The Coat of Arms of Carmel

In the center of the shield rises the mountain of Carmel, the cradle of the order.

The three stars represent the three epochs in the history of Carmel:

The first, as if placed in a grotto of the holy mountain, signifies the prophetic era which began with Elijah and extended to the coming of Christ. The second, rising over the mountain, represents the Greek era in the east, from John the Baptist to the first Latin General, St. Berthold. The third star signifies the Latin era in the west.

The cross on the summit of the mountain was added in the 16th century as the distinctive sign of the Discalced Carmelites. They also adopted, in memory of the Prophet Elijah, the arm with the flaming sword, and the inscription, "With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of Hosts."

The twelve stars of the crown represent our Lady given us in the Apocalypse under the figure of a woman "clothed with the sun... and upon her head a crown of twelve stars."