ROME, mkf. When the MTA picture for the Shrine in Belmonte crashed to the ground the missionaries of the Pilgrim MTA campaign who were near o the place of the accident, raised high their Pilgrim MTAs ... many of them with their eyes full of tears of pain. Mother, here we are, together with you…

"The charisma is the most precious gift that a movement has received from the Holy Spirit. It is a gift as well as a task. It is a challenge. We must be grateful for it, but also use it responsibly, for we carry it – as St. Paul tells us – in fragile vessels (cf. 2 Cor. 4, 7). We must be attentive and vigilant. And the loyalty to one’s own charism has to keep equal pace with the missionary spirit. A charism is a treasure that must be shared with others. You must have the courage to carry your charism "to the ends of the earth". With these words, Monsignor Stanislaw Rylko, President of the Pontifical Council of the Laity, encouraged more than 2000 pilgrims, from at least 30 countries, who had assembled in Rome to take part in the celebration of the blessing of the "Matri Ecclesiae" Shrine, in Belmonte. The key symbols of the celebration were light and, even more than imagined before, the image of the Mother, put well in the center of the attention of all.

This was the first common experience for the 2000 or more Schoenstatt pilgrims from at least 30 countries that had come to Rome for the celebration of the blessing of the Shrine in Belmonte; a family meeting, in which all their highest expectations focused on the upcoming event. Scarves with the logo of Schoenstatt on all sides, the pilgrims of Portugal adding another scarf with their national colors, a great flag of Chile and small ones of Puerto Rico, Chile, Argentina, flags of Schoenstatt, Pilgrim MTA's with rosaries, tapes, flowers…greetings, happiness in the meeting, all these things were present. Words were heard in German, Portuguese, Spanish, English... Music and singings encouraged and set the tone for the celebration. An hour before the Vigil began, some young priests carried the MTA picture on a portable frame, wonderfully decorated with lilies and painted with a real garden of flowers. This was the picture of the MTA for the Shrine in Belmonte, came as a great surprise to the many tourists present in St. Peter’s Square when the pilgrims began arriving for the vigil. A model of the Shrine, with an illuminated interior, was also taken to the stage. Later, Mons. Stanislaw Rylko arrived, warmly greeted by many of those present, and the announcers, in diverse languages, introducing the many pilgrims in the true sense of the celebration: ‘We come from all parts of the world. We bring with us all that is valuable to us. We bring the whole Schoenstatt; we bring our Father, with his mission. We bring the Virgin Mary and all that that characterizes Schoenstatt; we bring the picture of grace of the Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt; in the newly built Shrine it will receive it’s place of honor...’

We bring the MTA...

In the middle of the hurly-burly and the rejoicing, only a few noticed what was happening. Suddenly and inexplicably, the picture of the MTA, for the Shrine of Belmonte loudly crashed to the ground and broke in to pieces. In the middle of the general stupor, the missionaries of the Rosary Campaign instantaneously raised high their Pilgrim MTA's - many of them with their faces bathed in tears of pain. "We bring the Mother...." The announcers try to interpret what has happened. Maybe the Blessed Mother, from heaven, wants to say today to her Schoenstatt family with this tremendous fall ... that we should love her deeply, that we shold walk like her through life, and in this moment through the Vatican Gardens, that we are a living image of the Mother, who wants to be present not only in one image but in several. Someone asks a missionary for a Pilgrim MTA and places it on the portable frame where the MTA picture had fallen from. Two Schoenstatt Fathers go in search of another missionary of the Campaign whom they know had brought "just in case a picture is needed" the Third International Auxiliary – faithful replica of the Pilgrim MTA that John Pozzobon took on his shoulders to thousands of people. In a few minutes the Auxiliary is carried by several young people and by missionaries of Chile and Argentina, followed by many missionaries with their Pilgrim MTA's; they cannot conceal their emotion and happiness. Liliana Campisi, of Cordoba, almost dances with happiness, "It is the year of John Pozzobon's Centenary. We bring the stream of grace from the Campaign to the Church." The rosary is said in several languages, with the meditations taken from Heavenwards. having reached the Lourdes grotto, the illuminated Shrine, the Auxiliary and the Pilgrim MTA on the portable frame, are guided to the front of the grotto, from where they reign over the Liturgy of the Word. After this the procession headed back to St. Peter's Square. ( Text see )

"An important milestone in the life of your movement, a sign of your profound unity with the successor of Peter."

