CARMELITE CONGREGATIONS. — Alongside the Carmelite Orders forming the Second Order, which lead a contemplative life, other congregations have arisen which, while inspired by the spirituality of Carmel, also embrace an active life, engaging in schools, hospitals, charitable works, etc. These include:
1. CONGREGATION OF THE DIVINE HEART OF JESUS. — A congregation founded in 1891 in Berlin by Mother Maria Teresa of St. Joseph (Maria Tauscher van den Bosch, daughter of a Protestant pastor, converted from Protestantism), for the purpose of gathering and educating orphaned and abandoned children in the Christian faith. It was approved in 1930. Having spread to Germany, Holland, England, and Italy, the Institute follows the constitutions of St. Teresa, except for fasting and enclosure, and is divided into 9 provinces with 58 houses (called "Houses of St. Joseph") and approximately 1000 sisters.
2. CONGREGATION OF CHARITY. — A congregation founded in 1826 by Blessed Gioacchina de Vedruna, widow of Mas, in Vich, to care for the sick and to educate young women in the Christian faith. After the founder’s death, the Institute spread rapidly and was approved in 1880. Today it has 5 provinces, with 164 houses (schools, nurseries, hospitals) and 2268 sisters.
3. CONGREGATION OF LUXEMBOURG. — Founded in 1872 in Luxembourg by Canon Nicola Wies, the Institute has 15 houses with 160 sisters for the training of young women in domestic service and the care of the sick and elderly.
4. **CONGREGATION OF ST. TERESA.** — An institute founded in 1889 in Santiago de Chile by Sister Maddalena of Jesus Mary and Sister Carmela of Jesus, with the purpose of providing free education to poor girls.
5. DISCALCED CONGREGATION OF GRACIA. — A religious congregation founded in 1860 in Barcelona by Fr. Francesco Palau y Quer. It has 43 houses in Spain, 8 in Argentina, and 4 in Colombia, with 614 sisters. The aim of the Institute is the education of girls and charitable service in hospitals, prisons, asylums, etc.
6. **DISCALCED CONGREGATION OF ST. TERESA.** — An institute founded in 1903 in Mexico City by Monsignor Prospero M. Alarcón, Archbishop of Mexico City, for the purpose of gathering poor girls and instructing them in the Catholic faith in public and private schools. It also operates nurseries, workshops for unemployed young women, and cares for the sick in convalescent homes. It was approved in 1938 and today has 12 houses with 161 sisters.