Cartel en la entrada del terreno en Nebraska: Centro de Schoenstatt "Corazón de Maria" Sign at the entrance of the land in Nebraska: Cor Mariae Schoenstatt Center Schild am Eingang zum Gelände: Cor Mariae Schönstatt-Zentrum, Schönstatt-Zentrum "Herz Mariens"
Mons. Bruskewitz, bendición del altar del futuro Santuario Bishop Bruskewitz blessing the shrine altar Bischof Bruskewitz bei der Altarsegnung
400 personas en la carpa 400 persons crammed in the tent 400 Personen drängten sich im Festzelt
Entrada de los Caballeros de Colón, monaguillos, sacerdotes, y portadores de símbolos Entrance of the Knights of Columbus, mass servers, priests, and those who carried symbols Einzug der "Knights of Columbus", Messdiener, Priester und aller, die Symbole trugen
Firma en el libro de la Alianza Signing the Covenant Book Unterschrift imBündnisbuch
Mons. Bruskewitz saludando a una Hermana de Maria Bishof Bruskewitz greeting one of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary who had come to the celebration. Bischof Bruskewitz begrüßt eine der Marienschwestern, die zur Feier gekommen waren
Intercambio en un día de alegría Meeting and sharing on a day filled with joy Austauschen und sich gemeinsam freuen
Juventud Femenina Girls' Youth Mädchenjugend
Nebraska está en el corazón de los Estados Unidos, y la Mater estableció su morada aquí. Nebraska is the heartland of the USA, and the Blessed Mother came to dwell here. Nebraska ist im Herzen der USA, und in diesem Herzen hat die Gottesmutter ihren Thron errichtet
El altar del futuro Santuario en la capilla, su lugar tentativo The altar of the future Shrine in the chapel building Der Heiligtumsaltar an seinem vorläufigen Ort in der Kapelle Fotos: Kenkel © 2003

USA, Nebraska, John Kenkel. In 1993, the Schoenstatt Movement began in Nebraska (USA) at the invitation of the Bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz. This is the day that Sister Marie Day, a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary from the Schoenstatt on the Lake Center in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, began her work of building up the movement in Nebraska. On June 29, 2003, the Schoenstatt family in this diocese celebrated the milestone tenth anniversary with a Holy Mass celebrated by Bishop Bruskewitz together with the formal blessing of the shrine altar which had arrived several months previously from South America.

The celebration took place at the Cor Mariae (Heart of Mary) Schoenstatt Center, a 93-acre plot of land near Crete, Nebraska, that the Schoenstatt family had acquired from the diocese a couple of years previously. A caretaker home and a small chapel building are currently on this property and Schoenstatt family members Mark and Mary Hardesty, together with daughter, Monica, have been living in the home and taking care of the site. The new shrine altar was placed in this chapel building upon its arrival. For this anniversary celebration, a large white tent was erected near these buildings. The altar was moved to the tent and prepared for the blessing and the Holy Mass.

Signs, tents, cars - and 400 persons on a wide land: It's the site of the future Nebraska Schoenstatt Shrine!

Upon arriving at Cor Mariae on June 29, 2003, visitors were greeted with a brand new large sign at the entrance to the property. The sign, created by Mark Rockers of the Schoenstatt family in Minnesota (USA), reads "Cor Mariae Schoenstatt Center." Along the driveway leading up to the chapel and approximately ¼ mile from the entrance to the property, the future site of the Schoenstatt shrine was also marked with a sign. The chapel and caretaker home are approximately ¾ mile from the entrance. While parking attendants assisted visitors with parking, eventually, due to the large number, cars had to be parked on the shoulder of the driveway leading up to the site. It was estimated that 400 people were in attendance for the event.

Visitors had a bit of misfortune in that the grounds were a little wet due to rains that fell the night before. However, this only made for some slightly muddy shoes and did not dampen the enthusiasm. Early-arriving visitors were a little bit in awe as they silently browsed through the area, having a look at two smaller tents that were set up for religious articles and refreshments as well as the chapel, the caretaker’s home, and, of course, the large white tent covering the seating area for the Mass and the shrine altar. As the crowd began to swell, it became apparent that many religious were going to be in attendance in addition to a respectable number of lay people. Besides seven Schoenstatt Sisters from Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, and from the International Center in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and also one Schoenstatt Father, Father Jonathan Niehaus, there were a significant number of sisters and brothers from other religious communities. There were also a number of priests from the Lincoln Diocese and a number of seminarians from the nearby St. Gregory the Great Seminary present.

Anniversary gift: The Schoenstatt Sisters will have a permanent presence in the diocese

Before Mass, a group of Schoenstatt Girls’ Youth from the area, approximately twenty in number, practiced their singing. The altar servers, approximately ten in number, listened to instructions from the Master of Ceremonies, Father Mark Huber. Shortly before 2:00 PM, all the seating inside the tent was taken and additional chairs were set up outside the tent. At exactly 2:00 PM, representatives of the Knights of Columbus, along with the altar servers, Schoenstatt members with the newly arrived shrine statues in hand, the acolytes, and the concelebrant priests, lined up at the entrance near the rear of the tent. Then, Bishop Bruskewitz and Father Niehaus emerged from the caretaker’s home and took up their positions at the end of the entourage. It was then that Sister Marie took to the microphone inside the tent. She acknowledged several people present in the congregation, especially Mr. and Mrs. Lyle and Elaine Zitzman of Minnesota, who donated the altar and statues for the shrine. What drew sustained applause from the crowd, however, was her announcement that, beginning this fall, the Schoenstatt Sisters will have a continuous, permanent presence in the diocese. This set the stage for the celebration of Holy Mass. The entrance hymn was sung, the group processed in, the statues of St Michael, St. Joseph, St. Peter and St. Paul were positioned around the altar, and the celebration began.

Signing the Covenant Book

It was a beautiful Mass. The Bishop was the main celebrant and delivered an inspirational homily, expressing his gratitude to the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary for the work they had begun in the diocese and acknowledging the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Following the homily, the Bishop formally blessed the altar using holy water and incense and the Mass continued.

At the end of Mass, the group processed out of the tent. The altar and statues were moved into the chapel building where visitors could enter, admire the beauty and grace of the altar and statues, and pray prayers of thanksgiving to the Mother Thrice Admirable for these wonderful gifts. The new covenant book was available in the chapel where Schoenstatt members who had made their covenant of love could sign and record the date of their covenant.

All in attendance then enjoyed a time of socializing. Refreshments were available in one of the small tents and religious articles were for sale in the other. The "cookie line" was long for most of an hour. Fortunately, there were plenty of cookies and punch to go around. Even two hours after the Mass had ended, visitors were still milling around enjoying the bright, sunny day and the company of the Schoenstatt family.

The Schoenstatt family in Nebraska acknowledges Sister M. Angela Macari and and Sister M. Joanna Buckley for their leadership during the past two years and for their hard work in preparing the celebration.