Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the call for reform preoccupied the Church, society and especially the religious orders. In 1593, following the reform introduced by Teresa of Avila, the Carmelite Order split into two branches: the original Order (O.Carm.) and the Discalced Carmelites (OCD).
Soon after, the Reform of Touraine, in its turn, would leave its mark on the original Order. Introduced in France, this reform movement spread through the Low Countries, into the two German provinces and from there into Bohemia and Poland. The Belgian Province thus provides a particular example of a reform movement at work in the Carmelite Order. This study traces the introduction of reform in a medieval Order and shows for the first time how it encapsulates the concept of confessionalisation proposed by W. Reinhard and H. Schilling.