On the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Fr Hermann Duncan, O Carm describes the popes’ devotion towards the Carmelite scapular over the years, as the one worn by St John Paul II is about to be exhibited in Mdina

Many confraternities, churches and chapels have been dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel over the years. The devotion towards Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Holy Scapular dates back more than 750 years.

According to tradition, the scapular was given to St Simon Stock during an apparition he had in Cambridge, England, on July 16, 1251, at a time when the Carmelite Order was being oppressed.

On the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Mdina, on July 23 and 24, the relic of the Carmelite Scapular worn by Pope St John Paul will be exhibited at the Carmelite Priory in the Silent City. This scapular was given to the Carmelite Order by Cardinal Stanislaw Dsiwisz, who was the Pope’s secretary, in 2007. This relic is kept in the chapel of the Carmelite church in Torre Spaccata, Rome.

It is well known that St John Paul II (1978-2005) had a great devotion towards Our Lady. In fact, when he became Pope, he chose the apostolic motto for his pontificate to be Totus tuus (Totally thine) addressed to Mary.

It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger and a pledge of special peace and protection

Out of the many times he mentioned the Holy scapular, he once said: “From when I was young, I used to wear the scapular of Our Lady around my neck, and in faith I sheltered under the cloak of the Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus”.

During surgery following the assassination attempt on his life in May, 1981, he insisted that doctors do not remove his scapular.

Pope John Paul II wearing the Carmelite scapular.

On one particular occasion when addressing youths, the Pope said he owed much in his youth to the Carmelite scapular: “Our Lady helped me greatly. She assisted me in finding the grace of my vocation”.

He compared Mary’s clothing us in the scapular to a mother who sees that her children are properly clothed: “Our Lady of Mount Carmel dresses us in a spiritual sense. She dresses us with the grace of God and helps us always…”

In the letter he sent to the Carmelites on March 25, 2001, on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the presentation of the Scapular, he wrote: “There are two truths which the sign of the Scapular brings out: on the one hand, there is the continuous protection of the Blessed Virgin, not only along the pathways of this life, but also at the moment of passing into the fullness of eternal glory; on the other hand, there is the awareness that devotion towards Our Lady cannot be limited to the occasional prayer in her honour, but must become a ‘habit’, that is a permanent way of Christian living, made up of prayer and the interior life, frequent recourse to the Sacraments and the concrete exercise of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy...”.

During a fishing trip years earlier.

There were many other Popes who had a great devotion towards the Holy Scapular. Here are just a few to get a better understanding of the meaning of enrolling in the Carmelite Scapular.

• Pope Leo XI (1605), while being dressed as Pope, was going to have his scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel removed. He immediately told them: “Leave Mary with me that She may not leave me”

• Blessed Pope Pius IX (1846-78) was notable for his special love for the Mother of God. It was he who defined the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. This saintly Pontiff said: “This most extraordinary gift of the scapular from the Mother of God to St Simon Stock brings its great usefulness not only to the great Carmelite family of Mary, but also to all the rest of the faithful who wish, affiliated to that family, to follow Mary with a special devotion.”

• Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903), known for his social teaching on the Church always had a special devotion towards the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Once he said: “The Carmelite scapular, because of its nobility of origin, its extraordinary spread among Christian peoples for many centuries, the spiritualising effects produced by it and the outstanding miracles worked in virtue of it, render the scapular of Carmel commendable to a wondrous degree.” At the end of his life he said: “Let us now make a novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and I shall be ready to die.”

• Pope Pius XI (1922-39), known as the missionary Pope, who canonised the great Carmelite saint, Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower said: “I learned to love the Scapular Virgin in the arms of my mother.” He never tired of urging the faithful to wear the scapular faithfully and so obtain the protection and promises of Our Lady.

• Blessed Pope Paul VI (1963-1978), who wrote the apostolic exhortation Marialis Cultus as he saw the devotion towards Our Lady diminishing, said: “Let the faithful hold in high esteem the practices and devotions to the Blessed Virgin approved by the teaching authority of the Church. It is our conviction that the rosary of Mary and the scapular of Carmel are among these recommended practices. The scapular is a practice of piety, which by its very simplicity is suited to everyone”.

Enrolling in the scapular

Whoever wears the Scapular shows that he or she belongs to Our Lady. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger and a pledge of special peace and protection.

Enrolling in the Holy scapular is done only once, through a Carmelite friar or priest.

After enrolling, a medal can also be worn depicting the Sacred Heart of Jesus on one side and Our Lady on the other.

It is important that before enrolling, one knows what they are committing themselves to, and does not think that the Scapular is a piece of magic cloth.

Those wearing the Carmelite scapular are expected to live as true Christians as asked by the Holy Gospel, receiving the sacraments and showing devotion, especially towards the Virgin Mary.