BRAZIL, via www.portalodia.com •
This Saturday, June 18, the Archdiocese of Teresina will lay the cornerstone for the construction of the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Mother and Queen – the popular title of the Mother Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt in Brazil, where also the Schoenstatt Movement, specially in its popular form, is called Movement Mother and Queen. The program will begin with a procession from the Ponte Estaiada, starting at 2:30pm, to the site located in Povoado Santa Luz, rural area of Teresina, where the Holy Mass will be presided by Bishop Jacinto Brito, around 3:30pm. —
In Brazil and other countries in the world there are several shrines dedicated to the Mother Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt, but in Piauí, despite the strong Marian devotion and the old desire to build a shrine, there is still no temple built. According to Lourdinha Alcântara, diocesan coordinator of the Mother and Queen movement in Teresina, the dream of building a shrine will become a reality after a piece of land is donated.
A diocesan shrine
“The construction is of great importance for our Marian mission, because it will increase our spirituality. It will be a place to ask for graces and also to give thanks for those obtained. Our shrine will not be an official daughter shrine, but diocesan. However, our prayers will be directed to the Original Shrine, which emanates all these graces,” she explained.
Even before the construction has started, the faithful of the Mother and Queen and the Men’s Rosary movement have already gathered at the site to pray the rosary, celebrate masses and moments of spirituality. The archdiocesan secretary of the Men`s Rosary, Vitor Lopes, revealed that he visits the place whenever he can and that his expectations for the construction of the new shrine are the best possible.
“The Men`s Rosary is also part of the Mother and Queen Movement (= Schoenstatt). And whenever we need to go to the nearest shrine, we have to travel approximately a thousand kilometers. After the construction, we will have a closer source to strengthen our faith. When we received the donation of the land, we were very surprised, because we did not know the intention of the offer. We are very grateful for this beautiful action”, he said.
An act of faith born from a promise
The couple Edival and Alsiana were responsible for the donation of the land. They lived in the state of Ceará and moved to Piauí to perform this beautiful act of faith that was born from a promise. For the businessman Edival Alves, the donation of the land is the payment of a promise after a grace was obtained.
“When we got married, we were only 14 years old. During this period, we went through some financial difficulties, and I made a promise to Our Lady that if I managed to get out of that situation, I would repay her in some way. She granted us and when we got to know about this dream of building a shrine, we decided to donate this place that has two hectares”, she said.
Raising funds for the construction
Several actions are being carried out with the intention of raising funds for this construction, such as auctions, carnets and bingos, until the temple is completed. Fábio Nascimento, the engineer responsible for the work and who is also part of the Schoenstatt movement, explained that the works are still in the initial phase.
“We did all the altimetry and topography of the terrain and mapping with the help of a drone. It is a large piece of land, but we are still at the beginning of this great work. We will work to make it beautiful, functional, and easy to access, with a large and welcoming parking lot,” he explained.
Although there is a standard size and structure to be followed in the construction of the shrine, the place will have a large external space, with a tent with capacity to receive more than a thousand people, besides dormitories, stores and parking lot. Father Gonçalo Teixeira, who is part of the commission for the construction of the temple, informed that the place, even without a physical structure, has already been welcoming pilgrims from different places.
“When we told people about the construction of the shrine, we noticed the beginning of the movements and pilgrimages here, even outside the visiting days. On the 18th of every month, priests and deacons are coming to celebrate and welcome a great number of people”, he revealed.
Original: Portuguese. Translation: Maria Fischer @schoenstatt.org
