ARGENTINA, P. Darío Gatti •
On June 4, 2023, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of our Shrine in Rosario and the crowning of the Blessed Mother. Our Archbishop, Eduardo Eliseo Martín, presided over the celebration and also sealed the Covenant of Love. With him at the altar was Ernesto José Fernández, recently elected Auxiliary Bishop, member of our community of the Schoenstatt Institute of Diocesan Priests, and a diocesan priest received the Pilgrim MTA to go on mission with her… —
When I say “Rosario” in Argentina, people certainly associate it with Messi’s hometown. Perhaps it also rings a bell because of the painful news that is spread because of drug trafficking…but there is much more to show and tell. I can tell you that it is the city of “Cuna de la Bandera argentina” (Cradle of the Argentine Flag), because it was here that the “National Flag” was hoisted (Feb.27, 1812), commemorated by a beautiful monument on the banks of the majestic Paraná River. The city and archdiocese have been named “Rosario”, Rosary, after St. Mary, Mother and Lady, the Foundress, because from the beginning the population gathered around her blessed image (1773) in a small chapel. The city is a “melting pot” of natives and immigrants from the country itself and from foreign countries, where Mary, Mother of Jesus, Mother of the Church, also resides “in the part of her chosen children”, with the name of Our Lady of Schoenstatt.
30 years ago: Inauguration of the Schoenstatt Shrine in Rosario
It was a Sunday, June 6, 1993, a rainy and quiet day, filled with joy and blessings. We were gathered as a family, a large assembly from many parts, to celebrate the birth of a new place of grace, a new chapel of her presence, a daughter Shrine of the Blessed Mother in the land of the Queen of the Rosary. According to the liturgy, it was the Sunday of the Holy Trinity. A few years later, this holy place would receive its name and mission: “Shrine of the Most Holy Trinity, with Mary (of the Rosary), Heart of the Church”.
And in these days, Divine Providence allowed us to gratefully celebrate the 30th anniversary of our beloved Shrine. The entire Schoenstatt Family of Rosario was able to gather to express gratitude, celebrate and renew missionary zeal by remembering the 250 years of Mary of the Rosary’s presence among us, an Archdiocesan Jubilee Year in this year 2023, and as a Schoenstatt Family we wanted to crown the image of grace of our Mother….
The Covenant of Love of the Archbishop of Rosario
On June 4, 2023, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of our Rosario Shrine and the crowning of the Blessed Mother, who, like the great God, cannot be surpassed in generosity. We say, “Fidelity for fidelity”; we could add: Crown for crown. The Eucharistic celebration was presided by Archbishop Eduardo Eliseo Martin, who was accompanied by a large number of clergy and the community. On this occasion, the bishop himself was ready to seal his Covenant of Love, along with a beautiful group of about ten other people, happy “new allies.” It is beautiful that one of the concelebrants, Father Ernesto Fernández, a member of the Secular Institute of Schoenstatt Diocesan Priests, was recently named an Auxiliary Bishop, and that on this joyful occasion, a young priest from the Rosario Presbytery received a picture of the Pilgrim MTA from the Rosary Campaign. These are not coincidences, but gifts from the Blessed Mother and God.
Gifts are tasks
Rosario, crowning, 30 years of life, new mission, new allies of the Blessed Mother…as our Father and Founder said, “gifts are tasks.” The Blessed Mother has carried out her task very well from her throne of grace; and we, I hope, will continue to do better and better, giving our lives and service to our brothers and sisters for a fruitful capital of grace and a happy apostolate, being the heart of the Church, for the joy of our Founder and the Queen of the Rosary, our Schoenstatt allies, and all to the praise of the Holy Trinity: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit!
Video of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Shrine (YouTube). If you click on this link, you will leave schoenstatt.org
Social Networks (If you click on this link, you will leave schoenstatt.org)
Original: Spanish. Translation: Maria Fischer @schoenstatt.org
