Discalced Carmelite Friars of San Antonio
Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Semi-Province of St. Thérèse. Photo taken at the 2023 Provincial Chapter.
The Discalced Carmelite Friars of San Antonio live to seek union with God in Jesus Christ and to make him known and loved in the spirit of St. Thérèse and the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mt. Carmel through prayer, fraternal life, and ministry.
The friars in community at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower are the only contemplative religious order still active in the Archdiocese of San Antonio. To fulfill their mission, the friars collaborate with the local secular order (OCDS), a group of 42 members. Together, they are spearheading the development of Carmelite faith formation programs centered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower.
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San Antonio Community
Fr. Gregory Ross, OCD | Pastor-Rector & Superior
Fr. Gregory made his first profession as a Discalced Carmelite Friar in 1990 and was ordained a priest in 1995. During his years with the Province of St. Thérèse, he has served as student director, associate professor of dogmatic theology at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, provincial superior, and vocations director. He is currently serving as pastor and rector at Little Flower Basilica as well as overseeing Little Flower School.
Fr. John Magdalene Suenram, OCD | Parochial Vicar
Fr. John heard the call to the Discalced Carmelites in his 20s after reading the works of St. John of the Cross. He entered Marylake Monastery in 1979. Over the 8 years Fr. John studied for his ordination, he gained a degree in Philosophy and a Master of Divinity from the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX. Fr. John’s assignment as Pastor and Director of Development for what was then the National Shrine of the Little Flower led to the Shrine’s elevation to the status of Minor Basilica and placement on the National Register of Historic Places. He has since served various assignments throughout the Oklahoma Semi-Province of St. Thérèse.
Fr. Luis Castañeda, OCD | Provincial
Fr. Luis began his religious formation in the Discalced Carmelite Order in the US after meeting the Discalced Carmelite Nuns in New Caney, Texas. He completed his postulancy and novitiate in the Marylake formation house in Arkansas. After making his first Vows, he began his theology studies in New Orleans and finished them in San Antonio, where he also completed his formation for the priesthood. Since his ordination in 2003, he has continued his studies in religious formation, served as vicar for the Carmelite Nuns of the Province and as Provincial from 2011-2017.
Fr. Luis Belmonte-Luna, OCD
Fr. Luis Gerardo Belmonte–Luna, OCD, had a calling to the priesthood as a child. He spent six years as a catechist and Master of Ceremonies for the Carmelite fathers in his hometown before entering the Discalced Carmelite Order at 24. He began his studies in philosophy in Valencia, Spain, among the very Discalced Carmelite community which sent the delegation of friars who would found the Province. He then attended Teresianum Pontifical Theological Faculty in Rome, where he again served as Master of Ceremonies with the Carmelites. He was ordained in 2007.
Fr. Jerome Earley, OCD
Fr. Jerome Earley, OCD, was born in 1950 in central New York. He attended Catholic grade school, high school and college. In the mid 1980s Fr. Jerome became a Third Order Secular Discalced Carmelite, which led him to pursue a vocation as a Discalced Carmelite in the Washington Province. Fr. Jerome transferred to the Oklahoma Province and was ordained in 1995. These past years, Fr. Jerome has been involved mainly in retreat and Secular Carmelite ministries.
Fr. Sam Anthony Morello, OCD
Fr. Sam entered the novitiate at Marylake Monastery in Little Rock, AR two weeks after graduating from high school. Ordained in 1962 at the Teresianum in Rome, he has taught theology at various universities and was instrumental in opening Mt. Carmel Center in Dallas in 1974 as an informal ecumenical center of Catholic spirituality.
Br. Vladimir Guadalupe, OCD
Br. Vladimir Guadalupe of Sts. Louis & Zélie, OCD was born in Oceanside, CA. Most of his family lives near Austin, TX, but he came to San Antonio for college, earning a degree in social work from Our Lady of the Lake University. It was while studying there that he first visited the Basilica and met the Friars. Br. Vladimir is currently studying theology at St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts.