Our Lady wants us to wear the brown scapular

Two components of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary are quite easy to perform. Because of that, all Catholics should try to put them into practice. These two points are: the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the wearing of the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Let us look at the scapular today.

The request to wear the scapular isn’t part of the verbal requests of Our Lady of Fatima, but it is actually part of the sixth apparition on October 13th. At the end of that apparition, Our Lady appeared as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as she had announced in the previous apparition, and she was holding a scapular in her hand. Sister Lucia (1) attached great importance to it. When asked what made her think it was Our Lady of Mount Carmel, she replied: "It was that something was hanging from her hand.”

The word "scapular" comes from the Latin scapulae which means shoulders. The scapular is a long strip of cloth covering the shoulders, often with a hood, that extends down to the feet in front and behind. Most monks wear it as a top layer of their habit. The scapular of Mount-Carmel is a smaller version of that monastic habit, and is made of two pieces of brown woven wool, rectangular or square in shape, joined together by two strings so that they can be worn both over the chest and over the back. A pious custom—which is not required—is to add an image of the Blessed Virgin on the fabric.

On several occasions, Sister Lucia insisted on the importance of the scapular, particularly on October 15, 1950, when she said to Father Rafferty: "Our Lady held the scapular in her hands because she wants us to wear it.” 

(1) One of the three seers of Fatima

Yves de Lassus

President of Cap Fatima 2017