Rule of Saint Albert followed without relaxation by Discalced Carmelites

Mar 16, 2025

Primitive Rule of Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem in the year 1171, confirmed, corrected, and modified by our Most Holy Father Pope Innocent IV in the year 1248, for the Religious of Mount Carmel.

Innocent, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God, to our beloved sons, the Prior and the Hermit Religious of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, greeting and apostolic blessing. It is just that all things related to the honor of the Creator of the world and the good of souls should be upheld and strengthened by constant protection; and particularly should this be the case with those matters that the Holy See has always surrounded with special care and assistance.

Therefore, adhering to your prayer and requests, We have clarified some doubts, as well as corrected and benignly modified some important points of your rule, through our beloved son Hugh, Cardinal of Santa Sabina, and our venerable brother William, Bishop of Antara, as explained more fully in our letters given on this subject.

Now, wishing to yield to your pious desires, We confirm, by virtue of apostolic authority, the said declaration, correction, and modification, and We strengthen them by means of this writing. Moreover, We will that the content of these letters be incorporated into this text verbatim, as follows:

Brother Hugh, by divine mercy, Cardinal Priest of the Title of Santa Sabina, and William, by the same mercy, Bishop of Antara:

To our beloved Sons, the General Prior and the Definitors of the General Chapter of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, greeting in Him who is the true salvation of all!

Two religious of your order, named Reynaud and Pedro, having presented themselves before the Apostolic See and humbly requested, on your behalf, that His Holiness deign to explain, correct, and benignly modify the rule you received from Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, including the privileges annexed thereto, the Most Holy Father, acceding to their devout supplications, has charged us to make, in his name, the said explanation, correction, and modification, as would seem useful and fitting for the prosperity of the order and the salvation of its members.

Thus, by the authority of the Holy See, we order that you devoutly receive and perpetually observe the said rule, and that, according to its form and content, you correct the others: which rule we have sealed by the hand of the same religious, and whose text follows:

Albert, by the grace of God, Patriarch of the Church of Jerusalem: to our beloved sons in Jesus Christ, Brocard and other hermits, who under his obedience dwell on Mount Carmel, near the Fountain of Elijah; greeting in Our Lord, and the blessing of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Fathers have variously and in several ways instituted how each person, in whatever order he may be and whatever manner of religious life he may have chosen, must live in the service of Jesus Christ and serve Him faithfully with a pure heart and good conscience.

But since you ask that we give you, according to your purpose and intent, a form of life which you must henceforth observe, we grant it to you in the following words.

To Have a Prior and the Three Vows

We first institute and ordain that you shall have one of your number as Prior, who shall be elected to this office by the common consent of all or of the greater and sounder part, to whom each of you shall promise obedience, and having so promised, shall strive to observe it truly in works, together with chastity and poverty.

To Receive Places or Houses

You may have places and houses in solitary locations or other places where they may be conveniently assigned to you for the observance of your religion, as shall seem fitting to the Prior and brothers.

Of the Cells of the Religious

Moreover, in the place where you have chosen or arranged to dwell, each of you shall have a separate cell, as it shall be assigned to him by the disposition of the Prior and with the consent of the other brothers or the greater and sounder part of them.

That Meals Shall Be Taken in the Common Refectory

What has been given to you in alms, you shall eat in the common refectory, and meanwhile, some book of Holy Scripture shall be read where this can conveniently be done; and none of the brothers shall change place or take another unless with the Prior’s permission.

The Prior’s cell shall be at the entrance of the convent, so that he may be the first to go and receive those who come.

And all that is to be done in the house shall be carried out by his advice and ordinance.

Each shall remain in his cell or near it, meditating day and night on the law of God and watching in prayer, unless occupied with other just duties.

Of the Canonical Hours

Those who can recite the canonical hours with the priests shall do so according to the rules and statutes of the Holy Fathers and the approved custom of the Church. Those who cannot shall say, in place of Matins, the Pater Noster twenty-five times, except on Sundays and solemn feasts, on which days we ordain that they say twice that number of twenty-five for Matins; for Lauds, seven times; and for all other hours, seven times each, except for Vespers, where they shall say fifteen.

That Nothing Shall Be Owned Individually

No religious shall claim anything as his own; rather, all things shall be held in common, and what each needs shall be provided to him through the Prior or the religious appointed for this purpose, considering the age and necessity of each.

What They May Have in Common

You may have donkeys or mules as needed and some livestock or poultry for your sustenance.

