CARMELITES OF MARY IMMACULATE
(C.M.I.)
A Short History
The Congregation of the
Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) is the first
now-existing Religious Congregation founded in the Indian Church. It was
established in Mannanam in Kerala, on 11th May 1831. The
Founders are Fr. Thomas Palackal, Fr. Thomas Porukara and Fr. Kuriakose (Cyriac)
Elias Chavara. They were assisted by Jacob Kanianthara who joined the
Congregation as a Brother co-operator. The first two of the Founding
Fathers passed away in 1841 and 1846 respectively.
On 8th
December 1855, the Religious Community at Mannanam became a canonically
recognized Religious Congregation with the religious profession of the
first batch of eleven priests headed by Fr. Kuriakose Elias Chavara. He
was the first Prior General of the Congregation. The name of the
Congregation at that time was ‘Congregation of the Servants of Mary
Immaculate of Mount Carmel’. Fr. Kuriakose Elias Chavara passed away with
the odour of sanctity on 3rd January 1871. Holy Father Pope
John Paul II beatified Fr. Chavara during his visit to Kerala in 1986. In
1860, this Congregation was affiliated to the Carmelite Order as a
Religious Congregation of the Oriental Rite and assumed the name T.O.C.D.
(Third Order of Carmelites Discalced). It was granted Pontifical status in
1885. The name of the Congregation was changed to C.M.I. (Carmelites of
Mary Immaculate) in 1958. C.M.I. was given Pontifical Exemption in 1967.
It was also Blessed
Chavara who, in collaboration with Fr. Leopold Beccaro, founded the
first Religious Congregation for women in the Syro-Malabar Church, the
Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (C.M.C.), in 1866. They have a
membership of more than 6300 professed sisters in 20 Provinces all over
India.
The CMI Congregation,
with a far-reaching and prophetic vision was involved from its very
beginning, in such pioneering activities as the Church in Kerala was in
need of at that time. It started with preaching retreats in almost all the
parishes in Kerala which brought about vitality and vibrancy throughout
the Church. It also introduced into the Church many devotional practices
like the Eucharistic Devotion, Rosary, Way of the Cross, etc. which became
very popular in the whole Church of Kerala. The Congregation also took
leadership in starting Seminaries for the training of the Clergy. The
first school of the Catholic Church in Kerala, a Sanskrit School, was
started in Mannanam in 1846. Later in 1885, the first English School of
the Syro-Malabar Church also was started by the Congregation at Mannanam.
Similarly, in 1846, the first Printing Press of the Catholic Community in
Kerala was started at Mannanam. Deepika, the first News Paper of
Kerala, not only the first of the Kerala Church, started in Mannanam in
1887. It was also an important activity of the Congregation to work for
the propagation of the faith and to work for the reunion of the separated
brethren among the St. Thomas Christians. The Congregation also was taking
great interest in taking care of the poor and downtrodden sections of the
society by establishing charitable institutions. Thus, the Congregation
was actively involved in an integral development of our people, not only
of the Syro-Malabar Church, but the whole of Kerala, irrespective of caste
and creed. However, it was the deep-rooted prayer life of the members and
of each community, which motivated and supported their people-oriented
activities. They were contemplatives in action. In 1861, Fr. Kuriakose
Elias Chavara was appointed Vicar General of the whole Syro-Malabar
Church. It was at that time the Roccos schism lashed against the Church in
Kerala. He alerted the Catholic community of the dire consequences of the
divisive forces, fought against the Roccos schism, and preserved the unity
and integrity of the Kerala Church.
