Schönstatt - Begegnungen

At the doors of Toronto, Fathers Today!

Hundreds of young people from all over the world preparing for a visit to Milwaukee – searching for the experience of a Father for all

Father Kentenich in the Exile Shrine in Milwaukee: his fatherly presence is alive at the places where he was and in the hearts of those who met him there.
Pater Kentenich im Exilheiligtum: seine Gegenwart als Vater ist lebendig an den Orten seines Wirkens und in den Herzen derer, die ihm begegnet sind.
Father Kentenich with a family in Milwaukee
Pater Kentenich bei einer Familie in Milwaukee
Fotos: Neuenhofer ©
Gregorio Velasco, Carlos Conrady and Juan Pablo Garnham, from Chile: preparing the youth encounter
Gregorio Velasco, Carlos Conrady und Juan Pablo Garnham aus Chile: Vorbereitung des Jugendtreffens
Fotos: Garnham © 2002
Father Kentenich's office
Büro von Pater Kentenich in Milwaukee
Movement House, Milwaukee
Bewegungshaus, Milwaukee
Shrine by the International Center, Waukesha
Heiligtum beim International Center, Waukesha
Fotos: Archiv ©
 

USA,Juan Pablo Garnham Oyarzun. Preceding World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto, hundreds of young Schoenstatt members will participate in an International Meeting in Milwaukee, searching for an experience of Father Kentenich who lives there in the legacy he left, and in the hearts of those who were privileged to meet him there between 1952 and 1965. Four members of the Schoenstatt Men's Youth of Chile are already there to prepare the pilgrimage.

Half a century ago, a 66-year-old German priest arrived in the city of Milwaukee, in the middle of the United States. The Catholic Church had not understood his stances and had asked him to distance himself from his work, the Schoenstatt movement. Despite everything, Father Joseph Kentenich did not rebel; he accepted the will of the Church as the will of God. Far from his work as founder and leader of a growing movement, the Virgin Mary gave him a special time, where he was able to share time as a true Father with his children, like God the Father.

Searching for an Experience of a Father

Today that experience of Father Kentenich is alive in Milwaukee. It is present in the Exile Shrine, in the Sisters of Mary who were with him, in the cemetery that he walked through with those who wanted to talk, and in the families that shared the time with him. Before World Youth Day, hundreds of young people from all over the world will come in search of this experience in Milwaukee.

I am here for that. We are four Chileans who came to this city to prepare for the pilgrimage of the Schoenstatt Youth who want to receive that experience of our founder and bring it to our Church in Toronto, as our contribution to society. Today more than ever, our world needs fathers, youth who bring that image to those who feel disconnected from God and the love of others.

At the International Schoenstatt Center, half an hour from Milwaukee, there will also be an encounter for the Schoenstatt Girls’ Youth, which is being organized by the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary. All this with the indispensable help of U.S. Schoenstatt couples, who direct the practical aspects of the encounter, from housing to transportation, for both the Boys’ and the Girls’ Youth.

Activities and Testimonies

From July 17 to July 21, we will participate in various activities. The first day will be focused on getting to know each other. We arrive in Milwaukee united in the love for Mary, but from very different origins. There are groups from Germany, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, the United States, and youth from Switzerland, Sierra Leon, India, Argentina, and Brazil, all with their own distinctiveness, with unique dreams and longings, which we will be able to share. The 19th we will get to know better the life of our founder here in Milwaukee, with activities such as testimonies and a theater production. Saturday the 20th will be Church Day, looking toward Toronto, we will meditate on and talk about our mission as Catholics. We will get to know the witness of the lives of the Schoenstatt heroes who gave their life for the Church and we will be with Father Michael Marmann, chair person of the General Council of the Schoenstatt Movement. Finally, Sunday, the Schoenstatt family invites us to meet with them and the Girls’ Youth at the International Schoenstatt Center, before leaving for Toronto to meet with our Holy Father.

Pope John Paul II invited us to be the light of the world with him. In Milwaukee, we want to prepare to give our experience of faith in Toronto, the legacy that our founder, Father Joseph Kentenich, gave us fifty years ago.

Translation from Spanish: Benjamin Wilkinson

Panorama of Milwaukee
Panorama von Milwaukee
Foto: Archiv © 2002



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