Chronicle

Pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Therese of Lisieux in Darien, IL

On November 4, 2023, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of St. Therese of Lisieux, a pilgrimage to her National Shrine in Darien, Illinois took place. Five Discalced Carmelites from the community in Munster along with sixteen lay pilgrims took part. The pilgrims arrived around 10:00 AM. A guide showed them around the museum, after which they watched a short film about the life of St. Therese. Next, Holy Mass was celebrated, followed by the Way of the Cross in the garden. The program included a break for coffee and donuts as well as for shopping for souvenirs   more

The Reconsecration of the Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy

On the Solemnity of Christ the King, on November 22, 2020, the Ordinary of our Diocese, Bishop Robert McClory, reconsecrated the Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy.

Thanks to the great generosity our benefactors, the main repairs carried out were the following: a new floor, a new altar of sacrifice and lectern sculpted in white marble, and a renovation of the pews. Apart from this, a new Tabernacle altar was built behind the main one, above which we placed the renovated image of the Blessed Mother, along with new statues, sculpted in Spain(Artemartinez, Guadalajara), of St. Teresa of Jesus and St. John of the Cross at each side, as well as new images (painted by Nadyia Savka) representing the Divine Mercy (a copy of the image in Vilnius) and St. Raphael Kalinowski.   more...

New portrait of St. Raphael Kalinowski

At the Carmelite Shrine in Munster, IN (USA)

The image of Our Lady of Ostra Brama (of Mercy), adorned with graces, is located in the former Carmelite Monastery in Vilnius (now in Lithuania).Since many of the Polish Carmelites who founded our monastery on American soil had previously lived in Vilnius, they therefore wished to nurture a love and devotion for the Blessed Mother under this title here as well. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of our monastery, we decided to carry out as general renovation of the Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy. For the same reason, a new image of St. Raphael Kalinowski also came about, painted especially for this chapel by Nadiya Savka, an artist from Chicago.   more...

70th anniversary of our monastery

After World War II, for various reasons, a few Carmelite monks from the Polish province found themselves in western Europe. In 1948 three of them arrived in the United States and started work in American monasteries.  In the following year they decided to establish a Polish monastery in the USA to work among a new wave of the Polish post war immigrants. In Autumn 1949 they opened a house in Hammond near Chicago, in 1952 they moved to Munster. On 17 June 1950 the Jurisdiction of Order Affairs carried out a canonic erection of a monastic house under the jurisdiction of the general of the order.   more...

letter from the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the canonical establishment of the Carmelite Monastery in Munster.

Venerable Father Custodian, together with the entire Community of Discalced Carmelite Fathers! Dear compatriots! Ladies and gentlemen! On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the canonical establishment of the Carmelite Monastery in Munster, I extend my heartfelt congratulations, greetings and best wishes to both the Reverend Hosts of this unique place and the community of the faithful, benefactors and pilgrims gathered around it. I sincerely thank all those who made the local Sanctuary of Our Lady of Ludzmierz, an important center of religious and cultural life for the Polish community in America.   more...  

The coronation of the Miraculous Figure of

Our Lady of Ludźmierz in Munster, IN

The year 2016 marked the 25th anniversary of the blessing by Pope John Paul II of the authentic copy of the Statue of our Lady of Ludźmierz located in our church. On August 14, 1991, when the saintly Pope designated the Statue for promoting this devotion at our Shrine, he said: “May the Queen of the Polish Highlanders be for you in America this same Queen as she is in Poland.”In the course of these years, Our Lady of Ludźmierz, through the graces granted through her intercession, has expressed her maternal protection not only in regard to the Polish Highlanders but also in regard to the local community in Chicago and its surrounding area. As an expression of our gratitude, we decided to express our thanks to Mary through a solemn coronation of her “miraculous figure” and once again entrust to her all the faithful who visit this Shrine in such great numbers.   more...   

Consecration of the Church

Despite the fact that the church at our monastery was built many years ago, it was never formally consecrated, and for this reason, a general renovation undertaken in the spring of 2015 became an ideal occasion for us to consecrate it.After the renovation was completed, during a Solemn Holy Mass on November 12, 2015, Bishop Donald Hying, the Ordinary of the Diocese of Gary, carried out the consecration of our renovated church. At the ceremony, apart from the great numbers of the faithful gathered for the occasion, along with guests from Poland and our entire Carmelite community, our Provincial Superior, Fr. Tadeusz Florek, OCD, also took part.The provincial brought from Rome relics of St. John Paul II, which were placed in the new marble altar.   more...