The second half of the 20th
century witnessed a rapid growth of the CMIs beyond the boundaries of
Kerala. Two decisive moments in its history in this line were the shifting
of its Major Formation House to Bangalore, by the new name Dharmaram
College in 1957 and extending its activities to North India for direct
Evangelization in 1962. The Mission Diocese of Chanda was the first
Diocese entrusted to the CMIs in 1962. This was also the first
Diocese of the Syro-Malabar Church outside Kerala. Today CMI Bishops take
care of 6 dioceses, namely, the Dioceses of Bijnor, Sagar, Rajkot, Chanda,
Jagdalpur and Adilabad. They are Bishop Gratian Mundadan, Bishop Joseph
Pastor Neelamkavil, Bishop Gregory Karotemprel, Bishop Vijay Anand
Nedumpuram, Bishop Simon Stock Palathara, and Bishop Joseph Kunnath
respectivel.
The CMI Congregation has
today 4 Major Seminaries for the training of its members. They are:
Dharmaram College, Bangalore, Darsana Philosophate, Wardha, Samanvaya
Theologate, Bhopal and Carmel Vidya Bhavan, Pune. Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram
(D.V.K.) at Bangalore is a Pontifical Athenaeum with the Faculties of
Philosophy, Theology and Oriental Canon Law, and it has a strength of 900
Students hailing from 17 Dioceses and 72 Religious Congregations. In 1998,
the CMIs were entrusted with the running of the Regional Major Seminary in
Namibia, Africa.
The CMIs are running a
Centre for Indian and Inter-religious Studies in Rome. It offers our
Indian as well as foreign Students courses in Sanskrit language and Indian
Spirituality. The C.M.I. Spirituality Centre established in Liberty, in
the United States, is a very promising step which serves the people of
America introducing them to Indian, Oriental and Carmelite spiritual
traditions.
Today the CMI
Congregation is the largest Religious Congregation for men in the Syro-Malabar
Church. The CMIs are spread through out India and abroad in 13 Provinces.
It has a membership of 2700 personnel including 7 Bishops, 1421 Priests,
11 permanent Deacons, 40 Brothers and about 1300 Brothers in formation.
700 of our Priests are working outside Kerala, of which 200 are outside
India. Our Priests are actively involved in pastoral services in 20
Countries around the world. Our first Formation House outside India has
been established in 2001 in Kenya in Africa and the first batch of 4
Kenyan CMI Novices made their first Profession in 2005.
The Prior General and his team of four General
Councillors and a General Auditor serve the Congregation in its level of
general administration. They are elected every six years by the General
Chapter of the whole Congregation. The Provincial level administration is
carried out by the respective Provincial with his four Councillors and the
Provincial Auditor elected by the respective Provincial Chapter every
three years.
Fr. Mathew
Kaniamparampil, CMI
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CMI CONGREGATION AT A
GLANCE: STATISTICS: 2005
Founded in 1831 at Mannanam, Kerala, as the First
Indigenous Religious Congregation of India.
Present number of total members
2750
CMI
Bishops
6
Priests
1421
Brothers
41
Priestly
Students 1286
Novices
180
Provinces
13
In Kerala: 6
Outside Kerala: 7
Houses and
Residences 288
Houses
abroad: 3
Rome, Italy
Bonn, Germany
Brooklyn, U.S.A.
Major
Seminaries 3
Novitiates:
11
In Kerala: 6
Outside Kerala: 4
Outside India: Kenya: 1
Aspirants’ Houses
30
Parishes
76
Mission Centres
140
Medical College (Amala, Thrissur)
1
Engineering College (Rajagiri, Kakkanad, Ernakulam)
1
University
Colleges
14
Parallel
Colleges
5
B. Ed.
Colleges
3
Polytechnic
1
Schools
478
Hospitals and
Dispensaries 48
Social Service Centres
99
Rural Development Centres
30
Renewal Retreat Centres
3
Retreat Centre abroad: Tennessee,
U.S.A. 1
Cultural & Dialogue Centres
17
Printing & Publishing
Houses 16
Hospitals
2
Dispensaries
36
Social Service Centres
102
Today, 39% of the CMI Priests work in the Missions
outside Kerala, in India.
17% of the Priests work outside India in 20 Countries
around the globe.
Address of the Generalate:
CMI
Generalate,
P.B.No. 1056,
Ernakulam- 682 011.
Tel. 0484-2378137,2378537.
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