BRAZIL, Sr. M. Ivanir Castro. On 2 February, the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, the Schoenstatt Movement in Santa Maria, Brazil, held its 55th Pilgrimage Walk for the families who receive the pilgrim mother.
The aim of the pilgrimage is to give pilgrims the opportunity to visit our Blessed Mather at her Tabor Shrine and to give thanks for the many times she visited the homes of each family throughout the year.
The pilgrimage started early at 7 in the morning, to avoid walking in the intense heat. The pilgrims carried their Pilgrim Mothers, banners, flags and lots of joy.
The opening prayer took place at the Pé de Plátano wayside shrine. More people joined them along the way and the pilgrims also stopped at various points to pray, especially for the sick and the needy, as Pope Francis has urged us.
In Memoriam
It goes without saying that on a pilgrimage like this, the home of João Pozzobon is a compulsory spiritual stop to recall his selfless service to families and the Pilgrim Mother Campaign. Another compulsory station is the monument that marks the place where he was hit by a truck, dying hours later in hospital with the original Pilgrim Mother at his side.
When the pilgrims came within sight of the shrine — where Fr. Alexandre, a group of Sisters of Mary and lay people were waiting for them — one could feel the excitement as hearts united in prayer led by the priest who gave them all his blessing.
Mass was celebrated at the Marian Centre and the Pilgrim Mother missionaries renewed their commitment.
An original and fertile apostolate
On 1 February 1959, João Pozzobon began a new kind of apostolate. 45 years ago, it was difficult to imagine the fruitfulness of this missionary initiative which has spread to all continents. By taking our Mother Thrice Admirable to visit families, instead of waiting for families to visit the shrine, he created a different way of spreading the Good News, thus conquering many more hearts with the Blessed Mother’s gentle presence. She revealed herself as the Great Missionary.
As time went on, João Pozzobon noticed the need to increase the number of Pilgrim Mother images, so that more families could be blessed by a visit from our Mother of Schoenstatt.
The Pilgrim Mother Campaign is an unalienable part of the 100 years of the Covenant of Love.
May the Pilgrimage Walk that takes place very year in Santa Maria continue to take growing numbers of people to our Mother and Queen’s shrine so that they can receive the graces that they need.
Source: www.tabormta.org
Original: Portuguese – Translation: Sarah-Leah Pimentel, South Africa
