WAKEFIELD -- The vendor hall of the 2024 Congress of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCDS), which took place from Aug. 22 to 25 at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Wakefield, was a veritable smorgasbord of saints.

Raffle prizes included coffee mugs, stuffed toys of St. Therese of Lisieux, and dolls of Carmelite nuns and the Infant of Prague, wearing miniature habits made by the Carmelite Nuns of St. Joseph in Lowell, Vermont. Icons, bumper stickers, and lapel pins were also for sale. The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary sold lifelike dolls and coloring books depicting saints. The Boston Carmel of Roxbury sold pillows and t-shirts, as well as keychains bearing the image of St. Therese.

The congress, attended by 300 Carmelite friars, nuns, and seculars, was a weekend of prayer, Masses, eucharistic adoration, and presentations focusing on Carmelite saints, theology, and the Order's global mission. Father Daniel Chowning, provincial of the OCDS Washington Province, was in attendance, as was OCDS General Delegate Father Ramiro Casale.

"Our main mission is contemplative prayer," congress co-chair Loretta Gallagher told The Pilot on Aug. 21.

"We live in the world, we're married, we have grandchildren, but we share the same rules as the friars and nuns of the Discalced Carmelite Order," she continued.

On Aug. 24, the feast of St. Bartholomew, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley celebrated Mass for the congress in a packed ballroom. All Secular Carmelite Congresses invite their local bishop to celebrate Mass. The cardinal previously celebrated Mass at the 2012 Congress, also in Wakefield.

"It's a real privilege to be here with the friars and sisters and secular Carmelites who have gathered here today," the cardinal said in his homily. "I've had the privilege and the joy of having been surrounded by Carmelites and things Carmelite practically my whole life."

Cardinal O'Malley called himself an "honorary Carmelite" because he is the titular priest of Santa Maria della Vittoria, the Carmelite church in Rome.

"We are all so grateful for the spiritual treasures that we have received from the Carmelite family," he said. "John Paul II, I would say, was a closet Carmelite. And, of course, it was he who brought consciousness about Edith Stein, and made St. Therese the Little Flower a Doctor of the Church, that her little way of holiness could be seen as such an important instrument of holiness."

The cardinal said that the archdiocese has been "blessed" by Carmelite friars, sisters, and seculars.

"So much of the Carmelite spirituality is about teaching people how to pray and to grow in their interior life," he said.

He recalled that when he was a student, he studied Carmelite writings, particularly the "wonderful poems" of St. John of the Cross.

"Carmelite spirituality allows us to discover that love, the crucified love, and to be able to climb the mountain and be able to embrace that love," the cardinal said. "And we are so grateful for your charism, for your vocations, for your presence here."

There are 133 Secular Carmelites in the Archdiocese of Boston, who gather in four communities. Two are in Brighton, and two are in Peabody. Secular Carmelites do not take formal vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, but do their best to follow those guidelines. For Secular Carmelites, chastity does not mean celibacy.

"Chastity means being pure in your thoughts and actions," Gallagher said.

Poverty, she explained, refers to having "a spirit of poverty" and giving generously to the poor and the church.

"We try to live within our means and not be real flashy," she said, adding: "It would be hard-pressed to be someone that's a kazillionaire, unless you're giving it away."

Secular Carmelites are expected to pray every morning and every evening, practice contemplative prayer for an additional 30 minutes each day, and attend monthly meetings of their community.

"We are also very involved with praying for priests," Gallagher said. "That is a big principle of the Carmelite Order."

It is commonplace for Secular Carmelites in the Archdiocese of Boston to donate to St. John's Seminary. Gallagher's community, St. Teresa of the Andes in Peabody, prays for all of the seminarians at St. John's by name. The Secular Carmelites also write to seminarians, send them books, and mail them Christmas cards. They host an annual breakfast for the seminarians every two years, and in intervening years, the Secular Carmelites visit the seminary and attend Mass there.

This year's congress was the 17th that Gallagher has attended in her 37 years as a Secular Carmelite. In 1987, she went on a "life-changing" pilgrimage to Lourdes, Lisieux, and Avila. The rector of the pilgrimage, a Jesuit, introduced her to praying the Divine Office. At the time, she did not know who St. Teresa of Avila was. When she returned to Massachusetts, Gallagher found an ad in The Pilot about a Secular Carmelite community being formed in Danvers.

"Something about the word 'Carmel' jumped out to me," she said.

This year's congress was the first held in the U.S. since before the pandemic. Registration opened on Sept. 8, 2023, and was completely sold two days later.

"We knew there was a pent-up energy and demand for this," Gallagher said, adding: "It's like a big family reunion."

Attendees came from 33 U.S. states, including Hawaii. One woman attended the conference from Kenya. As a "prize" for coming from farther away than anyone else, she received a bottle of New Hampshire maple syrup.

"What's more New Englandy than that?" Gallagher said.