17 July - Simon Stock was born in Kent in 1164. According to tradition he was an itinerant preacher until he joined the Carmelite Order. He would have joined the Carmelite Order only after making his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and joined the hermits on the slopes of Mount Carmel.
However, a few years after his arrival on the slopes of Mount Carmel, and following the conquest of Palestine by Saladin, the hermits had to leave for Europe because their safety could no longer be guaranteed in their hermitage.
Simon Stock's great fame is linked to the appearance he had in Cambridge (England) on July 16, 1251. In his vision, the Virgin Mary gave him a scapular for all the members of his order. She said to him, "Receive, my beloved son, this scapular for my Order; it is the special sign of my favour, which I have obtained for you and for my sons of Mount Carmel. Whoever dies wearing this scapular will be preserved from eternal fire". This promise strengthens the members of the Order and brings many new arrivals.
In 1247 at the age of 82, Simon Stock was elected General of the Carmelites, succeeding Alain, at the first Chapter of the Order held in Aylesford (England). In spite of his great age, he showed remarkable energy as General of the Order, and he did much for the benefit of his Order.
He founded many Carmelite communities, especially in university cities such as Cambridge and Oxford in 1248, but also in southern and western Europe. He brought about the revision of the Rule of the Order in order to develop the Carmelite Order. He was thus considered one of the most ardent defenders of the Order during the return of the hermits to Europe, finding for the Order a new style of organisation (life in monastic community instead of hermit life), and a promise of very special protection of the Virgin Mary for its members. The order, which was in danger of disappearing, then experienced a new wave of expansion.
More than a hundred years old, he died of old age in Bordeaux in 1265, in one of the houses of the order while visiting the Carmelites in that region. His final words were: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us poor sinners, now and at the hour of our death", words which became liturgical and which the Church later added to the Hail Mary, the present "Hail Mary".
Simon Stock has not been officially canonized by the Catholic Church, but his veneration has been approved by the Vatican. From 1423 he began to be considered a Saint and his liturgical cult began to be celebrated in Bordeaux. His relics then began to be disseminated. Then from 1458, his cult was also celebrated in Ireland and England. He has been officially venerated in the Order of Carmel since 1564. If he is considered "Blessed" in the Catholic Church, he has the title of "saint" in the Order of Carmel.
