Superiors of the Americas meet in Brazil

From October 19 – 23, 2026, the Superiors of the Americas met in São Paulo, Brazil, to discuss the theme “Serving Unity: Contemplative Fraternity on Mission in the Americas.” We also prayed a passage from Romans 15:5: “May the God of perseverance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another in accord with Christ Jesus.”

This was a meeting organized by the Curia, and in attendance was our Prior General, Desiderio García Martinez, O.Carm., along with the Councilor for the Americas, Nepi Willemsen, O.Carm., along with all the Delegation Leaders, Commissary Provincials, and Prior Provincials of the Americas.

In the Americas, there are two provinces in United States, which also have members from these provinces in Trinidad, Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras. Two provinces exist in in Brazil, along with a commissariat. Carmelite entities also have been created in Venezuela, Columbia, Argentina, Peru, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. All these areas were represented and shared in a very fraternal atmosphere during the meeting.

During the meeting, the leaders in the Americas established three priorities that will be the focus for the next five years. These include community life, formation, and collaboration. We also discussed what we can realistically accomplish in the coming years. We thought we could continue to share ideas on the preparation for solemn vows, cooperation among novitiates and invite people from other entities to join our novitiates in Brazil (Portuguese) Mexico (Spanish and English), Middletown, NY (English). We also discussed openness towards having members from other provinces join us in our formation houses.

Other ideas included having a Carmelite Family Commission for the Americas and continuing having these meetings. We set up an online gathering for a few hours in January to follow-up on these themes of formation, community life and collaboration. The Carmelite presence in South America is very spread out and includes small numbers of people in different countries, so we thought a future province in South America, other than Brazil, may be a good thing to plan for in the future. The same idea might also be helpful in Central America. In the future, we all agree: a province can no longer be one country; a future province will be stronger when it includes multiple countries.

As a result, participants left the meeting happy, energized, and connected to one another. Our prayer time allowed us to share in all three languages of the region, Portuguese, Spanish, and English. We also had evening recreation to spend time with one another laughing and singing. It was a wonderful experience to be able to be with people from all the Americas to collaborate and share our Carmelite vocation with one another.  There are many talented and gifted Carmelites throughout the Americas, and we hope these gifts and talents can be shared with the entire Carmelite Family. May God bless the Carmelite Family in the Americas as we grow in our understanding of one another and create healthy, prayerful communities and ministries.