The "18^th of October" in Cologne

Sowing Covenant seeds in the offices of World Youth Day in Cologne

Los dos Nicolas, de Campanario, Chile, voluntarios en la Oficina de la JMJ en Colonia The two Nicolas, from Campanario, Chile, volunteers in the WYD Office in Cologne Die beiden Nicolas, aus Campanario, Chile, Langzeit-Voluntäre im WJT-Büro Köln
La Peregrina, coronada como „Reina y Madre de la JMJ“, peregrinó de oficina a oficina The Pilgrim MTA, crowned as “Queen and Mother of the WYD”, travelled from office to office Die Pilgernden Gottesmutter, gekrönt zur “Königin und Mutter des WJT”, wanderte von Büro zu Büro
Cada 18 del mes, los voluntarios latinos de Schoenstatt peregrinan hacia el Santuario de Colonia Each 18th, the Latin American volunteers make a pilgrimage to the Schoenstatt Shrine in Cologne An jedem 18. pilgerten die Langzeit-Voluntäre aus Lateinamerika zum Schönstatt-Heiligtum in Köln
Rosario Iluminado en el Santuario de Colonia, por la JMJ Illumined Rosary in the Schoenstatt Shrine in Cologne, for WYD Lichter-Rosenkranz im Schönstatt-Heiligtum von Köln, für den WJT Fotos: POS Fischer © 2005

WYD, Jose Luis Fontclara. Each "18th of October", that is, the 18^th of each month, the Schoenstatt long-term World Youth Day Volunteers from Latin America celebrate Covenant Day in the custom of their countries… and especially on the 18^th, but also everyday, they plant the Covenant seed in the place where World Youth Day is being prepared. On the 18^th of July, A Pilgrim MTA arrived at Schoenstatt that had been with one of the Schoenstatt volunteers in Cologne. It was crowned as Queen of the World Youth Day with a rosary with the symbol of World Youth Day. Jose Luis tells about the 18^th in Cologne.

We celebrated the Covenant of Love Day "our way": we sing at the Shrine of Cologne, that is many times a little empty. It seems that it awaits our visit: the Blessed Mother is always there just as she is in Campanario, Chile; in the Young Shrine of Asuncion, or in the one in La Plata, in Argentina, or in many other places of our beloved Latin America. This Shrine in Cologne is converted into the reflection of our countries for us, we make it our country…Each 18^th the Blessed Mother takes the place of our mother. In the Shrine we sing to her in the "Latin style", we sing those songs that inflame our hearts and that we sang with our group brothers in "our Shrines", we embrace her in our loneliness of 11 months for some, 8 months for others, 6 months for others and 4 months for the "new" ones…there we cry about our difficulties in the office, about the cultural problems that arise when working in a foreign country and with people who are so different from ours, many times we come to her disheartened, and She gives us one of her graces that we most need at that moment: the grace of sheltering or protection…

"Too Chic", we go to the office with suit and tie, because it is the 18^th!

Every 18^th the 3 young men: Nicolas Valdivieso, Nicolas Frias and I, dress with suit and tie and we go to the office "Too Chic", very elegant, as the Germans say, and everyone asks why? We quickly respond, because today is the 18^th, today is a Schoenstatt day, it is a feast day, and we explain what it means to whoever wants to listen. Some hear about Schoenstatt for the first time and just walk away. And we continue to hope that the Blessed Mother will take them in as she did with us… The girls, Manuela Mananes (from Argentina) and Christel Sonnekalb (from Venezuela) take care of the Pilgrim MTA, they take the image from office to office. Many times the Blessed Mother gets lost some fanatic takes her…and then she reappears, surely, she has given someone a grace while she was away from us.

Celebrate Schoenstatt

Another way to celebrate Schoenstatt is that each Wednesday, Manuela and Nico give guitar lessons to other volunteers. Of course, what they learn are our songs, the Schoenstatt ones, the ones we sing every Sunday in our Shrines. In this way every 18^th we remember why we are here, who called us, and how we arrived at this office, and we go out consoled ready to continue with this task, that is becoming more difficult with each passing day…That is what Schoenstatt has, the immense grace of having the Shrine, no matter where you are, it always greets you with the same smiling façade, with the same picture of the Blessed Mother, and she welcomes you with open arms, prepared to give you another embrace, another caress, another grace, and ready to be your family, your friend, and your Mother for some time..A child of Mary will never perish…