Schönstatt

Group from Slovenia Gruppe aus Slowenien

Pilgrims from Slovenia in Schoenstatt. Two priests and several lay persons from Slovenia (former Yugoslavia, SE Europe) spent the first week of September in Schoenstatt. Some of them, active in the growing Schoenstatt Movement in their country, had been here before. Others came for the first time to see the place where Schoenstatt began. Father Chrysostomus Grill, Schoenstatt, gave them introductory talks and spiritual inspiration.

Coordinators of the Pilgrim Shrine Campaign in Spain - visiting Sr.Emilie's tomb in Metternich Pilgerheiligtums-Koordinatoren aus Spanien beim Besuch am Grab von Sr. Emilie in Metternich

Prayer in the Founder Chapel Begegnung in der Gründerkapelle

Coordinators of the Pilgrim Shrine Campaign from Spain visiting Schoenstatt. Approximately 50 coordinators from Spain came to Schoenstatt (September 4 -11, 2000), most of them for the first time. They had tours of the Father Kentenich House in Schoenstatt, of Metternich with Sr. Emilie's tomb and the new documentation room, and of the different shrines in Schoenstatt, giving them an insight into Schoenstatt's history and spirituality. The Original Shrine and Founder Chapel were special places of prayer, reflection and commitment. The tour of the valley with the tombs of the "Schoenstatt heroes" – the young men who during World War I gave their lives for the growth of Schoenstatt – impressed the pilgrims from Spain deeply. "In our communities, Schoenstatt is just at the point where it was in the founder generation's

years. It is small, it has only begun, and it should grow," summarized one of the coordinators. "We want to build Schoenstatt in our communities with the enthusiasm and commitment of those young people around Father Kentenich, with the love of the founder generation of Schoenstatt."

Jugendliche aus Köln im Jugendzentrum Marienberg

Get-togethers in the Youth Center. On the first weekend in September, 15 boys from the Cologne Diocese met in the Youth Center, Marienberg. Group discussions, games and outdoor activities were centered on the discovery of their own personality type. On the same weekend, two other seminars and workshops took place in the Youth Center. Politicians from the area had a tour of the Center.

Diözesanpräses Lukas Wehrle

Altarraumgestaltung

Wallfahrer aus Freiburg

Pilgrimage from the Freiburg Archdiocese. On September 9 and 10, 549 pilgrims from the Freiburg Archdiocese came to Schoenstatt. They participated in a Holy Mass in the Adoration Church late on Saturday afternoon. In his sermon, Father Beller showed them personal, simple ways of Marian spirituality in everyday life. Father Lukas Wehrle, Schoenstatt Institute of Diocesan Priests, leader of the FFreiburg Schoenstatt Movement expanded on these inspirations in the Marian prayer service on Sunday afternoon: "When I go on a pilgrimage, I feel better because everyone who is close to the Blessed Mother feels better. But when I come home from my pilgrimage, the others around me should feel better – and that's what matters." We

Should not tell the others at home (especially those who get on our nerves) that they should go on a pilgrimage to become better, but instead we should pass on to them what we experienced in Schoenstatt. As Mary in her Shrine would give us a home and tell us, "It is good that you are here," we should now go to those around us and say to them, "It is good that you are here." On Sunday, approximately 200 pilgrims from Schöllkrippen, Arnsberg, Herzogenrath and Schönborn joined in the Freiburg pilgrimage program in Schoenstatt.

Pilgrimage from Australia. In late September, a group of Australians came to Schoenstatt. Part of their program included a visit to Cambrai, France, at the place where Josef Engling, one of the first Schoenstatt members, died in World War I.

