Our History

The Mount Carmel Monastery was founded after the American Revolution by Carmelite nuns from Belgium, three of whom were originally from Southern Maryland. After almost 41 years of labor and prayer on the site, the eight or more buildings on the property fell into disrepair and the nuns were living under conditions of extreme hardship. To provide better financial support, Archbishop James Whitfield transferred the 24 Carmelites to the City of Baltimore in 1831.

The Old Monastery Restored

After 100 years, the original Mount Carmel Monastery had almost disappeared. At the time when Archbishop Whitefield transferred the community to Baltimore, the Mount Carmel farm was sold to Edward Sanders.

Through God’s goodness, however, the site and two surviving buildings known as “The Old Monastery” were visited in 1933 by descendants of the Maryland Colonists, who realized that quick action was needed to save the remnants of America’s first Carmel.

Through the efforts of Mrs. Benjamin Talbott of Washington (born Mary Cecelia Hamilton) and her daughter, Mrs. John Hagerty, a restoration campaign began. In 1935, The Restorers of Mount Carmel was established for the purpose of restoring and preserving the site of the first convent of religious women in the 13 original colonies. With the help of the Archbishop of Baltimore, seven acres of the property were purchased, including the two buildings that remained of the original group and the cemetery.

The first pilgrimage to the Shrine was in 1936 and the first Mass was celebrated in June 1937. Chapters of the Restorers were established in Washington D.C., Boston, Charles County, MD, St. Mary’s County, MD and New York to permanently maintain Mount Carmel as a priceless relic of Catholic religious life.

In the following year on November 7, a large cross, redolent of those along the wayside in Catholic European countries, was erected, and twelve years later in May 1949 an outdoor set of Stations of the Cross was set up and indulgenced by a son of St. Francis.

A Pilgrim’s Chapel

In 1954, the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was built of rose-colored brick on the site of the original chapel to accommodate the hundreds of pilgrims who journey to this holy mount to glorify God, honor Mary, attend Mass and find inner peace.

Pilgrim Hall was built in 1968 and enlarged in 2006. It includes a gift shop and meeting rooms. Cardinal Patrick O’Boyle of Washington, in his remarks at the first dedication in 1968, stated, “How nice it would be to have a monastery of contemplative nuns here praying for the spiritual welfare of the Archdiocese.” This was the prayer of both laity and nuns from the day the Carmelites left in 1831. This became one of the goals of the Restorers of Mount Carmel: to see nuns return to Port Tobacco.

Through the efforts of the Restorers, the monastery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 1973. Three weeks later, a group of Carmelites arrived in Maryland at Great Mills, and with the support of the Archdiocese of Washington, the wish to move the nuns to Port Tobacco became reality in 1976. 145 years since their departure in 1831, the Discalced Carmelite nuns came home.