What is the Confraternity
of the Brown Scapular?
Upon enrollment in the Confraternity of the Scapular, you belong to a family affiliated with the Carmelite Order, sharing in the merits of Carmelite Religious in life and in death. “It is permitted to preach ... that the Blessed Virgin will aid the souls of the Brothers and Sisters of the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel after their death by Her continual intercession, by Her suffrages and merits and by Her special protection.” – Pope Paul V
At the same time, while Ven. Pope Pius XII called the Brown Scapular “a sign of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary” he adds, “the scapular is not superstitious...One is not saved from Hell merely by wearing it. No, for it is a sign that they must live their lives in total obedience to God and trust in him, through and with the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
At the same time, while Ven. Pope Pius XII called the Brown Scapular “a sign of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary” he adds, “the scapular is not superstitious...One is not saved from Hell merely by wearing it. No, for it is a sign that they must live their lives in total obedience to God and trust in him, through and with the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
"Consistent with the Catholic tradition...favors associated with the wearing of the Brown Scapular would be meaningless without the wearers living and
dying in the state of grace, observing chastity according to their state in life,
and living a life of prayer and penitence."
dying in the state of grace, observing chastity according to their state in life,
and living a life of prayer and penitence."
(1)
What is the scapular and what is its purpose?
As stated by Carmelite scholar Father Kieran Kavanaugh, the Church's position about the Brown Scapular comes down to the following:
- The scapular is a Marian garment. It is a sign of belonging to Mary; and pledge of her motherly protection in life and in death.
- As a sign, it joins three elements joined together: first, belonging to a family dear to the Blessed Virgin, the Carmelite Order; second, consecration to our Lady; finally a stimulus to imitate Mary through growth in virtue, especially humility, chastity, and prayer
According to the Church, the Brown Scapular is "an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer." (2)
How do I enroll in the Confraternity?
By being invested in the Brown Scapular by a priest. (The brief Enrollment Ceremony is described here.)
Does the Scapular have to touch the skin?
No, it can be worn over clothing.
May one wear a different color of
the Scapular?
The Brown Scapular worn by diocesan clergy, as well as by religious of other institutes not to mention the laity, is a variation on the Carmelite Religious Habit. As this habit is brown, this is the proper color for the Scapular of Carmel. (Though black wool is permitted.)
Have any famous people worn the Scapular?
Yes – but too many to list here exhaustively. These include many (if not all) popes since the year 1280 A.D., at least through the pontificate of St. John Paul the Great. In his 2001 "Message to the Carmelite Family" St. John Paul the Great wrote: "This intense Marian life, which is expressed in trusting prayer, enthusiastic praise and diligent imitation, enables us to understand how the most genuine form of devotion to the Blessed Virgin, expressed by the humble sign of the Scapular, is consecration to her Immaculate Heart." He states in this same letter: "I too have worn the Scapular of Carmel over my heart for a long time!" (3)
Diocesan cleric (and Third Order Carmelite ) Ven. Fulton Sheen also wore the Scapular. So have such members of non-Carmelite religious congregations as St. Alphonsus Liguori and St. Don Bosco (both founders), as well as the Jesuit St. Claude de la Colombiere. The number of laity are beyond number, including King Edward II of England, and President Eamonn DeValera, Father of Irish Independence – who in the end was buried in full Carmelite habit.
Diocesan cleric (and Third Order Carmelite ) Ven. Fulton Sheen also wore the Scapular. So have such members of non-Carmelite religious congregations as St. Alphonsus Liguori and St. Don Bosco (both founders), as well as the Jesuit St. Claude de la Colombiere. The number of laity are beyond number, including King Edward II of England, and President Eamonn DeValera, Father of Irish Independence – who in the end was buried in full Carmelite habit.
Must I always wear the Scapular
or may I take it off?
The Scapular should be worn always. It certainly should not be removed for reasons of vanity of fear of human respect. (Mark 8:38).
May I take the Scapular off to bathe?
Of course.
Can a Scapular be thrown away?
A Scapular should be handled with reverence, and never thrown out. Broken or worn out Scapulars must be buried or burned, the way you would treat a human body, or such symbols as the flag of one’s nation for which some have offered their lives.
Can Non-Catholics Wear the Scapular?
