About Our Lady of Mount Carmel · Baltimore, Maryland
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church is a more than 130-year-old parish rooted in the Essex/Middle River community of eastern Baltimore County, Maryland, within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Today it operates as a renewed parish formed from the merger of the historic Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Clare communities, with Sunday Mass offered in English and Spanish and a daily Mass livestreamed from the chapel. The parish is pastored by Rev. John Streifel alongside an associate pastor, two deacons, and a parish staff, and is known locally for its Spanish Mission-style church dedicated in 1938 and its historic devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel dating to 1893.
- Established
- 1893
- Patron
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel
- Rector
- Rev. John Streifel
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Baltimore
Why belong here
OLMC is a bilingual, 130-plus-year-old Catholic community that warmly welcomes both longtime Essex-area families and newer Spanish-speaking neighbors. Parishioners can worship daily in the historic chapel, attend a Spanish Mass each Sunday, join faith formation through the OCIA/CCD program under Director Janine Kramer, or simply get involved as a sacristan, lector or Eucharistic minister after training. With weekly livestreams on Facebook and YouTube and active ministries like Creation Care, it's a parish that blends small-parish warmth with the resources of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Mass times at Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:00–3:45 PM in the Main Church, prior to the 4:00 PM Mass
- Saturday 3:00 PM or by appointment
History of OLMC Essex
The parish traces its roots to the late 1800s, when Essex was a small farming community. The cornerstone of the first wooden church was laid on July 16, 1893, the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The Spanish Mission-style church still in use today was dedicated in 1938, fulfilling the dream of Father Nicholas Jaselli who modeled it on a church he saw in El Paso, Texas. The lower church, also dedicated in 1938, today hosts Children's Liturgy of the Word and other spiritual events.
- Original wooden church built in 1893
- First pastor: Rev. Charles Warren Currier (author of 'A History of the Discalced Carmelites in the United States', 1890)
- Current Spanish Mission-style church dedicated 1938
- Upper church (main sanctuary) and lower church (Children's Liturgy of the Word)
- History shared by Msgr. Bob Hartnett (retired) in a recorded video on the parish website
Parish Staff & Clergy
OLMC is led by a pastor and associate pastor, supported by two permanent deacons and a lay staff that handles religious education, pastoral care, communications and bilingual administration. The parish website gives detailed bios for each member, highlighting their vocations, backgrounds and families.
- Rev. John Streifel — Pastor (joined the OLMC / St. Clare pastorate 2023; ordained 2018)
- Rev. Sampson Onwumere — Associate Pastor (ordained June 24, 2023)
- Deacon Paul Mann — assigned to OLMC July 2019; former assistant to Bishops Newman and Rozanski
- Deacon Oscar Velasquez — ordained September 30, 2023; IT specialist by profession
- Doug Demeo — Pastoral Associate (since July 2018; former Jesuit)
- Janine Kramer — Director of Religious Education (M.A. Theology, Seminary of the Immaculate Conception)
- Maria Rapp — Administrative Assistant and Sodality member
- Yadira 'Yari' Crespo-Rodriguez — Bilingual Administrative Assistant / Office Manager
- Anne Cupp — Media Specialist (Flocknote newsletter, website, social media)
Faith Formation & Religious Education
Director of Religious Education Janine Kramer, who holds a Master of Arts in Theology from the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception and has served as a DRE in the Dioceses of Brooklyn and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, oversees parish religious education. Anne Cupp herself came into the Church through the OCIA (formerly RCIA) course at OLMC in 2018.
- Children's Liturgy of the Word held in the lower church
- OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) for adults entering the Church
- CCD/Religious Education programs coordinated by Janine Kramer
Liturgical Ministries
OLMC welcomes trained volunteers to serve at weekend Masses as Sacristans, Lectors and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. The Precious Blood of Jesus is offered at all weekend Masses, and flowers for the altar can be arranged through Maria Rapp in the Parish Office.
- Sacristan ministry
- Lector ministry
- Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion (Eucharistic Minister)
- Altar flowers coordinated through the Parish Office
- Precious Blood of Jesus distributed at all weekend Masses
Outreach & Community Groups
Pastoral Associate Doug Demeo coordinates the parish Creation Care Team, an environmental stewardship initiative inviting parishioners to care for creation as part of their Catholic faith. The Sodality of Our Lady of Mount Carmel continues a long-standing devotional tradition in the parish, with members like Maria Rapp serving in multiple liturgical roles.
- OLMC Creation Care Team (contact Doug Demeo, [email protected])
- Sodality of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
- Hispanic Ministry supported by Bilingual Administrative Assistant Yadira Crespo-Rodriguez
Communications & Social Media
Media Specialist Anne Cupp oversees creation and distribution of the weekly Flocknote newsletter and manages the parish website and social media channels. Daily and Sunday Masses are livestreamed via Facebook and YouTube.
- Weekly Flocknote newsletter
- Facebook page: facebook.com/olmcessex
- Livestream: weekdays 7:30 AM, Sundays 10:00 AM on Facebook & YouTube
Visiting & Contact
OLMC sits on Old Eastern Avenue in the Essex/Middle River area of eastern Baltimore County, within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The parish office can be reached by phone or email; staff speak English and Spanish to serve the bilingual congregation.
- Address: 1704 Old Eastern Avenue, Essex (Baltimore), MD 21221
- Phone: (410) 686-4972
- Fax: (410) 574-8785
- Parish email: [email protected]
- Archdiocese of Baltimore listing: [email protected]
Archdiocese of Baltimore Affiliation
OLMC is listed by the Archdiocese of Baltimore as 'Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Middle River) — seated parish, merged with St. Clare,' part of a renewed pastorate serving the Essex community.
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Baltimore
- Status: seated parish, merged with St. Clare (pastorate)
- Archbishop (at time of staff appointments): Most Rev. William E. Lori
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Charles Warren CurrierFounded 1893
First pastor; a devoted son of Our Lady of Mount Carmel who named the parish in her honor and published 'A History of the Discalced Carmelites in the United States' in 1890.
- Rev. Nicholas JaselliPre-1938 dedication
Built and dedicated the current Spanish Mission-style church and lower church in 1938, modeling it after a church he saw in El Paso, Texas.
- Msgr. Bob HartnettRetired
Retired priest who shared an oral history of OLMC on the parish website.
- Rev. John Streifel2023–present
Joined the Our Lady of Mount Carmel / St. Clare pastorate as pastor in 2023; previously administrator of St. Clare (from 2022). Ordained in 2018 for the Archdiocese of Baltimore; earlier assignments at St. John the Evangelist, Frederick, and St. Joseph, Buckeystown.