BRAZIL, Pauline Alemeida. The founder of the Schoenstatt Movement, Fr. Joseph Kentenich, became an honorary citizen of Londrina (Paraná), a title given to figures who contributed to the development of the municipality. The political honour is also an international first and brought together about 3,000 people at Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral on 18 May, a date which also marks the 64th anniversary of the Tabor Shrine of the One who Crushes the Serpent.
Schoenstatt actively assisted in the growth of Londrina. Fr. Kentenich visited the municipality three times, and in 1947, enthroned an image of oue Mother and Queen Three Times Admirable in the cathedral. Through the Sisters of Mary, the spiritual daughters of our father and founder, Londrina pioneered in education and health.
The important contribution of the Schoenstatt Work in Londrina
Schoenstatt gained two victories through its relevant participation to society in Londrina. In addition to the honorary citizenship put forward by Councillor Roberto Kanashiro, the city also approved 2014 was the Year of the Schoenstatt Centenary.
Londrina mayor Alexandre Kireeff said that he researched Fr. Kentenich’s life and was impressed by his journey, exhibiting nobility even in the difficult moments, such as the Dachau concentration camp. He also emphasized that the honorary citizenship is the greatest title granted by the Londrina Municipality.
Councillor Roberto Kanashiro, who spearheaded the bill, emphasized the important contribution of the Schoenstatt Work in Londrina, particularly Santa Casa and the Mother of God College. Londrina’s Archbishop Emeritus Albano Cavallin, recalled that Fr. Kentenich’s work invested in the pillars of a Christian society: morality, education and health.
Representing the Schoenstatt Movement, Fr. Vandemir Meister received the posthumous honorary citizenship and celebrated a thanksgiving Mass for the title and the anniversary of the Tabor Shrine of the One who Crushes the Serpent. After Mass, he congratulated the people of Londrina for the title and reminded them that this is one more step in the preparation of the Jubilee.
History in Londrina
The first Sisters of Mary arrived in Londrina in 1936. In the same year, they began working at the Madeira Hospital, which in 1944 would become Santa Casa of Londrina. The Sisters themselves felt the need to train professionals and created the first nursing school in the city, the Mater Ter Admirabilis Center, which in 2014 will inaugurate its new headquarters at Gleba Palhano.
The municipality grew around the Mother of God College, also opened by the Sisters of Mary in 1938. A pioneer in mainstream education, the school became known for its music. The Schoenstatt Family in Londrina have the Tabor Shrine of the One who Crushes the Serpent, inaugurated on 18 May 1950 and works with the Pilgrim Mother, images of the Blessed Mother that visit about 60,000 families in the archdiocese.
Translated from the Portuguese by Sarah-Leah Pimentel, South Africa
