Saints Library · Being a Leader

St. Simon Stock

Superior General of the Carmelite Order

Current Church statusSaint
Feast / commemorationMay 16
Remembered asSuperior General of the Carmelite Order
BirthplaceAylesford
Country / regionKingdom of England
Period1164–1265
Religious familyCarmelites

Life and historical setting

Simon Stock (1164–1265) is remembered in the Church as superior General of the Carmelite Order. The supplied Catholic source associates this life with Aylesford.

Documented offices and forms of service associated with Simon Stock include hermit. The religious family connected with this vocation is Carmelites.

The enduring witness of Simon Stock is especially connected with prayer and contemplation, teaching and sacred learning, and pastoral and ecclesial leadership. Dates, offices, and institutions are presented as biographical facts, while later devotional interpretation is kept distinct from the historical outline.

Vocation and witness

These themes were identified from the supplied source record and provide a structured guide to the life.

Prayer and contemplation

Prayer, contemplation, or a disciplined interior life is a significant part of the recorded witness.

Teaching and sacred learning

Teaching, writing, study, or the formation of others belongs to the legacy preserved in the source.

Pastoral and ecclesial leadership

The account includes pastoral, monastic, or ecclesial leadership exercised for the good of the Church.

Religious life and community

Consecrated life, community discipline, or the building of a religious family shapes this witness.

Courageous public witness

The narrative records fidelity expressed publicly despite conflict, opposition, exile, or imprisonment.

Leadership as service

The source presents Christian leadership as responsibility, moral courage, and service.

Spiritual legacy

The enduring witness of Simon Stock is especially connected with prayer and contemplation, teaching and sacred learning, and pastoral and ecclesial leadership. Dates, offices, and institutions are presented as biographical facts, while later devotional interpretation is kept distinct from the historical outline.

Prayerful reflection

God of holiness, through the witness of Simon Stock, strengthen us in authority exercised as humble service, moral clarity, and responsibility before God. Keep our attention fixed on Jesus Christ, and teach us to answer grace faithfully in the duties, relationships, and needs placed before us. Amen.

Historical and liturgical note

Catalogued feast-day statement; confirm the calendar used by the local Church or religious family.

Dates, offices, and institutions are presented as biographical facts, while later devotional interpretation is kept distinct from the historical outline.

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