CHILE, mda. VINCULO, the Schoenstatt Family magazine in Chile, since March, has been offering us a monthly timeline of the events in 1914, written by Sr. M. Jimena Allende. It includes events in Schoenstatt, Germany, Chile, and all over the world in 1914, a year marked by the start of the First World War, and which this year is being remembered in a wide variety of publications, presentations, films and conferences – the worst war in history. In this war, more people died and more damage was done than in any international conflict before it. More than 20 million people died in that war. On its centenary, no one wishes to celebrate it except with an attitude of “never again,” Schoenstatt dares to celebrate its own Jubilee yea, with an immense joy in the covenant of love born in the heart of this terrible war, a covenant of love that continues to generate more covenants…
APRIL 1914
SCHOENSTATT
- On April 1, Fr. Joseph Kentenich, watched over the progress of the young group in Schoenstatt from a distance because he is at a clinic in Bad Ems, between the Lahn River and a pine forest. His lungs have been week since his novitiate and he needs several days to rest.
- At the start of this month the old chapel, dedicated to St. Michael, was not still available to Fr. Kentenich’s students and was being used as a garden shed. However by July, Fr. Michael Kolb, the provincial superior, officially passed it on to them
- April 12: Easter
- Sunday, April 19 in Albis: Foundation of the Marian Congregation in the house chapel at of the Minor Seminary of the Pallottine Fathers, with twenty-eight members officially admitted. From this day on, they were called: The Congregants of Mary. The director was F. Franz Wagner. Fr. Kentenich tells them: “If we are called radicals … Christ, the most devoted to Mary at all times, was also radical…” The Spiritual Director laid out what the consecration means: Mary, in union with Christ – and service to Mary is the immediate significance of the Congregation. Here, the basic lines of Schoenstatt were already laid out. The Congregation adopted two Marian prayers as their own. One is from St. Francis of Sales (we have not been able to find more details). The second one is: “My Queen, my Mother…” of Jesuit origin circa the 17th century.
(Note: 100 years later, we can clearly see an invisible arch of continuity between April 19 and October 18, 1914)
IN THE WORLD
- April 6: the USA and Colombia signed a treaty for the use of the Panama Canal. Colombia would be able to transport troops, ships, and war material through the Canal without paying tolls.
- April 7: The Russian Naval Ministry orders shipbuilders throughout the country not to take any more orders for Germany.
- April 20: In the Mexican revolution, President Wilson orders American troops to occupy Veracruz. This was to suppress the revolution that was about to emerge.
- April 23: Spanish Language Day, to celebrate the importance of this language. To date, there are about 450 million Hispanic speakers in the world.
- Leaders: Thomas Woodrow Wilson in the USA, Tsar Nicolas II in Russia, George VI in England, Emperor William II in Germany, Victor Manuel III in Italy and Ramón Barros Luco in Chile.
- During this time, the Zeppelin, the first flying object to be controlled during a long flight gives rise to the question: “can it be used in the war?” The Navy had one in Hamburg and another under construction, but the Army doubted its use. It was never used for this purpose.
- Einstein transfers to Berlin and is elected member of the Prussian Academy of Science and director of the Institute of Physics Kaiser Wilhelm.
CHILE
- April 5: The authorities, the Armed Forces and schools commemorate the embrace between San Martin and O´Higgins (1818) after the battle of Maipú. Included in the commemorations is the promise made by General San Martin: “Our Patroness, the Blessed Virgin of Carmel, will give us victory and right here, we shall construct a temple to commemorate this victory.”
- April 15. The Catholic University inaugurates the main space for its Mathematics courses.
- At this time, Juanita Fernandez, St. Teresa of the Andes, reads “The Story of a Soul” by Therese of Lisieux for the first time.
We are grateful to the editors of Vinculo for offering this material in solidarity and are inviting the readers of our web page to extend it (via comments).
Original Spanish: Translation: Kohnie Valderamma, Madrid, Spain
