Brown Scapular Devotion

In the year 1251 in Cambridge, England, Saint Simon Stock, the prior general of the Carmelites, fervently begged our Blessed Lady to intercede for her Order, as the Carmelites had faced much persecution since their transition from the Holy Land to Europe.  He composed the prayer Flos Carmeli, Flower of Carmel, which he reverently repeated with heartfelt devotion. On July 16, 1251, he received a visit from Our Lady in answer to his prayers. She handed him a Brown Scapular, saying, "Receive, my beloved son, this Scapular of thy Order; it is the special sign of my favor, which I have obtained for thee and for thy children of Mount Carmel. He who dies clothed with this habit shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger, and a pledge of special peace and protection."

This apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary is known as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Because of her great promises to those who wear the Brown Scapular, the scapular spread to the laity as a sign of Marian devotion and consecration, signified by two small square pieces of brown wool cloth connected by cords, with one square resting on the chest and one on the back. Since then, the Brown Scapular has been recognized as a source of great graces for those who, living holy lives, wear the Brown Scapular with devotion during life and at the time of death.