BRAZIL, Sr. M. Nilza P. da Silva. On May 30th in the shadow of the Tabor of the Permanent Presence of the Father Shrine in Atibaia, São Paulo, Fr. Jeremias Antonio de Jesus, gathered with the clergy of the Bragança Paulista Diocese, was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as the bishop for the Guanhães Diocese in Minas Gerais.
His fellow priests rejoiced with the news. “This is not news,” one of them commented. “I already knew that this would happen.” Similarly, many people also saw this priest of Christ the King parish as a future bishop. A religious, calm, serene and deeply Marian leader, he was a peacemaker and was very firm in his vocation. The seriousness with which he lives his priestly vocation is a blessing to his community.
The Lord saw my smallness
In his preparation for his bishop’s ordination, Fr. Jeremias said: “Like Mary, I see that the Lord looked at my smallness. I am in Mother’s arms, holding the Son’s hand.” He has radiated this humble and childlike attitude since his youth, when he first came into contact with the Schoenstatt Work. He recalls: “My first contact with Schoenstatt was through Sr. Anadir Santini, in the Portão neighbourhood. At the time, she was working in Terra Preta, and she started to speak to me about Schoenstatt. We formed a youth group in Portão neighbourhood, and we started visiting the Shrine.” He also remembers that in the first few years of his priestly ministry, Sr. M Alba Stefanelo helped him in the St. Sebastian parish in Caetetuba and Sr. M Lenir Pozzatti helped for years at the Christ the King parish.
Fr. Jeremias has been very attached to the Schoenstatt Shrine since the start of his priestly work, and it was not without reason that the announcement of his appointment as bishop found him close to this sacred place. “For me, the Shrine meant and still means protection and support,” says Bishop Jeremias. “I place myself in the Blessed Mother’s arms and entrust my life, priesthood and challenges to her. I pray the “I trust your might…” prayer several times each day, and it is with trust that I place myself in Mary’s arms. I have great admiration for Fr. Kentenich. The Shrine is therefore a refuge for me. I often say that here in the Shrine worldly noise ceases. It is a little piece of heaven on earth.”
The future Bishop of the Guanhães Diocese prepared for his priestly ordination close to the Shrine with the help of Sr. M Miriam Heinen and Sr. Silvia Regina Formagio. Many Schoenstatters who have supported his mission will help with the preparations for his ordination at the Sports Technical College in Atibaia. Bishop Jeremias made his Covenant of Love, which for him means: “Security. It’s great security to trust in Our Lady’s protection. For me, the Covenant of Love is to place oneself in Mother’s arms!” In all of the parishes where he served, Fr. Jeremias always welcomed the Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement and felt like a brother among brothers. On the last Covenant Day, May 18th, Fr. Jeremias celebrated Mass with his parishioners here in the Shrine, and he said a beautiful prayer consecrating each member of his flock to the heart of our Mother and Queen, and he entrusted all their cares to her.
Your will be done!
Life in Covenant with our Mother and Queen defines his motto as a bishop: “Fiat Voluntas Tua!” (Your will be done). He relates: “I chose this motto inspired by Our Lady. When the apostolic nuncio, Don Giovanni, told me that Pope Benedict XVI had chosen me to be a bishop, I needed to give him an answer. I went to the nuncio’s chapel to pray, and I thought a lot about the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph who changed all their plans because of God. So I said: ‘My Mother, if you were able to do this, St. Joseph, if you did this, then who am I to say no to the Holy Father’s request, the Church’s request, God’s request? So, let your will be done!’ The words that came to me were: ‘Here I am! Let your will be done!’
This is Mary’s attitude: May your will be done! Do with me according to your word. We also see this in the Our Father: May your will be done! Christ places himself at the Father’s disposal to do his will, even knowing that the Father’s will almost goes against human will: May it be done! This is the moment to renounce, to be humble, and to accept God’s will and face it with trust.
Our Lady is my great inspiration. Because of this, there will be a lily against a blue background as a Marian symbol on the coat of arms that I am preparing. I am certain that from the moment I received this appointment, I am in Mary’s arms.”
Ordination as bishop in the Shrine
His love for the Shrine, and his trust in the Covenant of Love he sealed with our Mother and Queen is what has led Fr. Jeremias to choose the Shrine as the venue for his bishop’s ordination on 4 August. “I chose the Shrine to be ordained bishop, firstly for the Shrine itself, but also the presence of Mary and the Covenant of Love. Here is a holy place, a sacred place. I also have a very deep affection for the Sisters, and putting all this together, there is still the Tent Church, a large and sacred place, with an infrastructure that can fit all the brothers and sisters who may come and spend this day with me. Everything is here under the protection of Mary and this gives me security.
Therefore, on August 4th, the day of priests in the shadow of the Shrine belonging to Our Mother and Queen of Schoenstatt, Fr. Jeremias will become Bishop Jeremias. The Blessed Mother who has accompanied him since his youth educating him with the graces of the Shrine will clothe him as a successor of the apostles.
Mother is already there (in Guanhães) waiting for me!
With childlike trust in the Blessed Mother, “Bishop Jeremias” is already overjoyed that he will find the Schoenstatt Pilgrim Mother Campaign in Guanhães Diocese and he says: “This means security for me: Mother is already there waiting for me.” The new bishop is counting on the active presence of the Pilgrim Mother Campaign coordinators and missionaries in his new diocese. “Their presence is a continuity of what I already have here in the parish. I hope that these missionaries – active lay people – will continue this work with much love, affection and with great determination to take this beautiful mission even further.”
Translation: Sarah-Leah Pimentel, Johannesburg, South Africa
