Discalced Carmelites

The Discalced Carmelites, formally the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, are a mendicant order of the Roman Catholic Church that emerged in the sixteenth century as a reform of the earlier Carmelites of the Ancient Observance. The name discalced, meaning without shoes, reflects the order's practice of going barefoot or in sandals. Two Spanish saints, Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, led the reform: Teresa founded the order's first monastery, the Convent of St. Joseph in Avila, in 1562, and the reform received formal recognition as a separate province under Pope Gregory XIII's decree of 1580. The order today includes friars, contemplative nuns and lay members, with headquarters in Rome and about 3,978 members, including 2,897 priests, as of 2022.