St. Elijah

The prophet Elijah appears in Scripture (1 Kings 17–19 and 2 Kings 1–2) as a man of God who lived always in his presence and fought zealously for the worship of the one true God. He defended God's law in a solemn contest on Mount Carmel, and afterwards was given on Mount Horeb an intimate experience of the living God. The inspiration that was found in him from the very beginnings of the Order so pervades its whole history that the prophet may deservedly be called the founder of the Carmelite ideal.