In front of the illuminated Lourdes grotto, Monsignor Rylko, Monsignor Wolf and several speakers take part in the vigil. A Sicilian choir, in contact with the Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign, contributed songs in Italian. The texts focus again and again on the Blessed Mother , on the picture for the Shrine, and again and again, Silvia Losada and the missionary from Chile raise high the Auxiliary. "Omnia Matria Ecclesiae" – ‘everything for the Mother of the Church’ - is the song that serves as the response to the texts read in many languages, "We bring the picture of grace of the MTA, we bring the father and founder of Schoenstatt, we bring the holy history of the Covenant of Love, we bring the whole family of Schoenstatt." Archbishop Rylko affirms the blessing of the Matri Ecclesiae Shrine, saying, "Tomorrow we celebrate the solemn dedication of the new shrine in Belmonte, which will be the focal point of the future international center of the Schoenstatt movement in Rome. The charism is the most precious gift that a movement has received from the Holy Spirit. It is a gift as well as a task. It is a challenge. We must be grateful for it, but also use it responsibly, for we carry it – as St. Paul tells us – in fragile vessels (cf. 2 Cor 4,7). We must be attentive and vigilant. And the loyalty to one’s own charism has to keep equal pace with the missionary spirit. The charism is a treasure that must be shared with others. You must have the courage to carry your charism "to the ends of the earth". … Only when a movement shares its own charism will it preserve its full vitality and original beauty. Let us therefore look at Mary, whose life, since the moment of her Immaculate Conception, was always a total unconditional ‘yes’ to the gift of grace."

A Shrine of Light

With prayer and song, all moved towards St. Peter's Square. The Shrine was already quiet and ready for the night, but the candles in the hands of the pilgrims illuminated the way. Words said by Father Kentenich at the symbolic laying of the cornerstrone for Matri Ecclesiae Shrine, on December 8, 1965 were read. Several young people formed a line showing all where to go in order to form the outline of the Shrine. An alive Shrine, a Shrine of Light. In front of the Shrine, together with the Auxiliary, the small model of the Shrine, and the frame so beautifully decorated for the picture of the MTA, which now carries one of the thousands of images of the Pilgrim MTA which come to all the men "until the end of the world", stand Mons. Rylko, Mons. Zollitsch, Archbishop of Friburgo, Mons. Wolf, and it suddenly seemed the place was filled with missionaries holding their Pilgrim MTA's - among them, Christina White with two Pilgrim MTA's, one of them the one that John Pozzobon gave to Father Kentenich in 1968.

Later, all renewed their Covenant of Love, each in their own language, in this place – a moment in which the emotions were overwhelming. They all, one way or the other, were conscious of the hour of grace experienced, of the moment for which - as the Father Kentenich had said – heaven and hell have prepared...

Finally, after the final blessing was given by Mons. Rylko, "Protect us with your Mantle" is again intoned in all languages. "We will never fail with you." Then, all were asked to stand close together so that a photo, taken by a plane, of the contours of the Shrine formed by the people with their candles turns out clearer and gives the sensation that, after all come closer, it is not a question only of the photo of a Shrine of Light but of the one big Shrine in the heart of the Church, that it is Schoenstatt, which is seen with major clarity, that shines more, as the Family of Schoenstatt is growing in closeness.

On the morning of September 8^th, the Sisters of Mary devoted themselves to framing a Shrine size picture of the MTA, to be enthroned later that evening in the Shrine in Belmonte.

Translation: dt/Paula Dudgeon, Minnesota, USA