NIGERIA, Fr. Pablo Pol / María Fischer • November 1st, the Feast of All Saints, was a very special day for the community of Schoenstatt Fathers in Nigeria. On the grounds of the future shrine in Ibeju Lekki, near Lagos, Nigeria, a wayside shrine was blessed and the foundations of the future house of the Schoenstatt Fathers were laid at this place. — Fr. Alexandre Awi, the new Superior General of the Secular Institute of the Schoenstatt Fathers, who came to Africa for the first time, presided over the celebration,
Read More UGANDA, Jean de Dieu Ntisumbwa/Maria Fischer • The Nakivale refugee settlement in Uganda, the 8th largest refugee camp in the world, since 2019 is the “place of origin” of the Schoenstatt Movement in this African country, thanks to the apostolic work of Jean de Dieu Ntisumbwa, who fled his native Burundi and works with the few items he got contacting Schoenstatt.org – some books in English, a Schoenstatt flag, several medals and pictures of the Mother Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt, and, especially, one picture of the Pilgrim Mother. — I
Read More CONGO/BURUNDI, Fr. Charles Ozioko/mf • April 11, Sunday of Mercy, was a feast for the Schoenstatt Fathers and the entire Schoenstatt Family of Burundi and Congo. Two Schoenstatt Fathers from Congo were ordained priests, and one seminarian from Burundi was ordained deacon in Mont Sion Gikungu in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi. — In four languages – Kirundi, Kiswahili, French, and English – the community of the Schoenstatt Fathers invited to join the priestly ordination of Fr Emmanuel Kahawi, and Fr. Christian Murhabale, both from the diocese of Bukavu, Congo,
Read More UGANDA, Jean de Dieu Ntisumbwa/Maria Fischer • Despite of the pandemic and the difficult situation in the Nakivale refugee settlement in Uganda, the 8th largest refugee camp in the world, one single Pilgrim Mother is visiting there since 2019, uniting families in prayer and hope. — On 18th January 2021 Schoenstatt members and families who receive the Pilgrim Mother once again met together at Nakivale parish to renew the Covenant of Love. In Uganda we have a culture of giving thanks whenever we are happy about something; so, on that
Read More UGANDA, Jean de Dieu Ntisumbwa • The Pilgrim mother Nr. 58 of the modality of “Founding” arrived in Uganda, arrived in Uganda on the 15th august, 2019. This picture of the Pilgrim Mother blessed on 21st may, 2016 in the national shrine of Argentina, is the only one present in Uganda. — The first and only Pilgrim Mother in Uganda, is working in the Nakivale Parish in the district of Isingiro – Africa`s oldest refugee camp. From here, the coordinator and missionary, a refugee from Burundi, asked the staff
Read More BURUNDI, Maria Fischer with Material from https://www.peres-schoenstatt.org • July 18, 2020, Covenant Day, in front of the Shrine of the Schoenstatt Fathers in Switzerland. A breathtaking view of Lake Lucerne. But we are talking about Africa, because we are standing here with two Swiss Africa veterans, Father Zingg and Father Barmettler, and we share their joy at the ordination of three Schoenstatt Fathers on this day, in Burundi. And they recount to us…— The Schoenstatt Family and the pilgrims who belong to the Shrine of Mount Sion Gikungu in Bujumbura had
Read More FRANCE, Maria Fischer • Thanks Google, otherwise we might not have known about it: On April 22nd, the French newspaper, La Voix du Nord, as well as Mondafrique, an information portal on French speaking Africa, published a news item that is of great interest to the Schoenstatt Movement worldwide. As of March 17th, Abbé Adelin Gacukuzi, from Burundi and former military chaplain of the Burundian Defense Forces (FDNB) with the rank of General, became Rector of the “Shrine of Unity” near Cambrai, where Joseph Engling died on October 4th, 1918
Read More BURUNDI, Sr. M. Françoise Nimubona, Claudine Niyomwungere • The Schoenstatt Shrine in Bujumbura became an attraction for many groups of pilgrims from all over the country, especially on the 15th of August, which is not a legal holiday in Burundi, but is of great importance for the Catholic Church there. It is located on a slope above the capital Bujumbura (built on the site where Pope John Paul II celebrated Holy Mass during his visit to Burundi in front of thousands of faithful) and is the destination of the processions
Read More BURUNDI, Alice Ninette Nininahazwe, Agnès Diane Niyonzima • On the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of the “Shrine of Peace and Reconciliation” on Mount Sion Gikungu, Bujumbura, a pilgrimage took place from there to the “Shrine of Trust” in Mutumba, the first Schoenstatt Shrine in this country. — After the blessing for the journey by the Rector of the Shrine in Bujumbura, Fr H. Coyitungiye, the pilgrims set off in a number of buses along Lake Tanganyika to the foot of the mountain on which the Mission Station of
Read More BURUNDI , Claudine Niyomwungere • On Sunday, May 26, 2019, to celebrate the closing of the Marian Month of May, the Schoenstatt Shrine at Mount Sion Gikungu welcomed many pilgrims from all the parishes of the Bujumbura Vicariate and surrounding areas, belonging to the Catholic Action Movements falling under the Diocesan Coordination for the Lay Apostolate (CEDAL). — A large procession of the faithful and CEDAL members began at Kamenge Military Hospital. Hymns and dances in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary accompanied the pilgrims. The theme of the pilgrimage was
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