PUERTO RICO, PARAGUAY, GERMANY, Edgardo L. Rivera •
During the weekend of April 28th to May 1st, the missionary motorcyclists from Germany, Paraguay and Puerto Rico went on pilgrimage with the Blessed Mother through the highways of their countries. It seems that they planned it, but no, it was all the work of the Holy Spirit who, through the Heart of Mary, moved them to carry out the mission. —
The third grace received in the Schoenstatt Shrines, the apostolic sending forth, leads us to go out of our comfort zone, to go on pilgrimage through the nations to collaborate with Mary in the religious-moral renewal of the world. On the other hand, the Covenant of Love, lived in depth, transforms us into effective instruments for carrying out this mission. Through this Covenant, there is an exchange of hearts; we give Mary our heart and she gives us hers. For this reason, and in spite of the distance, we are united by the same heart: Mary’s heart.
Procession with the relics of Blessed Chiqitunga – Paraguay
Escort to the relics of Blessed Chiquitunga
Maria Felicia, popularly known as “Chiquitunga”, was born on January 12, 1925, in Villarrica, Paraguay, to the Guggiari Echeverria family. From a very young age, Chiquitunga’s heart burned with love for Jesus Christ, and she was consumed by apostolic zeal: the desire to collaborate with Jesus in his saving work. During her apostolate, she wrote: “In all the work I do, I try to put the seal of our Christian spirit, because I want everything to be saturated with Christ, and wherever I go, I can leave a ray of light”. She was beatified on June 23, 2018, during the pontificate of H.H. Francis. The relic of Chiquitunga rests in the chapel of the convent of the Discalced Carmelites in the city of Asunción.
On April 28, 2023, the Schoenstatt Missionary Motorcyclists of Paraguay, together with the local Church, celebrated the memory of Blessed Chiquitunga with an escort during the procession of her relic in her honor. The Discalced Carmelite Sisters asked the group to participate in this beautiful activity. “Everything was exciting, full of joy and full of the Holy Spirit,” said Juan Carlos Solis, President of the Club. Afterwards, the missionaries participated in the Holy Eucharist.
Visiting a sick person in Puerto Rico
Escorting the picture of St. Peter Martyr and visiting a sick person
Prayer in the Home Shrine – Puerto Rico
On Sunday, April 30th, the Puerto Rico Chapter of the Schoenstatt Missionary Motorcyclists participated in the Eucharistic celebration at the Parish of St. Peter Martyr in the city of Guaynabo. They were invited by the pastor to take the picture and the relic of the patron saint to the presbytery on his feast day. This was a great surprise for the missionaries because it was not planned in advance. At the end of the Mass, the missionaries and their motorcycles were blessed by the celebrant.
After lunch, they visited Sonia, a very well-known missionary in Puerto Rico, who was recently widowed and is in a fragile state of health. She has a great knowledge of the Movement and has visited the Original Shrine in Germany and the Exile Shrine in Milwaukee, USA. She also visited the concentration camp in Dachau, Germany, where Father Kentenich was imprisoned for three years. It was a visit full of joy, blessings, and learning.
Pilgrimage with the MTA picture
In the same way, the Schoenstatt Missionary Motorcyclists in Germany have made several pilgrimages with the Pilgrim MTA on their motorcycles. On Monday, May 1st, the group traveled to the Shrine in Trier (130 km southwest of the Original Shrine), where they blessed the missionaries with their motorcycles. The group consisted of about 100 motorcyclists. It was a day of joy and blessings.
Blessing of the motorcycles in Germany
Original: Spanish. Translation: Maria Fischer @schoenstatt.org
