SWITZERLAND, Claudia Zimmermann/mcb. The Schoenstatt Shrine is on the grounds of the Friedberg School, the headquarters and the provincial house of the Swiss Pallottine Fathers. It was blessed on October 18, 1961, and it is a replica of the Original Shrine. The owners, the Pallottine Fathers, take care to maintain its originality. For many people from Gossau and its surroundings, this small chapel has become a place of grace and prayer. On September 10th, the Schoenstatt Work, the parish, and many friends will celebrate the Golden Anniversary of the Pallottine Fathers with the motto: “Receive and transmit.” The celebration will begin on September 10th with a night vigil organized by the Schoenstatt Youth.
At least from the legal point of view – the Shrine of Gossau does not belong to the Schoenstatters. The Pallottine Fathers are the owners; they built it 1961. Since both communities have the same roots, both feel rooted here. The work carried out jointly is good: the expense for remodeling was assumed in common.
From the Lourdes Grotto to the Schoenstatt Shrine
There was no chapel when the Pallottine Father founded their first Swiss headquarters in Gossau; there was no chapel. They acquired a cafe and later an empty building that had been an embroidery shop. In 1930 the students erected a small Lourdes Grotto that was later transformed into a chapel. A chronicle of 1935 states: “Two hundred-fifty cubic meters of dirt were removed with a truck.” In 1938 an altar was erected, where a picture of the Mother Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt, painted by Hungarian artist, Kalmar, was enthroned. It was an open Shrine a large iron fence was added in 1939.
“If we are saved from the war, we will build a Shrine,” the Fathers and the students promised at the beginning of World War II. And at the end of May 1945, they decided “to enlarge the Shrine, to create a closed area with heating.” It would be a “Chapel of Peace”.
This chapel was inaugurated in 1951; it had an enamel picture on the altar made by Leo Romer, a goldsmith from Gossau, stained glass windows, and a statue of Saint Vincent Pallotti.
A chapel on the road
After the school of the Pallottine Fathers was accredited as a high school, it was necessary to expand and to remodel the existing building. The architect planned and calculated…but the chapel dedicated to Mary, located in the center of the grounds, made the construction impossible. Finally it was decided: to demolish the chapel. The Fathers offered part of their patio on the southern side of their grounds to build a new Shrine. It was decided to build a true replica of the Schoenstatt Original Shrine. It was inaugurated in 1961, by the former superior provincial, Father Alfons Ledergeber. Father August Zielgler preached the homily.
A milestone of Schoenstatt history in Switzerland
The Shrine of Gossau, the city itself (even before the Shrine was built) is truly a milestone in Schoenstatt history in Switzerland. Father Kentenich was in Gossau in 1924. It was his first visit to Switzerland. The first general workshop about Schoenstatt was held in Gossau on December 28, 1952. In 1956 the first Professional Branch began anew. The investiture of three Swiss Sisters of Mary was held in 1944.
After the ecclesiastic declaration of Schoenstatt autonomy in 1964, the Shrine of Gossau lost its immediate importance for the members of the Movement. Then the Fathers who remained in Friedberg took care of the Shrine. The Sisters of Mary worked in the house until the end of 1970. At the beginning of the article, it was mentioned that the work of restoration was carried out jointly, which demonstrates the good relationship between both communities. This can be attributed to the loyal Schoenstatters from that area and the openness of the Pallottine Fathers. The annual Epiphany Workshops to which several communities are invited demonstrates that perhaps there will be a joint intense work in the future, completely in the spirit of Saint Vincent Pallotti.
Mission
The Schoenstatt Movement considers the Shrine of Gossau as its “Cenacle” such as when, after the Ascension of Jesus, Mary implored the coming of the Holy Spirit along with the apostles gathered in the Cenacle, they also implore this Spirit. Also today the people are continually strengthened in this Shrine. They go out to speak of God to others just like the apostles.
Life around the Shrine
The community of the Pallottine Fathers celebrates the Holy Mass in the Shrine every week. The Schoenstatt Movement meets there for the Covenant celebrations, and they meet in the Pallottine atmosphere. The Pilgrim MTA has begun to visit some families in the area. It has already been mentioned that they jointly organize the Epiphany Workshop. They also celebrate the Covenant Mass in January (around the anniversary of Saint Vincent Pallotti) in common. The newspaper of Gossau writes: “The Marian Chapel” has developed from a place of meditation and prayer to a small place of local pilgrimage.”
Contacts
Father Raffael Rieger, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, 9500 Wil
Tel. 071/911 70 93
E-Mail: p.raffaelschoenstatt.ch
H.+ M. Schöbi-Jud, Winkelriedstrasse 3, 9200 Gossau
Tel. 071/ 385 33 85
E-Mail: hschoebibluewin.ch
Detailed information about the program of the Golden Anniversary (in German) on the web page of Swiss Schoenstatt Movement: www.schoenstatt.ch, or Gossau
Translation: Celina Garza, San Antonio, Melissa Janknegt, Elgin, USA
