mkf. On March 26th, Father Ángel Strada celebrated his 40th Anniversary of Priesthood at the Fathers’ house on Mount Zion with a Holy Mass followed by a luncheon; he was surrounded by his brothers, his Spanish-speaking family groups, along with many co-workers and friends.
Jubilee of Father Ángel Strada’s 40th Anniversary of Priesthood
Father Ángel Strada began by expressing his gratitude to everyone who attended the celebration and to all who during these forty years, and also before, have accompanied him on this road. He especially recalled his companion Esteban Uriburu, who died in 1998 and was ordained with him in New Schoenstatt, Argentina. As the first Schoenstatt Fathers in Argentina and Paraguay, Father Ángel Strada and his course brothers had the experience of being the Schoenstatt pioneers in their respective countries. His dream of a growing and flourishing Schoenstatt Movement in Argentina – which forty years ago was a bold dream – has been fulfilled, Father Ángel Strada said during his homily. That this bold dream has been fulfilled is an anniversary gift that not many people receive in such a clear way.
The secret of pastoral success: How many names are in my heart?
As Director of the Movement in Argentina, he has played a role in the fulfillment of his dream. In an almost casual way, he revealed the inner secret of his accomplishments in his homily: “For many years, I have had a card on my desk that says: At the end, when I am asked have you lived? In reply I will open my heart with a thousand names on it.” He proudly said, that when he bid farewell to the Argentineans, upon assuming a new responsibility in Germany, he personally said good-bye to more than one thousand people. The smiles on the faces of many who were present and the nodding heads confirmed that many of their names were written on his heart.
More than one person reflected interiorly about the secret of pastoral success. How many names are in my heart?
A holy encounter
Father Strada’s desire to see the growth of the fathers’ community was fulfilled, as well as, his intense desire and dream of knowing a saint. As in the Gospel, where the apostles years later still remembered the place, day and hour of their first encounter with Jesus, Father Strada related his personal encounters with Father Kentenich – and how they prepared him for his task for the cause of his beatification and canonization.
His companion priests’ testimony
The usual conversation at the jubilee table involved stories about some of the companions on the journey during the different stages of his life: Father Guillermo Mario Cassone, who came from Rome, Father Mchael Johannes Marmann, and Father -Dr. Lothar Penners.
With humor and joy along with some anecdotes and “inside information”, Father Guillermo Mario Cassone related how Ángel Strada had brought him to Schoenstatt to this new and in the strictest sense of the word, ineffable movement that had been spreading in Argentina. The picture of the first encounter in the modest wayside shrine in Córdoba was delicious when Ángel Strada spoke with the “Mater,” and he requested that She conquer his younger friend for Schoenstatt. As was testified, He obtained this.
Father Marmann was the Superior General when Father Strada worked at the University in Münster, and then as the General Direction of the Schoenstatt Fathers, spoke of those times. Finally, Father Dr. Lothar Penners rounded out the view of his generation in his conversation.
The families, who Father Ángel Strada has accompanied for many years, enjoyed the festive and joyful atmosphere of this jubilee celebration filled with music and melodies.
