St. Mary's Convent Higher Secondary School
Affiliated to the Archdiocesan Board of Education, Mumbai
Alibag-Raigad
Brief History of the Congregation
Of the Carmelite Religious
Mother Mary Veronica
Foundress of the Apostolic Carmel
(1823-1906)
Congregation of the Carmelite Religious (earlier known as the Third Order Apostolic of our Lady of Mount Carmel) was founded by Mother Veronica of the Passion on July 16, 1868 in France.
Mother Veronica (Sophie Leeves) was born on October 1, 1823 in Constantinople of English Anglican Parents. The atmosphere of love in her home culminated in her outstanding love for God, which was expressed in her tendency to serve the helpless, the afflicted and the sick.
She received a liberal education in this happy, religious and cultured atmosphere. Thus we have in Mother Veronica, a highly accomplished woman of strong faith, fluent in Greek, French, German, her native English and several other languages.
She came to India as a sister of St. Joseph of the Apparition. She concentrated on the education of girls, empowerment of women and the less privileged. She even learnt the regional language - Malayalam - to reach out to the poor and the needy along the Malabar Coast.
Her strong desire for a life of contemplation led her to opt for the Cloistered Carmel of Pau. Prior to her entry into Carmel she trained young sisters at Bayonne, France to work in India.
She was a great visionary and she braved many hardships to fulfill her dreams. Her first batch of sisters arrived at Mangalore in 1870. It was from here that the Carmelites gradually spread to the Malabar Coast.
In 1880, the Holy Angels' Convent was started at Trivandrum, Kerala. From here, the Congregation had spread to most of the states of India and abroad.
She passed into glory on Nov. 16, 1906. The servant of God was declared Venerable by Pope Francis on June 18, 2014.