The Congress of Lay Carmelites was held in Rome from September 15-21, 2024 with the theme: Lay Carmelites: Called to Set the World on Fire.

The Carmelite retreat centre Il Carmelo, located in Sassone, Italy, hosted 200 members of the Carmelite Laity from 30 nations for a week of conferences and sharing experiences about formation, service, fraternity and prayer in their lives and in their local communities.

The Prior General Fr Micael O’Neill, and Fr Luis José Maza Subero, General Councillor, welcomed the delegates to the Congress as well as attending to the needs of all the visitors throughout the congress.

Those representing our Province were four Australian Lay Carmelites: Angela Zakarias, Stephen Sherlock, Jim Milford, and Gabrielle Fogarty; Bernadette Micallef representing the Carmelite Centre and two Timorese Lay Carmelites, Prisca Vong and Filomena Pereira as well as Friar Carlito Da Costa Araújo.

To enhance the voice of the laity in local communities all over the world members of the Carmelite Laity were invited to reflect on a questionnaire, sent by the International Secretariat for the Laity. A total of 643 responses were received from all five continents. These responses were used to prepare an Instrumentum Laboris, a preparatory document that guided the discussions of the Congress.

In addition to the presentations and the sharing of experiences, the Lay Carmelites, had the opportunity to share meals and free time, as well as to participate in a papal audience and to visit the city of Rome.

The Congress was very aware of the impending Synod on Synodality commencing a week after the Lay Carmelite Congress and therefore took up the emphasis of Pope Francis on the need for openness of our Church; to be a missionary church, a laity in action, reaching out of ourselves to those on the peripheries. Like the Prophet Elijah, with burning hearts we are compelled to share that love with others to change the world.

More photos below.