Maria Fischer with Mercedes Bonorino •
Uniting the Blessed Mother’s mission from Rome in reaching the broadest circles of the Church and the world, the wayside shrines’ current continues very strongly in great part thanks to Ana Echevarría and Mercedes Bonorino’s creativity and dedication along with the entire Argentinean Belmonte circle.
Every missionary sending a photo of their wayside shrine not only receives the Belmonte Bulletin to keep them informed, but they also receive a personal greeting with an incentive to join in prayer and offer capital of grace for Belmonte’s mission to the Church.
Before Christmas, Ana Echevarría and Mercedes Bonorino forwarded Mons. Peter Wolf’s Christmas greeting and a link to the world of the Campaign, to all the missionaries in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Argentina, Uruguay and Austria, who had sent a photo of their wayside shrine. Moreover they sent it to the leaders of the Campaign in Argentina as well as participants in the International Congress of the Campaign.
In the mean time, there are already more than 100 present on the future large digital mosaic in Pozzobon Hall at Belmonte. Among them is the Falfurrias, Texas wayside shrine in the United States that is like a little daughter shrine. Its name is Our Heart’s Delight, Shrine of Joy. It is the first wayside shrine from the United States joining the current.
Mercedes Bonorino writes to everyone: “Thank you for helping to form the Blessed Mother’s face at Belmonte, each wayside shrine is an enormous joy and blessing, hopefully all of them will arrive!”
Wayside Shrine inFalfurrias, Texas, USA
Memories of the Shrine visited
When Cláudia Maria and Attilio Ferraro, from Taubaté, Brazil, received the Christmas bulletin, they remembered their visit to the Belmonte Shrine with great emotion: “We learned about Belmonte in May 2014, when we went on pilgrimage to Schoenstatt. This Shrine marked our trip since it was the first one we had visited outside of Brazil. Since then we love its history, and we hope we can return someday. May all the projects at Belmonte be fulfilled in 2017.
They sent a photo of Claudia close to Fr. Kentenich’s statue with this testimony. They do not have a photo of both together since they took turns taking the photos with their cellphone.
Over the last few weeks, they looked for photos of many wayside shrines in Taubaté, Santo Antonio do Pinhal and Tremembé, and they sent them to be part of the Pilgrim Mother mosaic in Pozzobon Hall.
The first and only wayside shrine of the city
When she sent a photo of the “centenary wayside shrine” in Santa Fe, Maria Cristina Nani commented: “This Wayside Shrine was blessed on 18 October 1914 on grounds that were ceded by a private individual and that was then confiscated by the City of Santa Fe for the construction of an urban train.
Therefore it was moved to its present location in the little Martin Fierro Square of that city, and Archbishop of the Diocese, José María Arancedo, in honor of Joao Pozzobon, blessed it on 27 June of 2015. It is our first and only wayside shrine in the city.
Centenary Wayside Shrine, Santa Fe, Argentina
Joao Pozzobon’s landing in this little corner of Rome
As all these photos arrive, they will be placed in such a way that all of them will form a picture of the Schoenstatt Pilgrim Mother. The image will be an expression of the Mother Thrice Admirable’s living presence that is manifesting itself in so many corners of the world on five continents. In this way, every country will be represented in this little place, close to Joao Pozzobon who sowed so many wayside shrines on his way, transforming streets and routes into centers of Marian influence.
Just as Pope Francis said, in referring to Cura Brochero, Joao Pozzobon is also “a pioneer in going out to the geographical and existential peripheries to take God’s love and mercy to everyone.” (Pope Francis, 2013 Letter on Beatification of Father Brochero).
God’s love and mercy to everyone.
Departing from the Shrine, allied with Mary, with the Pilgrim Mother on his shoulder, and a Rosary in his hand, he traveled 140,000 km visiting families, schools, hospitals, and jails, to invite everyone to live the Gospel in Covenant of Love with her. In this way, he became a living image of what the Pope invites us to embody as the Church reaching out. God willing, that upon visiting the hall that bears his name, many will be enkindled by the example of his life and depart from Belmonte determined to follow his footsteps…
Life enkindles life. We cannot imagine what Joao’s landing in this little corner of Rome will generate…
Source: Belmonte Bulletin, January 2017
www.pozzobon.roma-belmonte.info
Original: Spanish. Translation: Celina M. Garza, San Antonio, TX USA. Edited: Melissa Peña-Janknegt, Elgin,TX USA
