The St. Thérèse Lay Carmelite Community

Our History

A number of Washington DC Catholics responded to a special call of God and sought a deeper spiritual meaning and more profound understanding of their faith in the years that followed World War II.  In the autumn of 1949, a small group of lay Catholics gathered at Whitefriars Hall in the Brookland area of Washington with Father Marcellus Scheurer, O.Carm., to pursue this calling and to establish a community of Lay Carmelites.

The Most Reverend Killian Lynch, Prior General of the Carmelite Order, issued the document of canonical erection for a Third Order chapter on April 9, 1950.  A distinct chapter was established at Whitefriars Hall and given the name of St. Thérèse Chapter, Third Order Secular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

The lay community at Whitefriars continues a heritage over 550 years old.  Blessed John Soreth wrote the rules of the first Third Order of Lay Carmelites two hundred years after St. Simon Stock received the brown scapular.  Today, the St. Thérèse of Lisieux community is a lay association of Carmelites whose members, responding to a special call of God, freely and deliberately promise to live the evangelical life in the spirit of the Carmelite Order and live under its direction.  To quote Father Ernest E. Larkin, O.Carm., one of the first Directors of the St. Thérèse Chapter, “Our prophetic role is highlighted, we are committed to establishing the kingdom of God on this earth.  This puts us in touch with Elijah the prophet, our father and (spiritual) founder.”

Now, more than 50 years later, we reflect on the remarkable gift we share in the call to Carmel.  We look forward to the next fifty years with profound gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ and Our beloved Lady of Mount Carmel for the success of the St. Thérèse Community.