Our Lady of Mercy Lay Carmelite Community is the name of the Lay Carmelite community that resides in Fremont, California. It was founded in 1995 and our first members were professed in 1998. We are under the authority of the Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary. Our regular community meeting takes place on the third Sunday of every month in the DeSousa House, Holy Spirit Parish. If you are interested in joining us, please contact us for more information.

The Lay Carmelite Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary (historically known as the Third Order) is an association mainly of laypersons. Its members, responding to a special call of God, freely and deliberately commit themselves "to live in the following of Jesus Christ" according to the charism, traditions and spirit of Carmel under the authority of the Prior General of the Carmelite Order. The members, though not in Religious Life, choose to live out their baptismal commitment according to the spirit of the Carmelite Order. Members are brothers and sisters of the Carmelite Family and sharers in the same call to holiness and in the same mission of the Carmelite Order.

Please consult the Carmelite Bibliography and our Free Resources sections for more information about Lay Carmelites and Carmelite Spirituality.

To locate a Lay Carmelite Community in your area, please contact the office of the Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary.