Talk by Dr M Agius – The Development of the devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel over the centuries, especially in Malta

The Carmelite Order – The Arch-Confraternity Of Our Lady Of Mount Carmel In Valletta and its Oratory
Din l-Art Ħelwa announces a public talk due on 20th April, 2017, at 18.30, by Dr. Mark Agius, Rector Arch-Confraternity Of Our Lady Of Mount Carmel Valletta and Clare Research Associate , Clare College Cambridge. The talk is entitled ‘The Carmelite Order, The Arch-Confraternity Of Our Lady Of Mount Carmel In Valletta and its Oratory’.
The talk will place the Arch-Confraternity Of Our Lady Of Mount Carmel In Valletta and its Oratory in their Historical and Cultural Context.
Dr Agius will briefly discuss the development of the Carmelite Order in the Middle ages, from its origins the Holy Land to its spread across the Mediterranean and Europe.
He will then discuss the rise of Confraternities in Medieval Times, their relationship with the Carmelites and other Mendicant Orders, and their important social function with particular focus on the Arch-Confraternity Of Our Lady Of Mount Carmel in Valletta, its origins, its development and its achievements. Parallels will be drawn with other Scapular Confraternities linked with the Carmelite Order across Europe. Dr Agius will illustrate the Arch-Confraternity’s present activities and describe a number of the artefacts which the Arch-Confraternity possesses and which have been handed down by previous generations.
The talk shall end with a description of the Confraternity’s Oratory in Theatre Street Valletta, which continues to be in constant use and with an appeal for help in the restauration of the Oratory.
Dr. Mark Agius teaches in the Department of Psychiatry , University of Cambridge, and is a Research Associate at Clare College Cambridge. His other interests are the History of Valletta, the History of the Carmelite Order, and Clare College Choir. He is Rector of the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Valletta, where he leads on the Rehabilitation of the Confraternity’s Oratory. He has published widely in Psychiatry and also on the History of the Carmelite Order and the Confraternity.
Din l-Art Ħelwa, 133, Melita Street, Valletta. Thursday 20 April at 18.30. Entrance is free but donations to Din l-Art Ħelwa are appreciated.