history Tag

WORLD DAY OF THE POOR, message of Pope Francis • “When speaking of the poor, it is easy to fall into rhetorical excess. It is also an insidious temptation to remain at the level of statistics and numbers. The poor are persons; they have faces, stories, hearts and souls. They are our brothers and sisters, with good points and bad, like all of us, and it is important to enter into a personal relation with each of them.,” we read in Pope Francis’ message. This message, at this time ofRead More
La Plata
ARGENTINA, Carlos Ricciardi • On August 15th, the Schoenstatt Family of La Plata celebrated the Feast of the Assumption of Mary and the 58th Anniversary of the “Shrine of Father’s Liberation”. The Mass was celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Jorge González, member of the Schoenstatt Diocesan Priests’ Federation, concelebrated with several priests, among them Fathers Javier Arteaga, José María Iturrería, Pablo Mullín and Fr. Alberto Meroni. — For the past year, the Family of La Plata has been on the “road to the 60th birthday” of the Shrine, motivated by theRead More
Dachau
GERMANY, Sister M. Elinor Grimm / Maria Fischer • “Dachau – the significance of this name cannot be erased from German history. It stands for all the concentration camps that the National Socialists built in their area of control,” said the publicist Eugen Kogon, who himself was imprisoned for several years in the Buchenwald concentration camp. Dachau cannot be erased from Schoenstatt’s history either, as Fr. Joseph Kentenich and several Schoenstatt priests were imprisoned there. Visits to the Dachau Memorial are hard and necessary in order not to idyllize orRead More
Dachau
GERMANY, Maria Fischer • The first important step within the long-term “New Concept for the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial” is the production of a new documentary film to be shown in the cinema hall of the main exhibition of the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. “Dachau Concentration Camp” is an overview film on the history of Dachau Concentration Camp and its aftermath from 1945 to the present day, which will be shown in the main exhibition of the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. — The new film by Maya Schweizer, BenjaminRead More
DACHAU, Maria Fischer / Sr M. Elinor Grimm • “On 24 September (1944) we consecrated all the nations present here to the Mater Ter Admirabilis of Schoenstatt. We chose her to be our Queen. At that time we already gave our Schoenstatt Work a new, international foundation. This development is to receive its final seal today. Here and now we want to found a ‘Catholica’. All are represented”. Those were the words of Fr Kentenich on 18 October 1944, seventy-five years ago, in the concentration camp at Dachau. — “UntilRead More
ARGENTINA, Maria Teresa and Daniel Martino • The sleeping giant of our Sacred History awakens slowly and, without great fanfare, the light of Hoerde’s fruitfulness has begun to shine. — The significnce of this moment invites us to open our eyes and admire the bright and unexpected paths that have been mapped out in heaven.The warmth of the self-sacrifice of all those who preceded us will surprise us greatly.Together with them, the Blessed Mother “foreshadowed” this with her Queenly signs and manifestations. This requires us to be alert, to allowRead More
PARAGUAY, Oscar Sandoval • It all began last year at a Tupãrenda pastoral meeting. The Family wanted to have a way to gather and showcase the process of the conquest and construction of the Shrine, from the acquisition of the grounds, the anecdotes, and all the details of Tupãrendá’s history, including everything that is present today. At a conference presented to the San Lorenzo Branch, Fr. Antonio Cosp explained this idea and that he needed volunteers to implement it, and he asked if anyone was inspired to participate. Three couplesRead More
PARAGUAY, by Sandra Lezcano • Firmness and Tenderness. This is the title of a book by Fr. Antonio Cosp and I cannot find a better title to express the way the Blessed Mother educated me in the first week of May. A few months ago Maria Fischer wrote to me, telling me that Paraguay would host the first Kentenich Communication Workshop. Filled with immense joy, I made myself available to help out in any way I could. The Blessed Mother had already planned what my task would be – to welcomeRead More
By Maria Fischer • A neatly handwritten invoice from the year 1939. It is written on yellowed, fragile paper, just like the yellowed pages of the book I am holding and that once belonged to Assistant Priest Conrads from Aachen. Its title “Organic Ascetiscm”, a standard work of the early Schoenstatt Movement, one of the first systematic presentations on Schoenstatt’s pedagogy that until the 1950s was to be found in almost every library of a Schoenstatter who wanted to understand Fr Kentenich and live his teaching. However, I didn’t haveRead More