International Meeting of the Schoenstatt Girls’ Youth
Crowning Renewal - Living Crown

More Informationen: www.sonnenau.de

(mkf) The upcoming International Meeting of the Schoenstatt Girls’ Youth in August and World Youth Day in Rome were subjects of a preliminary Leaders’ Convention in House Sonnenau with 25 young women from almost all German dioceses. "Let us walk like you through life" – will be the motto of this International Meeting with participants from 25 countries. After this, Schoenstatt Men’s and Girls’ Youth will head for World Youth Day in Rome.

The 25 leaders of the German Schoenstatt Girls’ Youth discussed the program for the International Meeting. One is sure – from August 10^th to August 13^th, Schoenstatt will belong to girls and young women from 25 countries all over the world, who want to share their experiences and mission, celebrate the covenant of love and discuss what they want to offer to the youth of the entire world.

Young Women from 25 countries gathering

The biggest groups – between 50 and 100 - will come from the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, Portugal, and Chile, and of course from Germany. Girls from England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, South Africa, Israel, Spain, Uruguay, Ecuador, Brazil, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Russia, Burundi, Romania, Hungary, and Austria will participate and proudly represent their countries.

Many of the girls from other countries will already arrive some days earlier; for most of them it is the first time to visit Schoenstatt. Their program in the days before the International Meeting includes visits to various Schoenstatt shrines, adoration church and Founder Chapel, tours of the Father Kentenich House and Sister Emilie places in Metternich, as well trips to Gymnich (Father Kentenich’s birth town) and a boat trip on the river Rhine.

After the welcome party on August 10^th, the girls are to follow the footsteps of Father Kentenich in various ways – testimonies, talks, slides and videos, visiting places related to him, discussion on aspects of his mission and charisma. A holy Mass will be celebrated in the adoration church, and afterwards the groups have a private time in the Founder Chapel.

Crowning Renewal - Living Crown

On Saturday, August 12^th, girls from different countries will share how they walk like Mary through life in their specific situations. The highlight of the day will be the crowning renewal: Several hundred young women will gather around the Original Shrine to crown Mary as their Queen. The precious RTA crown (RTA = Regina ter admirabilis, Three times admirable Queen), Father Kentenich’s gift to the Girls’ Youth, was stolen in 1999. The girls’ response: We don’t want to make a copy of this crown, we want to be our Queen’s living crown.

In the course of this International Meeting , the girls want to express their mission for the youth of the entire world. The closing Holy Mass on August 13^th is to be the moment of being sent to their countries and places to live an share their Schoenstatt mission.

After the International Meeting, most of the participants will head for the World Youth Day in Rome (August 15 –20, 2000). The Schoenstatt Shrine in Rome will be the "Schoenstatt Oasis" of the world Youth Day and place of an international covenant renewal of the Schoenstatt Men’s and Girls Youth.