He who dies in this scapular will not suffer eternal fire

The Brown Scapular is a Marian devotion which originated at about the same time as the Rosary, and like the Marian shrine at Walsingham, had its origin in England. In the thirteenth century, during the time of the Crusades, Saint Simon Stock went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land where he met a group of hermits on Mount Carmel.

These men claimed to be the successors of Elijah and his followers, and, attracted by their way of life, Simon returned with them to England when the situation became too dangerous in Palestine because of the Saracens.

They settled at Aylesford in Kent and in 1254 Simon was elected Superior-general of the now mendicant Carmelites... Simon founded other houses as the order began to grow but he faced many problems as the original 'solitary' ideal of the hermits changed towards the more communal approach of the mendicants… Simon withdrew to his monastic cell in order to pray to Mary. It was then that he had his famous vision of her bringing the Brown Scapular to him with the following words: "This will be for you and for all Carmelites the privilege, that he who dies in this will not suffer eternal fire."

The Scapular promise is based on the two elements of Mary's spiritual maternity and her mediation of grace that she is the 'spiritual' mother of all mankind, as well as the 'channel' by which all grace comes to us. This promise implies that Mary will intercede to ensure that the wearer of the Scapular obtains the grace of final perseverance.

This is a devotion which has also been continually encouraged by more recent popes, and so it is not something which has lost its power. There is also an emphasis on the Scapular in the apparitions at Fatima which means it retains its relevance for today.

Adapted from Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints; Carol, Mariology, Vol. 3. and theotokos.org