The Order of Carmelites, officially known as the Order of the Brothers of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (O. Carm.), traces its origins to the late 12th century on Mount Carmel, located in the Holy Land (modern-day Israel). The Order was founded by a group of Christian hermits who settled near the spring of Elijah, drawing inspiration from the prophet’s contemplative and zealous spirit. Around 1209–1214, these hermits received a formal Rule of Life from St. Albert of Jerusalem, then the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. This Rule emphasized a life of prayer, community, and service, centered on allegiance to Jesus Christ and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The name of the Order reflects its deep Marian devotion. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is honored as the patroness, sister, and model of the Carmelite way of life. The Carmelite tradition upholds Mary’s humility, faith, and openness to God’s will as the guiding virtues for their spiritual path. Over time, Our Lady of Mount Carmel became a central title associated with the Order’s identity and mission.

Due to political and religious upheavals in the Holy Land, the original hermits were forced to migrate to Europe during the 13th century. There, the Order was restructured to adapt to the mendicant model of religious life, similar to the Franciscans and Dominicans, while retaining its contemplative roots. The Carmelite Order quickly spread across Europe, especially in England, France, Italy, and Spain, and eventually across the globe.

Today, the Carmelite Order is organized into 21 Provinces and several delegations, serving in over thirty countries worldwide. The Carmelite friars continue to live out their mission through prayer, community life, education, spiritual direction, and pastoral ministry, always guided by their foundational charism of contemplative presence and deep devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Fr. Joseph Kotschner (1924–2001) is the founder of the Order of Carmelites in India. He was born on 05th April, 1924 in Slovakia. Later, his family migrated to Germany for a better future. After his school education, he joined the German military to fight for his nation in the Second World War. He had undergone all the unprecedented consequences of the great depression and the Second World War. Germany lost the war, and he was imprisoned by the Russian Army. The physical and mental torture that he had experienced in a Russian prison had the effect of losing his vision. When he was freed, he had a calling from God to become a Carmelite. He was ordained on 29th June 1952. He served in different capacities in his priestly ministry. He was Prior Provincial of the Upper German Province. He started new missions in Brazil and India. He presented a plan of his mission at the General Chapter and received its approval. He recruited young students from Kerala with the help of CMI fathers. He brought thirteen boys from the South to Germany and got them religious and priestly formation in Bemberg, Germany. Four Indian Carmelites completed their religious and priestly formation and came back to India in the year 1982. He had founded Carmelite formation community at Karukadam in the same year. He considered India as his second home and laid a strong foundation for the O.Carm community in India. Though he was suffering from partial blindness, his insight was instrumental in the establishment of Order of Carmelites in india . He left for his heavenly abode on 27th March 2001 and was buried at Cloister Church, Bamberg, Germany.