Order of Discalced Carmelites: current numerical overview
October 15, 2026
The Church today commemorates the memorial of St. Teresa of Ávila (1030-1101), founder (with St. John of the Cross) of the Order of Discalced Carmelites.
St. Teresa inaugurated the Carmelite reform in 1562. St. John of the Cross established the first Discalced Carmelite house for men in 1568.
According to the online edition of the Annuario Pontificio, there are 3,877 Discalced Carmelite friars, 2,893 of them priests, in 651 religious houses (2024 figures).
The Discalced Carmelite friars experienced strong growth in the 1950s, from 3,128 in 1950 to 4,236 in 1957. The number of friars declined to 3,689 in 1971 and 3,287 in 1981 before rising to 3,942 in 2000 and 4,071 in 2016. Since then, numbers have fallen.
According to the Annuario, there are currently
- 1,670 Discalced Carmelite nuns in 134 religious houses that follow the 1990 Constitution (under the jurisdiction of the Pope)
- 7,168 Discalced Carmelite nuns in 642 religious houses that follow the less strict 1991 Constitution (under the jurisdiction of the Carmelite friars)
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