Carmelites

Carmelites, a monastic order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, founded in 1156 by Berthold, a Calabrian, and sometimes represented by tradition as having existed in some form or other from the time of the prophet Elijah. In 1209 the order was acknowledged by Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and in 1224 received the recognition of Pope Honorius III. Driven from Palestine by the Saracens, the order took refuge in Cyprus, and from there spread to different parts of Europe. They held a general chapter in England in 1245. Pope Innocent IV. turned them into a mendicant order in 1247. One branch of the order with modified rules was known as the Barefooted Friars, and there was established a female branch of the order. They were particularly flourishing in France and Italy during the eighteenth century. In 1880 they shared in the fate of the other orders at the general expulsion from France.