Carmel de Lourdes
In the Hautes-Pyrénées, the Carmel de Lourdes is a monastery near one of France's most iconic sites, the sanctuary of Lourdes. Located at the bottom of a valley, in a mountain setting, it is an ideal place for a time of discernment about one's vocation.
The sisters welcome you to the monastery to allow you to take time to discern a call to join the Carmel.
Retreats organized by the community
The history of the Carmel de Lourdes
The Carmel de Lourdes was founded eighteen years after the apparitions. Having come to Lourdes to seek the site for the future monastery, the foundress was deeply drawn to this land facing the site of the apparitions on the other side of the Gave river.
The monastery was inaugurated on July 16, 1876, and placed by Pope Pius IX under the protection of the Holy Name of Jesus.
Oral tradition reports that it was at the location of the current Carmel garden that Saint Bernadette stood during the last apparition on July 16, 1858, the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
This account of the last intimate and discreet apparition resonates as a call and a mission to continue Bernadette's prayer. The location of the Carmel near the Sanctuary helps to open hearts to the dimensions of the universal Church.
The origins of Carmel: from Palestine to the Saints Thérèse
Carmel was born from a group of hermits in the lineage of Elijah the Prophet on a rocky promontory in Palestine. Later, Thérèse of Avila, the Spanish saint, in her reform during the sixteenth century, found a beautiful harmony between eremitical and fraternal life. Finally, at Carmel, Thérèse of Lisieux learned to live each day in the trust and joy of a child, certain of the love of her Father in heaven.
The vocation of Carmel invites union with God in the friendship of Christ and the intimacy of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The sisters are called to contemplation in prayer and in life.
In accordance with the ideal of Saint Thérèse of Avila, the Discalced Carmelite nuns live their ecclesial contemplative life in harmony between an atmosphere of solitude and silence. They experience the fraternal communion of a family formed in the manner of the "little college of Christ" which has love for the Lord as its center and charity as its norm, where everything contributes to joy.
According to the wish of Saint Thérèse, the Carmelite nuns support themselves through the work of their hands: cookies, chocolates, embroidery, or candles. They perform this work in solitude and silence in order to continue their heart to heart with the Lord.
What to expect during your stay
Are you wondering about a call to Carmel?
The Carmelite nuns welcome young women who are questioning their vocation to Carmel by offering guidance to discern a possible call to the Carmel de Lourdes. Due to the current situation of the community, young women over forty cannot be accommodated.
They offer a stay that will allow mutual acquaintance by participating in the life of prayer (mental prayer, liturgy) and an introduction to the spirit of Carmel: its vocation and its way of life.
Participation in manual work is possible, and activities are adapted for each individual. After a first contact by phone or mail, the sisters generally suggest that the young woman come for three or four days to start.
A stay to discover life at Carmel
For an initial discernment, the stay takes place outside the enclosure.
- The young woman has an individual room.
- She eats in the refectory with the extern sisters.
- The reading is transmitted from the enclosure refectory.
- She participates in the divine offices, mental prayer, and Mass in the chapel.
- She can go to pray at the Grotto.
Geography and activities
The Carmel de Lourdes, nestled in the heart of Hautes-Pyrénées in Occitanie
According to the wish of Saint Thérèse, Carmel recreates in the middle of the city the desert of the Order's origins on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land.
Located across from the Grotto of the apparitions, it is very easy to access the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, known worldwide where millions of people come each year on pilgrimage.
Besides the numerous religious buildings located in the immediate vicinity of the sanctuary, the town of Lourdes is full of architectural elements steeped in history.
- The Old Town of Lourdes, located on the right bank of the Gave de Pau river, which flows through the town, offers a picturesque and medieval atmosphere with its narrow streets, stone houses, and squares. You can also discover historical monuments such as the Tour du Garnavie and the Porte Saint-Michel.
- The Lourdes Castle, whose history dates back to the eleventh century, dominates the town from its rocky promontory, offering a breathtaking panoramic view of the mountain horizon.
- The surroundings of Lourdes also offer a multitude of activities. You can explore the hiking trails or enjoy winter sports during the winter season, or even the thermal baths.
- The Bétharram Caves, twenty minutes by car from Lourdes, were formed by the action of water, carving impressive cavities in the limestone cliffs of the Pyrenees. Over millennia, water sculpted galleries and fascinating rock formations, creating a complex underground network.
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