This year’s medal commemorates the 100th anniversary of the San Antonio community of Discalced Carmelite friars.

Designation as a basilica indicates a special bond of communion with the pope. Learn what that means here.

The first window in the Basilica’s St. Elias (Elijah) Adoration Chapel begins in the middle of the story, where we find Elijah drinking from the brook in a ravine in an out-of-the-way spot called Wadi Cherith.

In this Year of St. Joseph, the Universal Church is taking the opportunity to study this saint in more depth. Friendship with St. Joseph is a well-established tradition of the Discalced Carmelite order, beginning with St. Teresa of Jesus.

July 16 honors the Virgin Mary as the Patroness of the Carmelite family. The Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel demonstrates the relationship cultivated with the Blessed Virgin over the eight centuries of Carmelite history.

One of the Stained Glass windows in the Basilica depicts an instance of Our Lady’s intercession on behalf of the Carmelite Order at a critical moment in its history.