GERMANY, Renate Siebenkäs • Every month, the “Covenant Celebration Night” is the highlight in the program of the Schoenstatt Center Marienberg in the Archdiocese of Bamberg. On covenant night on March 18, as is the tradition, the close connection to St. Joseph was emphasized. — Fr. Andreas Hornung welcomed the faithful at the beginning of the Holy Mass and joyfully explained: “On December 8, 2022, a Joseph – Dr. Josef Zerndl – chose St. Joseph as the patron of the pilgrim groups of the Archdiocese of Bamberg. For the men
Read More GERMANY, Cordula-Maria Weidtmann • St. Joseph has proven to be a faithful intercessor for many people. Therefore, we have called upon him for a special request. On his feast day, March 19, we would like to share our experience with you. — We were looking for the first tenants for a condominium. A prospective tenant dropped out 3 weeks before we were to move in. Acquaintances of ours had placed a note under the statue of St. Joseph several times while looking for an apartment. Our note, dated December 7,
Read More ITALY, Patricia Manson • For fifteen years now, week after week, a small group of Schoenstattian faithful have been unfailingly meeting every Wednesday at the Cor Ecclesiae Shrine in Rome to pray the Rosary. As long as it was possible, and I could find a ride since I do not drive, I too most willingly would join them to participate in a prayer gathering of a rather new type for me, who grew up in a Protestant environment. — I must admit that at first I met with difficulty in
Read More SAINT JOSEPH MEN | Miguel Lasso de la Vega, Spain • The Joseph Challenge 2021 from Schoenstatt.org, only for men: Men from different vocations in the Covenant of Love, from different countries and generations, allow themselves to be challenged by the letter of Pope Francisco Patris Corde about Joseph, “this extraordinary figure, so close to our human condition,” and they share what most impacts and motivates them in the figure of St. Joseph and the Holy Father’s letter about him. The first to take up the challenge is Miguel Lasso
Read More SCHOENSTATT, Maria Fischer • When a member of the International Presidium dies, the news goes around the world. The pendulum between unity and diversity (of apostolate preferences, opinions, vocation options) then tilts very strongly toward unity and one is there, walking and carrying along; even in the midst of the Christmas season and in the midst of the Corona Lockdown. On the night before Christmas Eve, Ernest M. Kanzler, Superior General of the Institute of the Schoenstatt Brothers of Mary, passed away. On December 29th, 100 people in the Pilgrims’
Read More By Maria Fischer • “They look like illegal migrants,” seems to say the border official at one of these borders crowded by hundreds of migrants and refugees, who, according to public opinion and even some emerging political parties choose “our country first,” threaten the culture, well-being and security of leading countries. Someone like the person who is approaching this border from the other side: a man in shabby clothes, a woman who looks far too young to already have a child and who now presents her baby who is just
Read More