Schoenstatt – Reaching out Category

SOUTH AFRICA, Sarah-Leah Pimentel • For some time there has been a growing unease in Burundi. Lauded as a success story in the mid-90s for emerging from a bloody civil war into peace time democracy, Burundi’s golden fairytale has come to an end. A few months ago, the first whispers that not all was well in the small country began to surface. The whispers became rumours, rumour became fear, fear brought back memories of the dark days of war and ethnic tensions. The first few people began to leave theRead More
CHILE/CUBA, Father Pedro Pablo Celis • After celebrating the 100 years as a Schoenstatt Family, we began to see the fruits and graces of this Jubilee. We have had the opportunity to look back to express gratitude for the gifts we have received throughout all these years, renewing our ideals and beginning to plan the next one hundred years. When we look toward the future, it is necessary to begin from who we are, from our identity. The Latin American Boys’ Youth, but especially the Chilean Boys’ Youth has identifiedRead More
CHILE, Los Pinos, by Isidora González • Reñaca Más Alto is a social project that was born in 2010, at the hands of a group of University Boys’ Youth from Los Pinos: they are youths who are concerned about doing social work with the desire to build humanly and materially, with a committed spirit and generous hearts, they have the gaze of leaders, youths who not only saw a reality that was completely different from theirs just meters from their homes, a reality of which they decided to become aRead More
Published in the Ejempla newspaper Paraguay for Dequení’s 30th year • When he was is a little boy, he sold gum in the street, and today he sells investments in a bank. Derlis Cáceres is convinced that success in life depends on people of good will with whom you cross paths. There he was drinking tereré [herbal tea] with his street companions. He wanted to quench the thirst burning his throat with a sip of this refreshing drink, but he couldn’t, because it was not about a thirst because ofRead More
PARAGUAY, María Fischer • We were almost leaving, bidding farewell once again to this young and a struggling mother, who can barely speak Spanish, but at least she understands our language better than we understand her Guaraní. We understood the pride and gratitude of her gestures when she showed us her garden, her plants, and above all her little house, which is very small but clean and painted a light turquoise. While her daughter, Luz, a timid little girl, with difficulty moving her hands and feet, simply smiled and lookedRead More
PARAGUAY, by Maria Fischer • Even after the first hugs, smiles, and tears of this greatly desired encounter, we were not sure if it was a dream or reality. On April 6, 2015, schoenstatt.org visited Dequení. Dequení welcomed schoenstatt.org after ten years of solidarity with their mission. “We published the first article when it was preparing to celebrate its first 20 years of existence.” said the editor in chief of schoenstatt.org. “Now we are preparing for the 30th year celebration,” Andreza Ortigoza, Director of the Dequení Foundation said. On theRead More
ARGENTINA – Claudia Echenique and Cecilia Mata • Rejoice, Mary! This is how the article that was published at schoentatt.org on September 8, 2004, began, and this is when the phrase “translated to Italian by María Tedeschi” first appeared. Since then and thanks to the numerous articles María has translated from the city of La Plata, the Italian section of the website has been a great contribution to the growth of the Schoenstatt Family in Italy. On Monday, 11 May, María turned 90 years old, and she continues to translate.Read More
by Álvaro Real, Aleteia.org, VIS • Pope Francis decided to send $100,000 in aid to Nepal to help those affected by the earthquake that hit the country in late April and has taken the life of more than 4,000 people. The aid, which will be sent to the local Church will be used to help those displaced and the victims of the earthquake, and is a practical expression of the Pope’s feeling of spiritual closeness and fatherly encouragement toward the people and places that have been affected, during Sunday’s ReginaRead More
PARAGUAY, by María Fischer, Rita and Wilson Santacruz, Mariela Beatriz Vignola • How do they do it? What is the mystery of the Shrine of Tuparenda? What does the Shrine have that makes one fall in love instantly? What phenomenon occurs that so many people feel close to God in this Shrine? These questions emerged upon reading the testimonies, seeing the photos, and moreover from being in the midst of this mystery, in the midst of this phenomenon of the open shrine, of everyone’s Shrine, of the Shrine that stealsRead More
BRAZIL, Quixadá, CE, Sister M. Neiva Pavlak • On 28 March 2015, the coordinators, missionaries and families of the Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign and some members of the Rosario de Hombres Madre y Reina [Mother and Queen Rosary of Men] gathered for the annual training meeting held at the Quixadá Diocesan Pastoral Center. During the morning, they listened attentively to the explanations about the theme for the year: “With you Father, Family in Covenant: holiness and mission!” The DVD, “Cuál es el secreto de su corazón?” [“What is your heart’s secret?”],Read More