St Simon Stock by Fr Francis Kemsley, O.Carm.

St Simon Stock (c.1212-c.1265)

Simon is likely one of the first Carmelites in England in the 1240s. An accurate factual history is difficult to piece together amidst the many stories and legends that arise about him from that time. What the many legends tell us is that he was a memorable and significant figure in the foundations of the Carmelites in England and the Order during a time of great change. Historians would agree that Simon was an Englishman, who spent his early life as a hermit. During this time he is said to have lived in the trunk or ‘stock’ of a tree, thereafter being named Simon Stock. It is also likely that he would have participated in the important chapter of 1247 at Aylesford in Kent, that worked to adapt the lifestyle of the hermits from the Mount Carmel to a more acceptable way of life in medieval Europe. Simon would later serve as the Carmelite Prior General sometime between 1254 to 1265. He died around 1265 whilst visiting religious houses in Bordeaux, France.


Simon’s devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel is captured in the tale of the ‘scapular vision,’ the first written account of which is found recorded about 150 years after his death. The clothing of Simon with the scapular by Mary is best understood in the context of the medieval times of feudal Europe. Simon, as a devotee of Mary (who was known as patroness and protector of Carmelites), was clothed by her as a sign of the exchange of promises of service offered by the Carmelite and Mary’s promise of spiritual protection. Later in the 14th century the Carmelite brown scapular became for many this outward sign of a reciprocal agreement of dedicated service and protection between the wearer and Mary whose protection pointed the way to Christ.