Posted On 2016-07-12 In Original Shrine

“The Day was Both Hard Work and Happy – With extraordinary solidarity”

Two weeks after the flood: An interview with the Rector of the Marienau, Fr Egon M. Zillekens •

The water has gone, so has the mud, all the furniture and equipment on the lower ground floor has gone to be recycled, and the guests are still welcome to come!

Two weeks after the floods of the Wambach inundated the Original Shrine, the meadows and streets around, and above all the somewhat lower-lying area of the Marienau, which was completely flooded, Fr Egon M. Zillekens answered our questions as to how life would continue, and how, as a Schoenstatter whose faith in Divine Providence has been tried and tested, he was able to make a plentiful catch of fish even in the muddy waters.

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Schoenstatt.org: How do you personally remember the 25th June?

It was the morning after the 45th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood, and I was still very happy. Then that Saturday morning, after an extraordinary cloudburst towards 7 a.m. the Wambach overflowed its banks above the parking area, and poured over the parking area at the Original Shrine, the area around the Original Shrine, past Haus Wasserburg, and over our property – past the Karl Leisner house where I live, over Pallotti Street, its lawns and paths, and flooded the well and the whole property. In front of the Marienau and the shrine a lake formed. The doors and windows on the ground floor couldn’t cope with the pressure of the water, and within a few minutes the whole lower ground floor of the Marienau was flooded up to a level of 1,20 metres. I was still in my flat, heard the water, and before I looked out I had rung the fire brigade for help. I was still in my shorts and paddled barefoot through the water into the Marienau, to the shrine and then to the Original Shrine. In the meantime the fire brigade, who on this day was working on its own with eighty people in the Vallendar area, arrived with three vehicles and worked here until 6 p.m. Thanks be to God, our electrical substation quickly turned off the electricity, and no one got an electric shock.

Schoenstatt.org: Heading – damage – A lot of damage was done, but none of the guests or staff was hurt, correct?

We can’t take that for granted; it was a great gift. Mrs Starke, one of our cooks, was in the kitchen preparing the breakfast. She heard the water and went into the dining room as the first surge of water spread through the room. It then flowed down the passage to the pantries and the heating equipment. At the same moment the door to the storerooms burst and the water drove everything (tables, chairs, empty containers, etc.) like toys before it, burst other doors and overturned cupboards and freezers. Mrs Starke really had to struggle as she waded through to the western storeroom exit towards our parking area, and force open the door, because it opens inwards and the waters were rising rapidly and pressing against it. Thanks be to God, nothing happened to her, but you could see her shock written in her face for a long time afterwards (cf. photo above).

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Schoenstatt.org: What was your strongest impression of this event?

All our staff were rapidly informed and turned up to help. Strangers, who had come to the shrine for Holy Mass, also arrived and set to work. Some of them spent the whole day here. Fr Diensberg SAC, our neighbour and Rector of the Wasserburg, also arrived (in shorts and without shoes) and offered the fire brigade breakfast in the Wasserburg. The Sisters from the Pilgrims’ House arrived with coffee, and more and more helpers arrived. In the end two troops of Sisters from their Mother House and the Training Centre on Mount Schoenstatt arrived. They had heard that the Marienau needed help, and some of them also spent the whole day here. Among them were the Superior of the Training Centre, Sr M. Judithe, and Sr M. Doria, who had conducted a training course a few days before during our Canaan Patris Festival. They worked without stopping for lunch, and obviously enjoyed themselves, because they didn’t have to study history and write books for once.

The day was both hard work and happy, with extraordinary signs of solidarity. The following day, Sunday, our people worked all day, sometimes with the support of the Sisters from the Pilgrims’ House. After the fire brigade had pumped out all the water and the worst of the mud the day before, we could now see how the mud had found its way into all the cupboards and equipment, as well as into all the power points. Removing the mud cost a few days of work. The Sisters from Mount Schoenstatt took along all the crockery, cutlery and glassware in order to clean them in their own houses.

