CRUZADA DE MARÍA, Fr. José María Iturrería/mda. They´ve arrived!! After walking 400km through the Andes, the blessing of the wayside shrine of the Blessed Mother near the statue of Christ the Redeemer, the blessing of Pope Francis, and the covenant solidarity by hundreds of “crusaders in solidarity”, they finally reached their destination on Saturday, 1 February. They arrived at the Bellavista shrine — “the shrine that sends us on another crusade — the “crusade of life.” “On my spiritual knees, I prayed to the Blessed Mother to protect this enthusiasm, this faith despite life’s many difficulties,” wrote María Tedeschi, one of the crusaders in solidarity.
16 days and 400 km that left an impression on each pilgrim
Fr. José María Iturrería relates: “Yesterday we ended our 400 km pilgrimage through the Andes.
What an accomplishment! We felt that we achieved something really important because we took with us all the Schoenstatt Boys’ Youth and walked in the company of the Blessed Mother and everyone who supported us with their prayers.
We finished the Cruzada with our hearts filled with the experiences and bonds that left an impression on us all. These 16 days of pilgrimage were also an opportunity for powerful experiences that left a mark on each one of us.
Yesterday we walked from the national shrine in Maipú to the Schoenstatt shrine in Bellavista, the 31st of May shrine, of Mission, the shrine that sends us on “another” crusade — the “Crusade of life”.
Mother’s Victory
The arrival was truly moving, in the last few meters towards the shrine everyone walked faster, singing Schoenstatt hymns. Finally, the anxiety and excitement could no longer be contained…we ran towards the Shrine with our banners, the Cross of Mario Hiriart and the “Fackellauf” torch, to reach the Blessed Mother and thank her for the 400km of pilgrimage offered to her.
We felt that the fact that everyone who started out on the pilgrimage arrived at the destination without a single mishap was definitely our “Mother’s Victory”.
We feel that it was “Mother’s Victory” to be able to give her a throne at the summit of the Andes. But the greater victory is what she accomplished in us because the Cruzada changed our lives.
Fr. Claudio Martinez Cohen reminded us in his talk at the shrine in Maipú that the “goal is the Way”, and that the arrival will make us aware of our journey along the way, the way in which the walk changed us and made us brothers. This is precisely how we feel: the “community of the pilgrimage”, as Fr. Claudio himself described. We also discovered that Christ himself is the “goal”, and in turn, it is the ‘journey’ that leads us to life.
We did it!
Arriving at the shrine in Bellavista, we offered the Torch of the Covenant to the Blessed Mother, lit in Mendoza and was never doused as it travelled with us. After the hugs and photographs, we celebrated Holy Mass in the Church of the Holy Spirit. Fr. Claudio Martinez Felmer expressed what we all felt, starting by simply saying: WE DID IT! Yes, we thank God for having accomplished what seemed impossible! It was because it was difficult that we did it and that is why this pilgrimage is offered as capital of graces, for the 100 years of Schoenstatt…surely it is valuable in God’s eyes! The 150 crusaders symbolically formed a ring around the Shrine and Mario Hiriart’s grave, and thanked him for his intercession because we feel that he helped us to make this dream of erecting a wayside Shrine in the Andes into a reality.
For the last time, we consecrated ourselves to the Blessed Mother as Cruzaders.
For the last time, the cry, stronger than ever, rose up “CRUZADA DE MARIA…WE MARCH!”
Original: Spanish – Translation: Kohnie Valderamma, Madrid, Spain
