mkf. “Have they left? We are going to miss them!” – a collaborator for schoenstatt.de commented when she realized that the time that Diego Asili and Francisco Grondona had volunteered at the Press Office was over. Both of them left footprints – not only on the snow, that has accompanied them during almost all of their stay in Schoenstatt; but also on the website – through the many articles, in the biographies of the Schoenstatt personalities throughout its one hundred year history, in the presentations of apostolic initiatives, the website notices about news on the general pages, and the famous “top 10”.
On February 10th, Francisco Grandona “crowned” his time at Schoenstatt with the celebration of his birthday. Father Egon Zillekers – who opened House Marienau to the volunteers of the Press Office – hosted a luncheon with his friends, with wine, and meat from Argentina (the latter was a contribution from Vaterhaus (the Father House on Mount Zion).
During the international rosary on February 6th, appreciation was expressed for everything the two of them have contributed – not the least – is the significant increase of visits from Mar de Plata and Miramar. “People who have nothing to do with Schoenstatt now visit the website because they know via Facebook that it contains some of our articles,” they commented. On February 12th, it was time to bid farewell to Schoenstatt with a strong “Until 2014!”.
But you will not have to wait until 2014 to find their articles on the website since they have gladly committed to continue collaborating!
International rosary
Since the beginning of January, Saturday after Saturday, the youth from Chile who spend their “Time in Schoenstatt” with Sister Luz Maria have taken charge of the international rosary in the Original Shrine, by accompanying this event with songs and guitars.
In spite of the snow and the cold weather, other people also attend like a young couple from Argentina, some pilgrims from Mexico and from Ecuador…During each one of these rosaries, we pray for all the activities of the week around the world’s Shrines and wayside shrines and for all the petitions that are sent to the Original Shrine.
“It was so touching to see the photo of our granddaughter on the altar of the Original Shrine,” wrote Elfrida and Djalma, from Belo Horizonte. The little one was diagnosed with a tumor that required surgery. They anxiously asked for prayers, and this petition as well as a photo was taken to the international rosary. Other comments from the mail: “On the following Monday they went to the doctor again and it is unbelievable, but she will not need an operation.” She works miracles…
Different activities around the Original Shrine
Different activities were held around the Original Shrine during the two weeks before Lent – in spite of some adventures on Mount Schoenstatt trips and other mountains because of the snow – there was: a Superiors of the Schoenstatt Institute of Families conference (which began February 15th), the symposium of the Joseph Kentenich Institute (JKI) on the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of its founding, the departure of the Third International Auxiliary to a preparation workshop for the second missions in Germany (during this workshop, it will receive a commemorative plaque in gratitude for its participation in the first missions), and the adoration workshop at House Marienau on February 15th and 16th with more than 20 priests participating…
