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December of 1914,
Mother Mary Elias
of the Blessed Sacrament
was brought before
a firing squad of
Mexican revolutionaries,
having been arrested
for persevering in
her vocation as a
Discalced Carmelite
Nun. While she and
her companion knelt
as the order was
given to shoot, Mother
interiorly offered
a somewhat skeptical
prayer: Little
Therese, if you are
a saint, as some
people say you are,
then deliver us,
and I promise to
found a Monastery
in your honor. Both
Nuns heard the discharge
of the guns, sank
to the ground and
were left for dead.
They later regained
consciousness, and
although there was
blood on their clothes,
they were completely
unharmed. Little
Therese had indeed
answered Mother’s
prayer in a miraculous
manner! Six years
later, the promise
made to the Little
Flower of Jesus was
fulfilled when Mother
Elias founded the
Discalced Carmelite
Monastery of Buffalo,
NY. Our Chapel was
officially dedicated
to Saint Therese
on the very day of
her canonization,
May 17, 1925, thus
making it the first
in the world to have
the Little Flower
as its titular Saint.
To this day, many
visitors to our Chapel
remark that they
can feel the presence
of Saint Therese
here, along with
a profound sense
of peace.
nspired
by the courageous
example of our
Mexican Mothers
and the heroic
virtue practiced
by Saint Therese,
we fervently aspire
to follow the “Little
Way” of spiritual
childhood. We rejoice
in numbering ourselves
among the “army
of little souls” whom
she wanted to follow
in her footsteps,
repeating her ardent
cry: To
be Thy Spouse,
O Jesus, and by
my union with Thee,
to be the mother
of souls! Our life
is one of trustful
simplicity and joyful
penance, willing
obedience and liberating
poverty, fruitful
chastity and total
surrender to the
Divine Spouse. Whether
at Holy Mass or the
Divine Office, mental
prayer or spiritual
reading, cooking,
cleaning or working
in the garden, we
seek continual union
with God by interior
recollection and
the perfect fulfillment
of His holy will,
in imitation of our
Blessed Lady. Our
Rule and Constitutions
represent the authentic
charism of our Holy
Mother Saint Teresa
of Avila, who desired
that her daughters
apply themselves
zealously to prayer
and manual labor
for the benefit of
the Church and especially
for priests. We humbly
and gratefully wear
the full Habit of
Our Lady of Mount
Carmel, observe strict
Papal enclosure in
order to safeguard
the sacredness of
the cloister, and
cherish many traditional
monastic customs
such as the use of
Latin and Gregorian
Chant.
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vocation to Carmel
is a true love
affair between
God and the soul.
We welcome 
ev.
Mother Prioress, 
armelite 
onastery 