Carmelites are members of an international Catholic order of friars with a continuous spiritual tradition spanning eight centuries and cultures of both East and West.

The Order originated aound the 1190s in a group of hermits living by the “spring of Elijah on Mount Carmel in Crusader Palestine. Between 1206 and 1214 they obtained a rule of life from Saint Albert of Vercelli, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and some decades later began founding houses in Europe. By 1247 they had joined the thriving mendicant or friar movement, adding preaching and pastoral care to their contemplative tradition. Their patron, the Virgin Mary, and their place of origin, give them their official name, Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel; in England they were popularly called White Friars. Today more than 50,000 friars, nuns, sisters and lay Carmelites around the world continue in the same spiritual lineage.

In the course of the centuries the Order has produced only a few great theologians but many great mystics and spiritual writers, and the Carmelite school of spirituality is one of the most significant Christian spiritual traditions. Its greatest representatives are the 16th-century mystical writers Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint John of the Cross. It continues to the present in modern teachers such as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, recently declared a Doctor of the Church, and the World War II martyrs Saint Edith Stein and Blessed Titus Brandsma, as well as in many contemporary authors and scholars.

The Carmelite friars arrived in Australia from Ireland in 1881, and settled at Gawler outside Adelaide, expanding the following year to the Melbourne parish of Sandridge (which stretched from Port Melbourne to St Kilda). They devoted themselves to preaching and parish ministry, and later to educational and other tasks. Among other things they developed a library, principally for their own use. It now comprises over 30,000 volumes and is open to all interested users. Over the years, it has become a collection unique in Australia.

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In recent years there has been unprecedented interest in spirituality in the Australian community.

The Carmelite Library is an especially rich collection of books, journals and research materials in this area, particularly in Christian mysticism and spirituality, but also embracing other spiritual traditions. Located in Kew from 1928 and Donvale from 1937, in November 2002 it was relocated to more spacious and accessible premises in the heritage Carmelite Hall (1918) in Middle Park. This is the first step in a development process which is expected to make this unique library an important centre for spiritual enrichment, for academic study of spirituality and mysticism, and for inter-faith dialogue.

Although the Carmelite Friars always welcomed visitors to their library, for most of its history it remained in practice a hidden monastic treasure. Its relocation means the Library now offers easier access and more comfortable facilities for users. We want to continue to develop the Library so that this splendid collection can achieve its full potential as a local and national resource.

We want it to be a library for everyone interested in the spiritual journey: for church members, students of spirituality, scholars working on major research projects, members of the community in search of the wisdom the ages, and those seeking understanding between religions. We want to provide the Library with 21st-century facilities. We hope to redevelop the hall to create rooms for meetings, seminars, lectures and conversations in areas related to the great spiritual traditions represented in the Library’s collection.

We need help to finance renovations to the facilities and to provide for the Library’s long-term future through a sizeable endowment.

The Library’s collection has been built up over many decades. Something of its history and the nature of the collection is told in the following pages. There is nothing quite like it anywhere else in Australia, so that it holds a unique place in what is now called the distributed national collection.

The Carmelites are convinced that to maintain a library such as this is a vote of confidence in our spiritual tradition and an act of hope for our spiritual future. We have a vision of excellence for this Library as a real treasure house of spiritual wisdom.

Can you help us make the vision a reality?

The Carmelite Library is a special theological library dedicated to study and research in the areas of Spirituality and Mysticism. The collection is unique within Australia.

The Library is an affiliated member of the University of Divinity (UD) and a library of Yarra Theological Union. It is the Province Library of the Carmelite Friars in Australia-Timor Leste.

The Library is housed in a spacious and handsome setting for study and reading purposes. 

The Carmelites have formed a partnership with the University of Divinity for the management of the Library from October 2023 to December 2024. During this time the University team will work with the Carmelite Library Interim Board to collaboratively develop recommendations as to the most appropriate long-term structure for the library operation.

The library is open on Tuesdays 10am to 3pm.