The establishment of the Carmelite Order in Zamora. Origin and decline of a female community in the 20th Century

Abstract

The presence of the Carmelite charism in the diocese of Zamora goes back to two convents founded in Toro in the period of twenty-eight years between the 16th and 17th centuries. Despite the attempts to erect a Carmelite community in the capital of the diocese, this was not possible until 1953 with a foundation of contemplatives. Its establishment under the context of National Catholicism was, however, precarious until August 1956 when the nuns settled in their new convent, built in accordance with the values of the Theresian reform. Almost in a prototypical way, the community was the protagonist of extensions and even the promotion of a new community, although the urban development plans of the city ended up dispossessing them of their monastery, which was demolished, and the nuns were installed again provisionally until their definitive departure from the diocese.

Keywords

• orden del carmelo descalzo
• vida contemplativa
• zamora
• siglo xx
• arquitectura religiosa contemporánea