaking convents and seminaries in these countries. And so the first American women and men seeking religious life traveled abroad.

The Matthews family had three illustrious female members among this migration to Europe. Mother Bernardina Matthews and her two nieces Sister Mary Aloysia and Sister Mary Eleanora Matthews. In God’s Providence they, along with an English woman, Mother Clare Joseph Dickenson were to form the nucleus of the 1st monastery of nuns in America – then the 13 Colonies.

After the Declaration of Independence, when peace was established with England and Maryland returned to the original ideal under Lord Baltimore, around the year 1783, Fr. Ignatius Matthews wrote to his sister in Belgium, “Now is your time to found in this country, for peace is declared and religion is free.” It wasn’t until 1790 at the invitation of John Carroll, the first Bishop of Baltimore that they finally made the arduous passage with Fr. Charles Neale and Fr. Robert Plunkett, serving as their chaplains.

The journal kept by Mother Clare Joseph of the passage is very humorous. She details “ye stingy Captain gave us rotten eggs to eat.” Then she tells of the pig that fell through the ceiling of their cabin. They traveled in lay clothes because of the prevailing prejudices. This too must have ignited much laughter.
On July 2nd their little ship reached New York. Without delay they left immediately for Norfolk, which they reached on July 9th, They proceeded through the Chesapeake Bay and up the Potomac River to Brentfield or Brent’s Landing arriving the evening of July 10th . This was the home of Robert Brent, brother of another Carmelite Nun who had originally been scheduled to bring the first group of nuns to America. An interesting aside – this property is today owned by Larry and Sherrie Sanders.

The first Mass was offered the next day July 11 a Sunday. After a brief rest of about 10 days at Mount Air - the home of the young Ignatius Matthews brother of the two younger nuns - they proceeded to their first dwelling Chandlers Hope overlooking Port Tobacco. It was the family home of Fr. Charles Neale He gave this property to the nuns. They lived there from July to October. This was long enough for them to discover that the busy Port was not conducive for a monastic life style dedicated to prayer. Father Neal bargained with Baker Brook, a prominent Catholic layman, for the exchange of his property.

On October 15th the little band of women forming the first monastery here in America came to this property. They lived the monastic life in an agrarian setting and set themselves to their purpose of being – a life of prayer for the Church and for the whole world.

1831 the nuns moved to Baltimore. This was occasioned by financial loss, threat of lawsuits and the death of Fr. Neale – their advisor in both spiritual and temporal affairs. The farm was purchased by the Sanders family and remained in their possession until 1933 when Mrs. Talbott and her daughter Mrs. Hagerty came looking for the graves of relatives. They discovered the names of many well-known Southern Marylanders and decided to establish a group of lay people to see what they could do to restore this piece of history – The Bethlehem of Religious life in America. Thus the group known as “The Restorers of Mount Carmel” was born.
The original group had chapters in Charles County; Saint Mary’s County, Baltimore, Washington and as far flung as New York and Boston. This group is still alive and well today although only one Chapter is still active. It extends over the whole of Maryland. This group had kept the flame of hope alive “to bring the nuns back”. This was also the dream of every Carmelite Monastery of nuns in America. It was the Restorers who purchased the original 6 ¾ acres, which included a small cemetery used by the Catholics of Port Tobacco & Pomfret. They restored the remaining buildings (which had been used by the tenant farmers for their living quarters). In 1954 this group of faithful friends built the redbrick chapel, which is still in use today. In 1968 The Restorers built the “Pilgrim Hall” for the purpose of accommodating visitors to this site. This building we are in is an “add-on” to the Pilgrim Hall. It was completed in 2006. The Gift Shop and Parlors continue to welcome visitors. But I am getting ahead of the story.

1973 – A group of American women who had been helping out in the Missions of Korea, Japan and Africa formed the core group that would reestablish the Monastery here. Cardinal O’Boyle gave them an empty convent on the property of Little Flower School at Great Mills, Maryland. It was there that they became a cohesive group.

1976 –The Bi-Centennial Year of America - The nuns were permitted to return to the site of their original home and re-establish monastic life on Mt. Carmel in America. Instead of building a Convent where the community all lived together they decided to build individual hermitage in the spirit of the first hermits on Mount Carmel.

It was May of 1976 when the nuns moved from Great Mills to our present site but it was not until October 1st that the individual hermitages were completed and Cardinal O’Boyle, Cardinal Baum with many priests, family and friends gathered for the solemn blessing of the hermitages and the enclosure was officially established.
Their first beginnings were rocky. The physical effort to develop the property and maintain the buildings took its toll. By 1982 the novices who had joined all left and several of the original nuns returned to Africa. Archbishop Hickey – later Cardinal Hickey – asked the Association of St. Teresa to lend a helping hand. He said it would be a shame to let this new shoot die out.

Mother Mary Joseph was Coordinator of the Association at that time. She accepted the challenge in December of 1982 and brought several nuns with her. Two nuns from Carmel California came on a temporary loan; Sr. John from Springfield and myself from St. Louis Carmel came with an idea of permanent transfer. Under Mother Mary Joseph’s skilled leadership we formed a cohesive group and by January of 1985 we began receiving novices. The hoped for monastery was on its way.

We have grown to as many as fifteen at one time. But as with any group the numbers fluctuate. Two have died, several have departed for health reasons - and at present we are ten with many inquirers.

Our objective today is the same as it has been for the past centuries – to maintain a house of prayer where profound faith is lived and to create an atmosphere of peace where people of all faiths can come and find an oasis in contrast to the noise and bustle of the city not so very far away.
And that brings us up to date.