Of Prayer and Divine Service

An oratory shall be built among the cells, as conveniently as possible, where you shall assemble daily to hear Mass when it can be conveniently celebrated.

Of the Chapter and the Correction of Faults

Every Sunday, or other times when necessary, you shall discuss the observance of the order and the salvation of souls, and there also, any faults of the brothers shall be charitably corrected if there be any.

Of the Fasts of the Brothers

From the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross until Easter, you shall fast every day except Sundays unless illness, bodily weakness, or other just cause should prevent fasting, for necessity knows no law.

Of Abstinence from Meat

You shall not eat meat except for the sake of illness or weakness. And since you will often need to beg along the roads, you may, when outside your houses, to avoid burdening your hosts, eat broth, vegetables, or other foods cooked with meat; and at sea, you may eat meat.

Exhortations

And since the life of man on earth is but temptation, and those who desire to live religiously in Jesus Christ must suffer persecutions, and the devil, your adversary, prowls like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, strive with all your care to clothe yourselves with the armor of God, so that you may withstand the snares of the enemy.

You shall gird your loins with a belt of chastity. Strengthen your inner self with good thoughts, for it is written: Holy thought will keep you.

Put on the breastplate of justice, so that with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, you may love God, your Lord, and your neighbor as yourself.

Arm yourselves everywhere with the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the fiery arrows that the enemy shoots at you, for without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Have upon your head the helmet of salvation and grace, so that you may expect your salvation only from Jesus, your Savior, who saves His people from their sins.

Let the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, dwell and persevere always abundantly in your mouths and in your hearts, so that everything you do may be in His name.

On Manual Labor

You shall engage in some work or labor with your hands, so that the devil may always find you occupied and may not gain entrance into your souls, using your idleness as a gateway. In this, you have a good example and doctrinal teaching from the Apostle Saint Paul, through whose mouth our Lord Jesus Christ spoke. And having been appointed to preach and teach the Gentiles in faith and truth, you cannot go astray by following him.

He says thus: We have been among you in toil and weariness, working night and day so as not to burden you, not that we did not have the right and permission to ask, but to give you a model and example so that you might imitate us; for when we were among you, we declared and preached to you daily that he who does not wish to work should not eat.

We have learned that there are some among you who are restless and do nothing: we admonish and implore these people, in our Lord Jesus Christ, to eat their bread by working in silence. This path is good and holy; walk in it.

On Silence

The Apostle recommends silence to us when he instructs us to work in it. And as the Prophet says, the ornament and adornment of justice is silence. And in another place: Your strength shall be in silence and in hope. For this reason, we establish and ordain that silence be observed from the time Compline is said until after Prime the following day. And at other times, though silence is not kept with such great rigor, excessive talking must be diligently avoided; for as it is written, and as we also learn well from experience, sin is never lacking in much speech. And in another place: He who speaks without consideration shall suffer many evils. And in another: He who uses many words harms his soul.

And in the Gospel, our Lord says: Men will give an account on the day of judgment for every idle word they have spoken.

Let each person, then, weigh and measure their words and place a bridle on their mouth, so that their tongue may not cause them to stumble and fall, and so that their downfall may not be incurable unto death. And be mindful, with the Prophet, of the path you take, so that you do not sin with your tongue. Keep silence with great care and diligence, for in it lies the observance of justice.

Exhortation to the Prior on Humility

And you, Brother Brocard, and whoever may be elected as Prior after you, always remember what our Lord says in the Gospel: He among you who wishes to be the greatest shall be the one who serves you; and he who wishes to be the first shall be the servant of the others.

Exhortation to the Religious to Honor Their Prior

You also, the religious, honor your Prior with complete humility, recognizing him as Jesus Christ more than for what he is in himself, since it is Jesus Christ who has established him over you. He has said to the prelates of the Church: He who hears you, hears me; and he who despises you, despises me. So that in this way, God may not judge you for this contempt, but that by the obedience you render, you may merit the reward of beatitude.

We have written these things briefly, ordaining the form and rule of your way of life. And if anyone does more, God will reward them when He comes to judge the world. Nevertheless, act with discretion, which is the rule of virtues.

Done in the city of Leon, in the year of our Lord 1248, the fifth year of the pontificate of Innocent IV, on the first of September.

Let it not be permitted to anyone in the world to violate these letters confirmed by us, nor to oppose them with reckless boldness. Whoever dares to do so shall know that they incur ipso facto the curse of Almighty God and of the blessed Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Given in the city of León, on the first of September, in the fifth year of our pontificate.