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Schoenstatt.org: And then in these floods you cast out your nets …

The first of many signs of solidarity here at Schoenstatt itself, and in the worldwide Priests’ Federation. I haven’t heard the words “our Marienau” spoken about so often before in our international community.

We now have the opportunity to re-organise the whole of the lower ground floor of the Marienau. The process “Future of Marienau” has taken on a new dynamism.

I have asked the staff to contribute their experiences of the last twelve years. What did I always want to suggest as an improvement? What disturbed me again and again in the past? Where do we have to walk impractical distances? Etc.

Offers of help came from completely unexpected sources, for example, the Coptic parish in Koblenz. The deacons in the area around Koblenz, who regularly meet here for conferences, and who are here at present with their wives, put up a collection box for donations.

The concern in Schoenstatt and the people round about is great, the media produced good reports, and I have talked to the town authorities, that is, with the mayor of the association of municipalities. Since there had already been a (lesser) flood a few days previously, it has become necessary for the Wambach to be somehow contained before it reaches the parking area, and directed from the Pilgrims’ Centre to the stream from Hillscheid in such a way that it can cope with the next flood.

Personally I think and hope that the town, the Pallottine Fathers and Schoenstatt will sit down together. I am personally of the opinion that the Blessed Mother allowed this to happen so that the covenant culture among ourselves, and with the Pallottine Fathers and the town, can grow, and in this context that the questions about traffic calming measures, and the layout of the streets and parking areas in the Schoenstatt valley can be tackled and solved together. These were excluded from the negotiations about the Original Shrine, and have to be solved by a conference on the layout of the area between the Pallottine Fathers and Schoenstatt in such a way that the municipality can carry out the execution of those plans, which it has promised.

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Schoenstatt.org: When do you guess the damage will have been repaired?

The lower ground floor of the Marienau and the Karl Leisner House to the right have been emptied completely, all furniture, doors and doorframes have had to be sent to the dump. Only the built-in kitchen cabinets remain, but they will also have to be removed on account of the electrical contacts. The floor of the dining room, restroom for the staff and the TV room, as well as in the Karl Leisner House to the right, including all wooden ledges have been removed and disposed of. All the crockery and cutlery, and the mobile kitchen equipment, have been stored in our garages. We still have to find out what the damage to our recently renovated shrine will cost. This is on account of the floor heating, which is a sensitive undertaking. We have been lucky that a large part of the damage will be covered by the insurance, but we must naturally also pay our share of the cost. The losses incurred through loss of business are not covered by the insurance. A group that normally comes here for their retreat has had to cancel, but sent us 500 € as “our sign of solidarity”. That gives us hope!

I reckon that we will need around three months to carry out all the work.

Schoenstatt.org: What does it mean in practical terms for the guests who will be coming to the Marienau in the coming weeks?

They are still very welcome! We are contacting all the guests and groups who have booked a stay in the next three months, partly from overseas. Rooms, house chapel and conference rooms can be used without restriction. At the moment the guests will be going to the Pilgrims’ House for their meals – thanks to Sr Mariann. Some like to go there and find the menu very varied. It will also mean that people who have no idea about Schoenstatt will have to pass the Original Shrine again and again!

From next week all our guests will again be able to have all their meals in the Marienau. We have the beer benches and tables that many know from their holidays in the garden of the Marienau!

At the beginning of August we will receive the used tables from the Marienau. Our cafeteria will become the kitchen where breakfast and supper will be prepared. For lunch the Sonnenau has offered to deliver the food, especially now during the school holidays, The restaurant on the Rhine is also ready to take over the catering. We have also planned a number of barbecues. I have asked myself – what those responsible for houses in Schoenstatt have asked themselves for years – how we can co-operate and amalgamate. I am eager to discover what the Blessed Mother will still inspire in us in the next months. The work that will have to be done wasn’t planned, but according to St Thomas Aquinas, if work really is the source of irreplaceable joy, I am very happy about it!

 

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Photos: Zillekens, Mazón

Original: German. Translation: Mary Cole, Manchester, UK

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