ARGENTINA, mkf. The longest and largest pilgrimage from Entre Rios, a walk of 90 kilometers, that unites the wayside shrine of the Blessed Mother in Hasenkamp and the Schoenstatt Shrine of La Loma, Paraná will depart Friday, at 5:00 p.m. from the city of Hasenkamp: it will arrive in Paraná to the Shrine of La Loma, in the area of Paracao, on Saturday, more than a day later, at about 7:00 PM.
Although there is some anxiety among the organizers regarding the weather conditions and the possibility that rain will hamper the walk, the advance work of preparation beat the clock, just like every year.
Everything is done with foresight and a focus that is repeated from previous years. About 25,000 people will be walking day and night, within the framework of Pilgrimage of the People.
Blessing of a new wayside shrine in Hasenkamp
The afternoon departure will be after the blessing of the new wayside shrine of Our Lady of Schoenstatt built in one of the entrances to the city of Hasenkamp. The Auxiliary Bishop from Paraná, César Fernández, will be present to bless the work and the pilgrims.
The representatives from the parish community of Las Garzas, an area located twelve kilometers from Hasenkamp, will be in front of the pilgrims and behind the picture of Our Lady of Schoenstatt. Tomorrow, Archbishop Mario Maulíon will welcome them and the thousands of walkers who are participating. The final part of the walk will be in the area of the Paracao neighborhood.
It began with two youth and gift for the Blessed Mother
It will be another edition of a walk that began more than a quarter of century ago as the personal initiative of two youth from Hasenkamp who were members of the Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement. In 1983 these young men wanted to pay homage to the Blessed Mother, and through her mediation to the mothers.
Those first attempts were foiled by the adverse weather conditions, until they could finally accomplish their goal. Jorge Quiroz and Amelio Rodriquez were the initiators, the first one still lives in Hasenkamp, the second one now lives in Paraná. Estela Pasutti joined the boys the following year; she still continues to work in the organization. The following year they walked again, and since that time, more pilgrims have joined them. The experience has grown through word of mouth.
In 2000, then Archbishop Estanislao Esteban Karlic ranked it as a “diocesan” activity, and since that time, it has not stopped growing in numbers most of all among the youth.
Collaboration
Father José María Zanuttini, pastor of Saint Joseph in Hasenkamp, highlighted the level of participation of entire community of this city of 4000 inhabitants. “This year we emphasized the participation of more than 170 young servers who are from the town and will help the pilgrims and its surrounding areas,” he pointed out.
Moreover, he stressed “that this year there was a much greater collaboration and commitment than in other years by the different entities, such as the National Highway Department, the Police from Entre Rios and Gendarmería, the forces that take care of the pilgrims on the route. We have also have had the support of the cities of Paraná. Cerrito and Hasenkamp”.
The family is the axis
This year, the Pilgrimage of the People will be carried out with the motto: With Jesus and like Mary we build the family as a shrine of life.
The family will be the axis; Archbishop Maulíon manifested this in a pastoral letter that he addressed to the organizers and the pilgrims. “We want to recover respect for the family and for life in all its forms. In order to do this, it is necessary to have education and legislation that transmits a profound moral conviction about the value of each human life, of each person in all of its stages, from conception until natural death; especially the life of the excluded and defenseless”, Maulion pointed out.
“Times are difficult: Jesus said – he indicated – There are many ways in which morality and healthy customs are weakened diluting the moral values that have made and that make man, the family, and society sound.”
With material from AICA and the Newspaper of Paraná
Translation: Celina Garza, San Antonio, USA/Melissa Janknegt, Elgin, USA
