mda. Despite the train strike in Germany on October 15th and an important airline on October 16th, the nations are arriving. The physical pilgrimage to Schoenstatt has begun after five years of spiritual pilgrimage and praying daily: “Dear Mother and Mother of the Lord, with great joy we start out on our pilgrimage to your Shrine…” Now people are on pilgrimage to this Shrine in the Schoenstatt valley, on a summer-like day in the middle of October, with a radiant sun and temperatures that made some take off the woolen mufflers that they were wearing… Someone recalled the Conference 2014 moment, when “the bad weather at that time” was an obstacle a few minutes before the decision for the date of the celebration for the 100 years of the Covenant of Love. Despite that, the great majority of the delegates from thirty-three countries decided: we want to celebrate the Jubilee on the 18th of October, all together, in the Original Shrine. “It seems that the Blessed Mother also wants it,” a Conference 2014 participant commented.
The first ones to arrive at the Original Shrine as a country were pilgrims from South Africa and Kenya on the night of October 15th. Despite a long trip and a high degree of weariness, despite having to find an extra bus to go and to return to their hotel in Ehrenbreitstein, they wanted to be peacefully in the Original Shrine for an hour. “We want to be in the Original Shrine. That is the reason we did everything.”
A group of North Americans missed flight connections, some individual pilgrims, who were stranded in the Frankfurt airport, found “angels” who brought them to Schoenstatt, IQ Incoming personnel provided outstanding telephone service and helped at the airport, area hotels filled with pilgrims who have met or will meet to prepare themselves or who will take the opportunity for some tourism, the rosaries for the pilgrims that arrived at Belmonte remained stranded in Italian Customs, a group of pilgrims from Peru still want to celebrate a Holy Mass in Belmonte on the day of the “continued pilgrimage,” the world’s Catholic media publish articles about Schoenstatt, the magazine “Ciudad Nuevea” (New City) of the Foclare from Spain dedicated three pages to Schoenstatt’s Jubilee, a couple of Schoenstatt.org collaborators danced with joy to know that Pope Francis will speak in Spanish in the general audience and they forgot to sleep, the Swiss Schoenstatt Family and Freiburg welcomed the youths from Fackellauf, which has become an “advent” of the Jubilee… The moment has arrived.
Surprise in Memhoelz
The afternoon of the 14th, the doorbell rang at the Schoenstatt Center in Memhoelz. It was great surprise to see a group of happy Brazilians in blue jackets, who arrived on a chartered caravan. After visiting Dachau and Munich, they now wanted to stay in Memhoelz. May no one say that Germans do not know how to improvise – like magic it was possible to offer them supper and breakfast in the large dining room…They prayed and sang in the Shrine, they were happy to meet Father Kentenich in the statue on the way to the Shrine, and they left early on the 15th of October, with the destination of Stuttgart and then Schoenstatt, where they will be camping on Mount Sion…
The wait in Schoenstatt
Up to the last minute, benches, cameras, and stages are being set up… translations are made, tons of paper are produced, things are taken from one place to another. However, those who visited the Original Shrine during the last days, found an atmosphere of prayer, of peace, of waiting. A couple of days ago, a webcam in the Original Shrine is now working – like those of the large shrines of the world, where pilgrims can pray virtually twenty-four hours a day in these holy places. The Original Shrine is turned on every night to transmit the night blessing (via www.urheligtum.de).
And as the Original Shrine opens its doors wide to receive the 2014 pilgrims …the long awaited moment has arrived.
Original: Spanish – Translation: Celina M. Garza, San Antonio, TX USA