Leaflet about Lotte Holubars published. The Secular Institute of the Ladies of Schoenstatt published a leaflet about one of their members, Lotte Holubars (1883 -1944), who died on November 11, 1944, in the Women's Concentration Camp at Ravensbrück. Lotte Holubars was included in the martyrology of the Catholic Church. Born in Silesia (then Germany, now Poland), Lotte Holubars worked as a teacher in Heusenstamm, Saarland, and was observed by the National Socialists very early because of her undaunted Christian activities. She belonged to Schoenstatt since 1929. After quitting her job as a teacher, she moved to Schoenstatt and dedicated her life to the new Institute of the Ladies of Schoenstatt. She was arrested by the Gestapo in 1942; and after several months in the Carmelite prison in Koblenz, she was taken to Ravensbrück, where she died in 1944. Co-prisoners testified about her uplifting Christian attitude and her willingness to die in unity with Christ's sacrifice.

Germany

Rottenburg: Meeting of Spiritual Movements. The Schoenstatt Movement of the Rottenburg Stuttgart diocese actively participated in the preparation of the meeting of Ecclesiastical Movements in Rottenburg on September 2000, an event following the initiative of the World Meeting of the Spiritual Movements on Pentecost 1998, encouraging such meetings in individual countries and dioceses.

Schoenstatt Chapel near Schwäbisch Gmünd to be dedicated. On October 22, a Schoenstatt chapel will be dedicated near Schwäbisch Gmünd, Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart. Some years ago this chapel was given to the regional Schoenstatt Movement. The renovation of the chapel is almost finished. The interior of the chapel will be like that of the daughter shrines.

Pilgrim Shrine Festival in Maria Rast, Euskirchen. On September 17, a Pilgrim Shrine festival was held in Maria Rast, Euskirchen, Germany – one of the many that were and will be organized in Germany in the course of the year. The regional Schoenstatt members actively participated in the preparation.

Familienfest im Schönstatt-Zentrum in Borken

Open Doors in the Schoenstatt-Au, Borken. On September 17, 2000, approximately 800 persons came for the "Family Get-together" in the Schoenstatt Center at Borken, Germany. The day's motto was "Open Doors" referring to the Holy Year and also to the idea of the day. "All doors are open," said the invitation (the doors of the Shrine, the Church, and the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary's Province House). Many young families with children of kindergarten age came. Members of the Schoenstatt Girls' Youth had prepared a musical. Singing and various games were offered for the little ones, workshops, videos, "ten minutes in the Shrine," and raffles for youth and adults. For many participants, the highlight of the day was the tour of the house given by members of the Schoenstatt Sisters' Province Council. Led by the sisters, the guests walked through a number of doors that usually say "No entrance"!

Cuba

Pilgrim Shrines and growing Schoenstatt Movement. Chilean Schoenstatt university students who went to Cuba for some months experienced a springtime for Schoenstatt in that country. Several Pilgrim Shrine circles exist there. Twenty young Cubans sealed their Covenant of Love. Four groups began, and several persons belong to the wider Schoenstatt Movement.

Bolivia

Student Groups started in Bolivia. Fabian and Montserrat Aguirre of La Paz, Bolivia, started to pread Schoenstatt among university students. They began with groups of male and female university students attached to the Schoenstatt Shrine situated at the highest point of the world, La Paz - Achumani.

Chile

Examination of the witnesses in the process of beatification for Mario Hiriart completed. The hearing of the last witnesses in the process of beatification for Mario Hiriart took place on September 18 and 19 in Milwaukee, USA. Altogether, about 70 witnesses from Chile, Brazil, Germany, and USA were asked to testify. The process of beatification for Mario Hiriart is taking place in the diocese of Santiago, Chile. Mario Hiriart (1931-1964), engineer and university teacher, belonged to one of the first Schoenstatt groups in Chile and joined the Institute of the Schoenstatt Brothers of Mary in 1957. While visiting with Father Kentenich in Milwaukee, USA, in 1964, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He died in Milwaukee on July 15, 1964. His tomb is behind the Shrine in Bellavista, Chile.

English edition: Joan Biemert, New Franken, Wisconsin, USA