SANTA BARBARA – The Secular Order of the Discalced Carmelites (Ordo Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Saecularis; OCDS) is a third order within the Order of the Discalced Carmelites (Ordo Carmelitarum Discalceatorum; OCD), composed of Catholic lay men and women and secular clergy who share in the Order’s spiritual life and mission. Although the Discalced Carmelites were established during the Counter-Reformation, their spiritual heritage traces its roots to the 12th-century hermits who lived on Mount Carmel in what is now Israel.
Secular Discalced Carmelites profess promises to strive to live evangelical perfection in the spirit of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, obedience, and of the beatitudes. They are an integral part of the Discalced Carmelites, juridically dependent upon the Discalced Carmelites friars, and in “fraternal communion” with them and the cloistered nuns. They share the same charism with the friars and nuns according to their particular state of life.
Members meet monthly. For more information, contact Nancy Wagner via email or by calling 805-698-2884.
