This feast honours the Blessed Virgin as patroness of the Carmelite Order. Sacred Scriptures celebrated the beauty of Carmel where the prophet Elijah defended the purity of Israel’s faith in the living God. In the twelfth century, hermits withdrew to that mountain and later founded the Order devoted to the contemplative life under Mary’s patronage. The feast later came to be associated with a supposed vision of St Simon Stock, said to have taken place on 16 July 1251. Wearing the “Brown Scapular,” a symbol of the Carmelite habit, is a sign of trust in Mary’s maternal help, especially at the hour of death. – CTS New Daily Roman Missal 2012, p 2833; Christian Prayer 1990, p 1172