CHILE, Roberto Seguel •
This Saturday, March 16, the 49th edition of the pilgrimage to Christ the Redeemer, on the Chile-Argentina border, called Finis Terrae, “the end of the earth”, will be held. —
Mario Hiriart
Inspired by the words of Mario Hiriart (1931-1964), a young consecrated layman who belonged to the Institute of Schoenstatt Brothers of Mary, we want to go on pilgrimage with him to Christ the Redeemer, making his great desire our own: “We will build a shrine in the Andes as a symbol of peace and unity of our peoples and our hearts”.
This yearning is renewed every year on the third Saturday of March, when, together, especially Chileans and Argentineans, we make it our own.
A pilgrimage open to all
The invitation is for everyone who wishes to participate in this pilgrimage, along with their families. It is not necessary to belong to Schoenstatt, to a specific congregation or group, but anyone who wishes can go, since this pilgrimage serves to increase faith and to renew oneself. Besides, it is a very beautiful day trip, with wonderful landscapes and sharing with other communities, with an enormous spiritual experience.
The goal: Christ the Redeemer
Invitation
The Christ Redeemer is a work of the Argentine sculptor Mateo Alonso, which was built in the Uspallata pass (the Christ measures 6 meters and the cross 7), right on the line of the Argentine-Chilean border at 3854 meters above sea level (Coordinates: 32°49′31″S 70°04′15″W / -32.825306, -70.07075).
Inaugurated on March 13, 1904, it was built to remember the peaceful overcoming of border boundary problems (we have border of more than 5300 km, so there was some difference).
It is worth remembering these words of Ramón Ángel Jara, bishop of San Carlos de Ancud, on March 13, 1904, in a fragment that describes the intention and symbolism of the monument: “And when future generations climb these gorges, led by the arms of steam, they will not find, as at Thermopylae, written in blood on the bare stones, that testament of the heroic Spartans: ‘Here we surrendered our lives to defend the laws of our homeland’. Rather, they will reach this summit and in the bronze of this glorious monument they will see engraved with characters of fire a sublime legend: ‘These mountains will collapse first, before Argentines and Chileans break the peace sworn at the feet of Christ the Redeemer'”.
- Source of information about Christ the Redeemer: https://www.infobae.com/sociedad/2024/03/13/la-historia-del-cristo-redentor-de-los-andes-el-impulso-de-una-aristocrata-y-dos-paises-al-borde-de-la-guerra/
- Questions about the pilgrimage: peraltav.sergio@gmail.com
- Questions about the Mario Hiriart Foundation: fundacionmariohiriart@gmail.com
- Questions about the Madrugadores of Santiago de Chile: rtoseguel@gmail.com
Original: Spanish. Translation: Maria Fischer @schoenstatt.org
