The Blessed Virgin’s Brown Scapular

Simon Stock was a Carmelite friar who led his order in its development from a hermit order into a mendicant one, similar to the Franciscans and Dominicans. He was admonished by the Mother of God in a vision to establish the wearing of the brown scapular as an assurance of salvation. St Simon, soon after he was promoted to the dignity of general, instituted the confraternity of the Scapular, to unite the devout clients of the Blessed Virgin in certain regular exercises of religion and piety. Several Carmelite writers assure us that this confraternity has been approved, and favored with many privileges by several popes. The rules prescribe, without any obligation or precept, that the members wear a little scapular, at least secretly, as the symbol of the order, and that they recite every day the office of our Lady, or the office of the church; or, if they cannot read, seven times the Pater, Ave, and Gloria Patri, in lieu of the seven canonical hours; and lastly, that they abstain from flesh-meat on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays; or if this cannot be done, that they double for each of these days the seven Paters, &c. St Simon cured several sick persons by giving them the scapular; the reputation of which miracles moved Edward I., King of England, St Louis of France, King of France, and many others, to enroll their names in this confraternity.