The Blessed Mother gathering hearts under her mantle in Canada

CANADA, Marcela Fernández •

For many years now, Schoenstatters from many countries of the world that made Canada their home have been contributing their capital of grace in the most varied ways so that the Blessed Mother can also establish herself here and unite our hearts in this vast country. —

This is how Schoenstatters who have been in Canada for many years have lived their mission in different ways to make the movement known to others. In Calgary, with an image of the Blessed Mother in St. Bernard’s Church, in Toronto with an image in St. John the Baptist Parish, in Winnipeg by organizing the Rosary Campaign with many Pilgrim Mothers visiting families. Many other Schoenstatters dotted across Canada came with their Pilgrim Mother with the desire to make her known and started life groups to share our spirituality and dream together of one day building their first Shrine here.

All these hearts began to work together even more strongly after the pandemic, with virtual meetings that allowed us to get to know each other, pray together and unite our efforts asking our Blessed Mother to pour out the graces of rootedness, transformation and apostolic mission that are so much needed in this country.

This 2023 has been very special. We feel that the Blessed Mother has been able to show the fruits of all these contributions to the capital of grace throughout the years. We have been able to concretize encounters and consolidate activities in different cities. It fills us with joy to see how we are all brothers and sisters guided and united under the same mantle.

Schoenstatt Canada Regional Meeting in Vancouver, May 2023

Regional Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia

In May, Schoenstatt Canada held a Regional Meeting in Vancouver with the attendance of many Schoenstatters living in the western provinces of the country.  From this meeting the movement was further consolidated in the region.  We were very motivated by the great participation of the youth in this meeting. One of the participants commented: “We prayed, sang, cried, laughed, told our stories accompanied by delicious food”.  From this meeting came the motto “Under the mantle of Mary, bringing hearts together”.

Covenant Mass at St. Bernard’s Church, Calgary on October 18, 2023

Schoenstatt Calgary, Alberta

In Calgary, activities are held at St. Bernard’s Church, where there is an image of the Blessed Mother, there is also the Pilgrim Mother Campaign, and last October 18th, the Covenant of Love Mass was celebrated and broadcasted live on Schoenstatt Canada’s Instagram and Facebook so that the other regions could participate.

Meetings of the missionaries in Winnipeg, Province of Manitoba

Schoenstatt Winnipeg, Manitoba

The Rosary Campaign has been present in Winnipeg for more than 15 years. The missionaries meet monthly to pray the Rosary together and do meditations.  Last October 18th, the Covenant of Love Mass was celebrated with the attendance of the missionaries, and the families who receive the Blessed Mother in their homes were invited. Together they crowned the Blessed Mother in a Mass in the Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption.

Enthronement of the Blessed Mother and Covenant of Love Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, November 18, 2023, Toronto. The title photo shows the first group to seal their Covenant of Love with the Blessed Mother in Schoenstatt Toronto, May 2023

Schoenstatt Toronto, Ontario

At the beginning of 2023 a Schoenstatt group was formed in Toronto at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish where the image that was in St. John the Baptist Church was transferred. This group of new Schoenstatters have demonstrated their great love for the Blessed Mother and with their Capitals of Grace they have been able to hold many meetings, monthly Covenant of Love Masses, a beautiful hymn for the Blessed Mother and finally on November 18th the enthronement of a new altar for the Blessed Mother so that it can be a place of grace and pilgrimage.  This group also held a retreat in October where the ideal of the group “Under your mantle, united in your love“ was defined.

Strengthening the Movement in Canada

It is very exciting to see how the Schoenstatt Movement is consolidating more and more in Canada in the different provinces, how the Blessed Mother is uniting us as a large family and how she is attracting new hearts so that with our capital of grace she can establish herself with more strength and depth in this beautiful country, all sheltered under the same mantle!

The Image of the Blessed Mother in St. Bernard’s Church during this time of Advent 2023