ITALY, Alessandra Zeverino •
The Italian Girls’ Youth, especially the one from Apulia, recently celebrated its first year of life. Alessandra, one of the girls from the group related about this wonderful experience. —
The first group of Apulia
We, the girls of the Schoenstatt Girls’ Youth, formed the first group in Apulia in October 2017. We are very united among ourselves, thanks to Sr. Julia’s great help.
In June we reached our first objective: going to the shrine in Rome.
What was the first experience of the Girls’ Youth from Apulia like?
On 11 June 2018, the eagles took flight toward the capital, Rome. We stayed in Belmonte, where we met the leader of the Girls’ Youth from Sicily. Every morning we met at the Matri Ecclesiae Shrine for a time of prayer. These meetings were based on carrying out short activities to discuss the following subjects:
- Being unique
- Being authentic
- Being loving
These themes made us think very much about ourselves as girls, and they were points that served to help improve our personalities.
Through different activities, such a treasure hunt, we deepened in our knowledge of the Schoenstatt Movement, and we grew close to the Blessed Mother.
This experience was possible thanks to Sr. Julia, who with her patience, accessibility, and kindness, contributed to the creation of this group.
A new objective
Today, as a group, we have set a second goal: Schoenstatt.
To accomplish this new objective, we decided to finance ourselves. Everyone in the Girls’ Youth has organized a bingo and a Rummy tourney—a type of card game.
During the Christmas celebrations, we visited the elderly. It was an unforgettable experience, since we will always remember their smiles and their joy.
We taught them our songs, especially the song epitomizing us: “My eagle.” We prayed with them doing a decade of the rosary, and then we bid farewell.
We are very happy we formed our group, since together we have experienced unforgettable moments. We hope to reach our objectives and to meet the girls from other Girls’ Youth groups. On behalf of all the groups, we sincerely thank our guide, Sr. Julia who teaches us to be unique girls under Mary’s example.
Original: Italian. 9 February 2019. Translation: Celina M. Garza, San Antonio, TX USA. Edited: Melissa Peña-Janknegt, Elgin, TX USA
