Pope John Paul said the scapular should foster an awareness that devotion to Mary "cannot be limited to prayers and tributes in her honor on certain occasions, but must a habit, that is, a permanent orientation of one's own Christian conduct," expressed in prayer and in action.

The anniversary was connected to a tradition that Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock, a Carmelite, in 1251 and gave him the scapular, an apron-like brown piece of fabric that fits over the head.

Over time, lay people joining confraternities connected with the Carmelites also received the scapular. As its popularity grew, its size shrank.

Today the small scapular has two stamp-sized cards one with a picture of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the other of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or of St. Simon - sewn onto brown fabric and connected with brown ribbons.

In homilies and books, in speeches and on Web sites, the Carmelites are careful to explain that doubts surround the historical authenticity of St. Simon's vision; no written account of it appeared before the late 1300s.

At the same time, "we have no proof that the vision did not happen," said Carmelite Father Redemptus Valabek, a professor in Rome and an expert on Carmelite spirituality and Marian devotion.

The Carmelite priest promotes the scapular, but with a clear view of reaching modern men and women and ensuring the devotion does not stray into superstition.

The traditional story about the vision says Mary told St. Simon that whoever wore the scapular would be saved from the fires of hell.

At the height of the scapular's popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, Father Valabek said, some people treated it as an amulet or magic charm that not only would guarantee someone would not go to hell, but could override any just punishment awaiting a sinner in Purgatory.

It was not unusual to hear someone explain that on Judgment Day, no matter what Jesus first thought, Mary would guarantee those wearing the scapular would get into heaven.

Some of the old thinking was "insidious," Father Valabek said.

Mary is not there to do something Christ won't. He is the Good Shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep," he said.

"Mary is not a parallel way to heaven," he added. "She's not going to sneak us in."

Although not nearly as popular as it was 40 years ago, the scapular is still second only to the rosary as a frequently used Marian devotion, Father Valabek said.

In fact, he said, a confrere at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Middletown, N.Y., told him they. sometimes have trouble keeping up with the demand for scapulars.

While people are technically enrolled in the scapular confraternity when they receive it, there is no longer a central registry of their names and, therefore, no way to know how many people use the devotion.

Father Valabek hinted that he and other Carmelites would like to see a return to the registry and, even more, a renewed awareness of the scapular's connection to the Carmelite community and its spirituality.

Pope John Paul knew the connection even as a youth.

In his 1996 book, Gift and Mystery, he wrote of the Marian thread" running through his youth and the development of his vocation to the priesthood, which included thinking about joining the Carmelites. "On a hilltop in Wadowice," his hometown, "there was a Carmelite monastery," the pope wrote. "People from Wadowice would go there in great numbers, and this was reflected in: the widespread use of the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

"I, too, received the scapular, I think at the age of 10, and I still wear it," he wrote.

The scapular's origin was as part of the Carmelite habit, a symbol of belonging to the order and living its rule.

The tradition that Mary told. St. Simon anyone wearing it would not go to hell makes sense if one realizes that wearing the scapular meant striving with one's whole being to live the Gospel, Father Valabek: said.

Wearing the scapular, he said, is an acknowledgment of. Mary's love and protection and is a pledge to imitate her as the ideal of Christian discipleship.

The scapular "has hit hard. times, like many popular devotions," Father Valabek. said, but he is hopeful the anniversary celebration will mark its return among Catholics and a new focus on Carmelite spirituality.

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