Special days in Alabama and New Orleans

USA, Cathy Johnson. June 29, 2011, was an exciting night for the Schoenstatt family. Father Gerold Langsch, National Director for Schoenstatt in the U.S.A., and Cathy Johnson, Alabama State Coordinator of the Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign, were guests on EWTN’s “Live with Father Mitch Pacwa.”

Starring: Cathy Johnson and Fr. Gerold Langsch

EWTN is watched by an audience of over 150 million families. The program focused on the Schoenstatt Movement and the Rosary Campaign. Father Gerold discussed his involvement in taping 13 programs in German on the subject of the family and promoted his CD, the proceeds of which go toward the education and upkeep of the seminarians of the Schoenstatt Fathers. To order the CDs, see below. The webmaster for the Schoenstatt Wisconsin web site reported over 2,500 hits for the two days after the show.

Schoenstatters from neighboring states of Alabama, Georgia, Lousiana, Tennessee and Ohio came to show their support. After the show, a reception was held at a nearby home. It was a very lively time and those present had an opportunity to meet other members and to experience what it meant to be part of a Schoenstatt family.

Connections…

After the completion of his German series, Cathy and Father Gerold visited a neighboring retreat center and a parish school to promote the Rosary Campaign.

The next day, they visited the Benedictine Abbey in Cullman and toured the facilities where the Schoenstatt Retreat will be held October 28-30, 2011. Father Gerold will be the Retreat Master. Father Gerold and Cathy commissioned the first Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign group in the northern Alabama area. Father Michael Chilen, a retired Army Chaplain who lives in the area, stopped by to say hello. During his visit, he and Father Gerold discovered that they knew and worked with many priests in common. Father Chilen met Cathy a few months previously at the Abbey and talked about Schoenstatt, after he saw the Schoenstatt bumper sticker on the back of her car. At that time, he told Cathy that he remembered well a certain Schoenstatt Sister by the name of Sister Jessica Swedzinski whom he met during his visits to the original Shrine in Germany. Both were surprised at the connection since Cathy has worked closely with Sister Jessica for many years. So both Father Chilen and Sister Jessica contacted each other after an absence of many years.

Meetings…

They also met and lunched with Father Joel Martin, Headmaster of St. Bernard Prep School. After a tour of the Benedictine Ave Maria Grotto, a famous tourist spot, they drove to Mother Angelica’s Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament to meet with Sister Mary Veronica, a former Schoenstatt Youth member, now a Poor Clare Sister.

After First Saturday Mass and Rosary, Father Gerold and Cathy – a former resident of New Orleans – met with several Schoenstatt members at her parish. Immediately after, they drove to New Orleans for meetings at two area churches the next day. Father celebrated Mass in Kenner, led several members in their Covenants of Love and spoke to a group of 40-50 people before driving to the Slidell area. Twenty-six members there made their Covenants of Love.

The Blessed Mother was truly at work because the hearts of many people were opened and many people had their questions and problems resolved. The winds of change are truly blowing and more hearts are being turned to our Mother and her son, Jesus.