One Carmelite Educational Family Across Borders
A new international exchange agreement is bringing two Carmelite school communities closer together. On October 25, 2026, representatives of Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, Arizona, and Colegio Nuestra Señora del Carmen in Miraflores, Peru, met in Lima to formalize a partnership rooted in their shared tradition of prayer, community and service.
According to Colegio Carmelitas–Miraflores’ announcement, the agreement will create opportunities for student and faculty exchanges and for sharing educational approaches. Both schools belong to the Carmelite Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, whose international mission provides a foundation for this growing connection.
In the province’s video announcement (full transcriptions below), the exchange is welcomed as an opportunity for students to experience life in another country, deepen their understanding of others and discover how the Carmelite spirit finds expression in different cultures. The message conveys gratitude and enthusiasm for strengthening bonds within the Carmelite family.
For Salpointe, the partnership aligns closely with its educational mission: nurturing faith, cultivating servant leaders, affirming human dignity and preparing students to participate responsibly in a global society. The school’s Carmelite identity already shapes daily prayer, school liturgies, retreats and community service. International exchange offers another setting in which students can put those commitments into practice through encounter, listening and friendship.
The agreement also builds on existing relationships. Earlier in 2026, Salpointe welcomed students from the Miraflores school and other Carmelite schools for an international Model United Nations conference. The new partnership opens a path toward sustained collaboration among students and educators.
As exchange plans take shape, their promise extends beyond travel. Learning together and sharing perspectives can help participants recognize that they belong to a spiritual family extending beyond their own campus and country. United in faith and enriched by each school’s gifts, these communities are opening a new chapter in Carmelite education—one that invites young people to grow in faith, recognize the dignity of others and carry a spirit of community into the wider world.
English Transcript of Province’s Video Announcement
Transcripción en inglés del video de anuncio de la Provincia
Speaker 1 — (translated from Spanish)
Today we are experiencing a very important and momentous occasion within our Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary. We, two Carmelite schools, are going to sign an agreement for exchanges, not only in the English and Spanish languages, but also so that we can share our Carmelite pedagogy of interiority; so that, as Carmelite schools of the Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, we can reach beyond ourselves. So that we can help with the formation and the process of humanization that the world needs.
Speaker 1 continues (translated from Spanish)
That’s right: two schools, one in the United States, in Arizona, and the other in Peru, here in Miraflores, will sign an agreement that will allow us to develop the process of humanization and the way we Carmelites live in allegiance to Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 — (original English)
Ah, that’s very, very beautifully said. Thank you. I agree. I think that this opportunity for us to do a student exchange between Carmelites here in Peru and Salpointe in the United States is an unbelievable opportunity for our students to experience life in a different country, for them to grow in their knowledge of humanity around the world.
Speaker 2 continues
For us to unite ourselves as Carmelites and demonstrate the incredible work that we are doing globally, I think that the Carmelites have so much to offer the world. And it is wonderful that we give our students an experience like this to see what the Carmelite spirit is doing in different countries and with different-age students and different ideas and different ways of living.
Speaker 2 continues
And I’m just so grateful for this opportunity, very proud that we are doing something like this. I really, really just could not be happier. So we are extremely grateful. We are excited for the opportunity for our students and for ourselves. And I am very proud that our province is gonna have this experience together. So thank you so much for it.
Closing response
Thank you.
Hablante 1 — (español original)
El día de hoy estamos teniendo un momento muy importante y trascendental dentro de nuestra provincia del Purísimo Corazón de María. Dos colegios carmelitas vamos a firmar un convenio para intercambios, no solamente en el idioma inglés y español, sino para que podamos compartir además nuestra pedagogía carmelita de la interioridad; que logremos que, como colegios carmelitas de la provincia del Purísimo Corazón de María, trascendamos. Que ayudemos en la formación y en el proceso de humanización que necesita el mundo.
Continúa el hablante 1
Así es, dos colegios, uno de Estados Unidos, de Arizona, y otro de Perú, aquí en Miraflores, firmaremos un convenio que va a permitirnos desarrollar el proceso humanizador y cómo vivimos los carmelitas en obsequio de Jesucristo.
Hablante 2 — (traducción del inglés)
Lo ha expresado de una manera muy, muy hermosa. Gracias. Estoy de acuerdo. Creo que esta oportunidad de realizar un intercambio estudiantil entre los carmelitas de aquí, de Perú, y Salpointe, en Estados Unidos, es una oportunidad increíble para que nuestros estudiantes experimenten la vida en otro país y amplíen su conocimiento de la humanidad en todo el mundo.
Continúa la hablante 2 (traducción del inglés)
Que podamos unirnos como carmelitas y mostrar el increíble trabajo que estamos haciendo a nivel mundial… Creo que los carmelitas tienen muchísimo que ofrecer al mundo. Y es maravilloso que les brindemos a nuestros estudiantes una experiencia como esta para que vean lo que el espíritu carmelita está haciendo en distintos países, en estudiantes de diferentes edades, en distintas ideas y en diferentes maneras de vivir.
Continúa la hablante 2 (traducción del inglés)
Y estoy tan agradecida por esta oportunidad, muy orgullosa de que estemos haciendo algo así. De verdad, de verdad, no podría estar más contenta. Así que estamos sumamente agradecidos. Estamos entusiasmados por esta oportunidad para nuestros estudiantes y para nosotros mismos. Y estoy muy orgullosa de que nuestra provincia vaya a vivir esta experiencia juntos. Así que muchísimas gracias por ello.
Respuesta de cierre (traducción del inglés)
Gracias.
The Carmelites of the Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, in allegiance to Jesus Christ, live in a prophetic and contemplative stance of prayer, common life, and service. Inspired by Elijah and Mary and informed by the Carmelite Rule, we give witness to an eight-hundred-year-old tradition of spiritual transformation in the United States, Canada, Peru, Mexico, and El Salvador, and Honduras.
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