Though only Catholics enroll in the Confraternity, anyone aspiring to a pure life (Matt. 5:8; 2 Pt 2:22; 1 Jn 3:3) and entrustment to Mary’s intercession and protection (Jn 2:3, 19:26) may wear a Scapular. To receive specific graces, non-Catholics must cooperate with graces available via the Scapular as a “sacramental” (something that complements the action of the Church’s sacraments; see Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.1667). As early as the 1700’s, St. Alphonsus Liguori noted of self-styled free-thinkers that, “Modern heretics make a mockery of wearing the Scapular. They decry it as so much trifling nonsense.”
But the Scapular is not “magic” with which to manipulate nature or automatically ward off harm – much less does it substitute for human choices and decision making. What a blest Scapular has the potential to do is reveal the Lord’s divine power, viewed in light of Scripture. (E.g., Acts 19:12; Num. 21:9; 2 Sam. 6:7; 2 Kings 13:21.) It is in this sense that St. Claude de la Colombiere opined, “No devotion has been confirmed by more numerous authentic miracles than the Brown Scapular.” Carmelite Father Mariano Cera once told Inside the Vatican magazine that: “…before [Pope John Paul II] was operated on, he told the doctors, ‘Don’t take off the scapular.’ And the surgeons left it on.” The pope credited a seemingly miraculous saving of his life on the day of his assassination attempt in 1981 to Mary.
Fatima visionary Sr. Lucia Santos told Carmelite
Howard Rafferty that, “Our Lady held the Scapular in her hands
[in the Fatima apparition of October 13, 1917]
because she wants us all to wear it.”
“Because all the forms of our love for the Blessed Virgin and all its various
modes of expression cannot be equally pleasing to her,
and so do not assist us in the same degree to reach Heaven,
I say, without a moment’s hesitation,
the Brown Scapular is the most favored of all!”
- St. Claude de la Colombiere
“You will make known our will and our exhortation...That one ever hold in great esteem the practices…of devotion to the most Blessed Virgin Mary…we judge well to recall especially the Marian Rosary and the religious use of the Scapular of Mount Carmel.”
- Blessed Pope Paul VI
“Let it [the Brown Scapular] be your sign of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which we are particularly urging in these perilous times.”
– Ven. Pope Pius XII
According to St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s sister and fellow Carmelite Pauline Martin, for Thérèse “Devotion to the Brown Scapular was her very life,” one which she called a “bond of union."
But the Scapular is not “magic” with which to manipulate nature or automatically ward off harm – much less does it substitute for human choices and decision making. What a blest Scapular has the potential to do is reveal the Lord’s divine power, viewed in light of Scripture. (E.g., Acts 19:12; Num. 21:9; 2 Sam. 6:7; 2 Kings 13:21.) It is in this sense that St. Claude de la Colombiere opined, “No devotion has been confirmed by more numerous authentic miracles than the Brown Scapular.” Carmelite Father Mariano Cera once told Inside the Vatican magazine that: “…before [Pope John Paul II] was operated on, he told the doctors, ‘Don’t take off the scapular.’ And the surgeons left it on.” The pope credited a seemingly miraculous saving of his life on the day of his assassination attempt in 1981 to Mary.
Fatima visionary Sr. Lucia Santos told Carmelite
Howard Rafferty that, “Our Lady held the Scapular in her hands
[in the Fatima apparition of October 13, 1917]
because she wants us all to wear it.”
“Because all the forms of our love for the Blessed Virgin and all its various
modes of expression cannot be equally pleasing to her,
and so do not assist us in the same degree to reach Heaven,
I say, without a moment’s hesitation,
the Brown Scapular is the most favored of all!”
- St. Claude de la Colombiere
“You will make known our will and our exhortation...That one ever hold in great esteem the practices…of devotion to the most Blessed Virgin Mary…we judge well to recall especially the Marian Rosary and the religious use of the Scapular of Mount Carmel.”
- Blessed Pope Paul VI
“Let it [the Brown Scapular] be your sign of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which we are particularly urging in these perilous times.”
– Ven. Pope Pius XII
According to St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s sister and fellow Carmelite Pauline Martin, for Thérèse “Devotion to the Brown Scapular was her very life,” one which she called a “bond of union."
1. The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel: Catechesis and Ritual. (2000). Washington, D.C.?: Publisher not identified.
2. Father Kieran Kavanauh, OCD, (July 16, 2008). Brown Scapular: A Silent Devotion: Zenit News Service
3. Saint John Paul II, (March 25, 2001). Message of Saint John Paul II to the Carmelite Family
2. Father Kieran Kavanauh, OCD, (July 16, 2008). Brown Scapular: A Silent Devotion: Zenit News Service
3. Saint John Paul II, (March 25, 2001). Message of Saint John Paul II to the Carmelite Family