ROME, Fr Egon M. Zillekens. “We can only do it together”, was the conclusion drawn by Fr Heinrich Walter at the end of the closed conference of the General Presidium in the Schoenstatt Centre at Belmonte, Rome, from 23-26 June.
History and importance of Belmonte
We had a very full programme; on the first day we studied the history and importance of Belmonte. Fr Georg Egle was our expert leader around the site and through the Centre. Together with Dr Peter Wolf he filled us in on the vision of our founder for Belmonte by means of notes and statements, and presented the development since 1945, when the General Presidium gave our founder the shrine and centre at Belmonte on his 80th birthday. Our founder suggested that the Institute for Diocesan Priests should be the legal owners with the collaboration of a board of trustees. We discussed at depth the concept and future role of Belmonte for Schoenstatt and the Church.
Meetings and dialogue
On the second day our programme included meetings and dialogue. We celebrated Holy Mass with the Pallottine Superior General and thanked him for the gift of the Original Shrine. The meeting that followed was very warm. Fr General compared Fr Kentenich with Mother Teresa, who also discovered a new charism in her original community, and who was also called to make a new foundation. We then travelled to Rocca di Papa, the Focolare Centre, where we were warmly welcomed by the members of the governing body who led us through the Centre to the flat where Chiara Lubich had lived. At her grave we recalled our meeting with her at the founder’s grave in Schoenstatt and prayed together. We noticed in particular the mosaic in the chapel, which shows the Blessed Mother and her mission in the Church, emphasising its charismatic nature and the role of woman. The Fokolare have the special permission of the Pope to permanently have a woman as their President.
Affirming the vision of a Church at the new shore
The last day-and-a-half were spent discussing various subjects, especially, of course, the Jubilee, for which we expect to receive many more applications from Germany and all over the world. At the end of the Conference, on the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul, we thanked the Blessed Mother and our Father, and on behalf of all the Institute Priests we acknowledged our helplessness, our limitations, our reservations and failures. We again affirmed our founder’s vision of a Church at the new shore, and in it the mission of Belmonte. Finally we handed over to our father and founder the gift our predecessors had promised him 49 years ago, and expressed our promise and commitment in concrete terms. Among other things, the General Presidium promised that in the time to come it would meet once a year at Belmonte for a closed conference, because it sees Schoenstatt and Rome as the two focal points of an ellipse. It also promised to support the fundraising initiatives presented in these days.
We can only do it together: My conclusion
To summarise I would like to nail down the conclusion Fr Walter came to:
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We can only do it together: When it comes to Belmonte and the completion of this international Centre at the heart of the Church. Information is regularly given on the building project, the finances and the actual state of affairs, in particular via www.roma-belmonte.info and www.offerta.roma-belmonte.info. Plenty of material is availbale.
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We can only do it together: With regard to our great Jubilee in October, which we want to celebrate in Schoenstatt and Rome as part of a network.
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We can only do it together: When it comes to our Original Shrine as the radiant heart and centre, and the Pilgrims’ Place next to it.
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We can only do it together: With regard to the other spiritual Movements and communities in “Together for Europe” and the “original mission of the West in salvation history”.
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We can only do it together: When – in the first instance, with our closest Brothers and Sisters in the Pallottine Family – it comes to the “Apostolic World Confederation”.
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We can only do it together: With regard to our media and communication in Schoenstatt, in the various countries and continents. At Schoenstatt itself the Bundesheim (Covenant House), which is used at present by Office 2014 and full of life with its many teams and volunteers, and which with its rooms and technical equipment is optimally prepared for the Jubilee and the time thereafter.
Fr Egon M. Zillekens, Priests’ Federation
Original: German. Translation: Mary Cole, Manchester, England
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| July 12, 2014 – Presidencia General en Roma |
