Llenad las tinajas Fill the jars Rimpiete le giare Füllt die Krüge Foto: Macro © 2004
Fotos: © 2004

ROMA, Fr. Alberto Eronti. It has been two months since the blessing of the cornerstone of the Matri Ecclesiae Shrine, in Belmonte. What has developed since then?

With joy we can informl that the "program" has been prepared the same as the spirit expected in each of the celebrations.

Schedule for September 7-9: September 7: Vatican City 8:00 pm: Prayer Vigil in the Vatican Gardens September 8: Casalotti Neighborhood, Belmonte 4:30 pm: Blessing of the Shrine dedicated to the Matri Ecclesiae Presiding: His Excellence, Cardinal Camilo Ruini, Vicar of Rome. 7:30 pm: Dinner 9:00 pm: Serenade to the Blessed Mother September 9: Castelgandolfo: 11:00 am: Audience of the Schoenstatt Family with the Holy Father 12:00 pm: Send Eucharist Presiding: His Excellence Cardinal Javier Errazuriz O., Archbishop of Santiago de Chile, President of CELAM

La piedra fundamental del Santuario Matri Ecclesiae The corner stone of the Matri Ecclesiae Shrine La prima pietra Der Grundstein des Matri Ecclesiae-Heiligtums

El terreno: Belmonte The land: Belmonte Belmonte Das Gelände: Belmonte Fotos: Bühler © 2004

Spirit and message

It is about the gift of the International Schoenstatt Family to our Father and Founder. The strong idea is: We build the Shrine in Rome for the Mother Thrice Admirable -SHE will build with us, God’s Church as a family for the world of the new millennium.

It is about the responsibility of the International Schoenstatt family before our Mother, Queen and Victress, and before our Founder Father. It is about a wish of Father Kentenich and it about the commitment of his Family to serve with and as the Founder did, to the Church of the "New shores".

It is obvious that, comparatively, only a few hundred members of the Schoenstatt family would physically be present for the three-day event in Rome, but nobody should miss this date. Everybody can be present with their yearning and spiritual presence, with their contributions to the Capital of Grace. The basic experience of Schoenstatt should become "body and life" in each child of the Schoenstatt family:

Mary is in the Shrine for a covenant: the Covenant of Love. She commits to be in the Shrine, to draw youthful hearts to herself and to spill graces of having a home in God, of inner transformation and apostolic fruitfulness, if we show HER that we love HER.

The latter is so important, that Mary’s "presence" depends of our love. Father Kentenich called this "the greatest apostolic deed" and the "most precious legacy". His "favorite and secret idea"! The idea is that the Mother Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt establishes herself in the physical heart of the Church and from there, as Mother and Educator shape through Christ and in the Spirit, the Church of the new millennium, the Family-Church.

This is about the "presence" of the Schoenstatt Mother Thrice Admirable in the Shrine dedicated to the "Mater Ecclesiae". Presence achieved by the proven and loyal love of the Father’s Family. As the sodalists gathered in the Original Shrine on October 18^th, 1914, we internally listen" "… As speak, I feel that I have struck the right note. Your hearts have caught fire. You have made my plan yours. With confidence I place the fulfillment into your hands…" What do we respond? Yes Father, we go with you! Nobody should miss the appointment on September the 8th! It is not only "another" Shrine, it is the Shrine of Mary’s Mission in the Church, and that our Father yearned envisioning the horizon of new era. We ask that Father Kentenich's passion and his love for the Church inflame us in this mission.

Everything for the Mother of the Church – Everything for the Mother Church!

Practical Facts.

We have been informing you about practical facts little by little. Today, I’d like to give you some advanced information.

This three-day event has a fixed fee. The Central Commission determined to request all participants to the three-day event a contribution of 50.00 Euros (about $46.00 USD) per person. This contribution is payable at the time the pilgrims receive their name tags or identification cards (ID) and the folder with the details for the event. This fee does not include transport to the different locations. Pilgrims coming from European countries will travel in buses prearranged from their country of origin. For that reason, pilgrims who come from further distance should contemplate the transportation issue before hand.

The Papal Audience: This is a Private Audience with Christ’s Vicar. This will be held in the Papal Residency in Castelgandolfo, about 28 kilometers from Rome.

The opening of an admission office near the Vatican is in the works. This office will be open early September so that pilgrims will have a reference center for information and orientation.

Tranlation: Vera Gamez, Austin, Texas, USA