By ACI Prensa, CNA - When speaking of the brown scapular, Pope Pius XII once said: “The devotion to the Carmelite scapular has brought down on the world a copious rain of spiritual and temporal graces.”... It is a gift from the Virgin Mary... According to tradition, the scapular, as it is now known, was given by the Virgin Mary herself to St. Simon Stock on July 16, 1251. Mary told him: “It must be a sign and a privilege for you and for all Carmelites: Whoever dies wearing the scapular will not suffer eternal fire.” Later, the Church extended the use of the scapular to the laity.