Fr. Miguel of Mary Márquez Calle, O.C.D. was born in 1965 in Plasencia (Cáceres), Spain. He entered the Discalced Carmelite Order in 1983 and made his religious profession in 1985. He was ordained a priest in Medina del Campo in 1990. He has a degree in Dogmatic Theology from the Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid, with a thesis on the image of God in the Magnificat.
Has held numerous positions of responsibility in the life of the Discalced Carmelite Provinces of Castilla and Ibérica. In the Province of Castilla, Father Miguel served as a Provincial Councilor from 1999–2002, then as Vicar Provincial from 2002–2005, a position to which he was elected once again at the Provincial Chapter of 2008; next, he served as the Provincial Superior of the Castilian province. He also has served as a formator in that province, directing the students for six years in the community of Salamanca. In February 2015, Father Márquez was the first provincial superior elected to serve the new Iberian Province of St. Teresa of Jesus, which was created from the union of all the smaller Discalced Carmelite provinces in Spain and the Balearic Islands during the extraordinary provincial chapter that was convened for this specific purpose. He was re-elected to serve once again in the first ordinary provincial chapter in April 2017 for a term from 2017–2020.
Father Márquez is author of numerous publications on theology and spirituality. He also has written many articles as a regular contributor to magazines and journals. Father Márquez also has served as a professor of mysticism and Mariology in the CITeS University of Mysticism in Avila, as a professor of Mariology in the Carmelite renewal program at Stella Maris Monastery on Mount Carmel, and he also has served as a professor of pastoral ministry in the Institute of Spirituality of Santo Domingo.
Father Miguel has directed many retreats and days of recollection, and has provided assistance to numerous prayer groups. He also has dedicated much time and effort to the spiritual direction and accompaniment of many people, including priests, religious, nuns, and laity.
Activity
He is entrusted with the government of the whole Order. Solicitous for the common good, he must foster the life and development of the Order and promote close cooperation between the provinces and the central government.
The better to achieve this he must be in constant contact with the provinces, and make a pastoral visitation of all of them personally or through a delegate during his term of office. (Const. 173).
The main part of his work consists in pastoral and fraternal visitations, in order to know the actual situation, to create communion and exhort the members, both friars and sisters, in their vocation and mission. He also endeavours to participate in meetings, conferences and celebrations. At the same time his visits involve going to the convents of our nuns in a particular region, or attending the reunions of convents, such as the gatherings of Associations and Federations. At the same time he will almost always meet with Secular Order communities, and with other Carmelite groups, first and foremost the Affiliated Institutes.
His work in the curia in Rome is continuous. The object of his travels is to expand the Order, to ensure a good standard of formation, to resolve the difficulties in Provinces, convents or with individuals, to pay particular attention to those centres that are directly dependent on the Generalate, to nourish relations with the Holy See — usually carried out by the Procurator General — for those matters which are within his competence. All this involves listening to and seeking advice from the Definitors and officials at the Generalate. The vitality of modern life has multiplied the amount of correspondence received by traditional as well as modern means. The expansion into new regions and cultures presents its own challenges. The crisis in vocations felt in the older Provinces creates a knock-on effect. Finally, together with the above mentioned activities, the financial dimension cannot be disregarded, which is at times critical.
