Our Lady of Guadalupe

Date: July, 16

While Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the patron saint of the Carmelite Order, the basis for the universal Church honoring Mary under this title dates to her appearance to an English Carmelite St. Simon Stock in the 13th century.

She gave him the Brown Scapular, a garment worn by religious over the neck and shoulders as an apron, to be worn by Carmelites “as a sign of her protection.” It is a Marian devotional practice which, over the centuries, has spread to Catholics around the world.

The Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, or Brown Scapular, consists of two pieces of brown wool on a cord.

The Blessed Mother gave this sacramental to St. Simon Stock in 1251 with the promise that “Whoever dies invested with this Scapular shall be preserved from the eternal flames. It is a sign of salvation, a sure safeguard in danger, a pledge of peace, and of my special protection until the end of the ages.”