ARGENTINA, Fr. Federico Piedrabuena. Hello! I am Father Federico from Argentina. Starting this year, I was appointed pastor in San Pantaleón, Diocese of Quilmes. This is the only Argentinean parish whose pastoral care is in charge of the community of the Schoenstatt fathers. The parish is located to seven blocks from the Schoenstatt National Shrine blessed by Father Kentenich in 1952.
Patron celebrations – Saint Pantaleón Parish, Quilmes
I want to share what a great joy the celebration of our Patron Saint was for the entire community and me. It was held on Friday, July 27th.
We enjoyed a day of sunshine in spite of the winter cold.
Saint Pantaleón is the patron of Health and the infirm. He was a physician in his earthly life, during the ancient Roman Empire, and he died a martyr for his steadfast faith. Many pilgrims arrived from different places of greater Buenos Aires to ask, to express gratitude, to share the Eucharist, and to go on pilgrimage with the saint. I can affirm that on this day many graces were showered over each person who approached the parish church with faith.
The new Tabernacle
Bishop of Quilmes, Monsignor Carlos José Tissera celebrated Mass.
During the Eucharist, the Bishop blessed the new Tabernacle, the place where the Eucharistic Jesus is reposed, where we can come and find the red light that indicates the Real and Sacramental Presence of Jesus. Ultimately it is the most important place in the parish.
Within the new tabernacle is a safe, and on the outside, it has a design symbolically evoking the Eucharist as nourishment for all the Christians who go on pilgrimage in this world and who are invited to the Heavenly Banquet at each Mass.
Bishop Tissera also blessed the picture of the Mother Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt, painted by a local artist, the mother of the artist who sculpted the door of the new Tabernacle.
The road of salvation
Finally, the Bishop blessed a restored mural of Salvation History. This painting is on the side wall that accompanies the entrance road that goes from the grounds to the door of the church. It is as if we carry out for a few seconds the road of salvation that God in his Providence developed, and that is recorded in the Bible. Different persons from the Old and New Testament accompany the pilgrim to an encounter with Jesus in the Tabernacle, the Alpha and Omega of the entire Salvation History.
This last Work invites us to carry out a road similar to that of Dante, but no longer guided by Virgil and Beatriz, but rather by our first parents, by the patriarchs, Moses, David, John the Baptist, and the Virgin Mary. We are accompanied by them to the entrance of the church, and there they leave us facing the Eucharistic Jesus, truly present in the Tabernacle and in every celebration of the Holy Mass.
The celebration
The celebration was very animated, we shared lunch, and in the afternoon there was recreation: games, magicians, music, dance, more games, and a family and communal atmosphere that were truly a blessing from God. We concluded with the pilgrimage of the Saint and the final Mass.
I ask you to accompany me in this work, praying for our beloved Parish of Saint Pantaleón.
With my blessing,
Father Federico T. Piedrabuena
Translation: Celina M. Garza, San Antonio, TX, USA
