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El grupo en el Santuario Matri
Ecclesiae in Belmonte
The group at the Matri
Ecclesiae Shrine, Belmonte
Die Gruppe beim Matri Ecclesiae-Heiligtum in Belmonte
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Imagen de Juan Pablo II en San Pablo
Picture of John Paul II at St.
Paul
Bild von Johannes Paul II in Sankt Paul vor den Mauern
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Tumba de Juan Pablo II
Tomb
of John Paul II
Grab Johannes Pauls II.
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En la basílica de Pompeya
In the basílica of Pompei
In der Basilika in Pompei
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Los Abram cablando de la misión del
Santuario “de todos nosotros”
The Abram talking about the mission
of “the Shrine of all of us”
Familie Abram spricht über
die Sendung von “unser aller Heiligtum”
Fotos: Capezio © 2005
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ROME/ARGENTINA, Oscar and Ana Capezio. We have gone on pilgrimage
through the Holy Land (Jerusalem, Galilee, Sinai) with the feeling of
returning to the roots, of "stepping in the footsteps of Jesus and Mary".
Then we gave ourselves a pilgrimage "at home, in our home"; Schoenstatt.
It was special for all the group but especially for Father Guillermo Carmona,
it was a marvelous six day retreat. "It is good to be here…" How we wanted
to ask for permission "to build our tents…." and for no one to ask us
to leave the mountain! We want to express our gratitude to Father Guillermo
for having "taken us by the hand", once more, to our beloved homeland;
and also to Father Kentenich for having caught a glimpse of "the glory
of Tabor" at this place and for having given it to his children.
Our pilgrimage continued from the "heart of Schoenstatt" to the "heart
of the Church’: we arrived in Rome on the 19th of September,
it was already night, and we immediately began to vibrate in the
crazy, rhythm of the great city.
The most visited place in Rome
Father Alberto Eronti was our Roman guide, what a gift! He accompanied
us as much as his work schedule permitted. He carried out his job as a
guide with great affection, with so much warmth for these compatriots
who wanted to saturate ourselves with all that Rome has to offer.
St. Peter’s: the square is surrounded by a double semi-circular column
that signifies the "loving arms of Mother Church" and that is how we felt:
received with love by a Mother after a long absence. Once inside we were
again in ecstasy when we contemplated the Pieta, the stained glass window
of the Holy Spirit, the statute of Peter…and John Paul II’s tomb in the
crypt, which is the most visited place, where you inhale a different atmosphere,
it has the aura of holiness, of heaven here on earth…
In Saint Mary Major we were moved by its history, a product of the dream
of a Pope and of a loyal Roman couple…history? Legend? It doesn’t matter.
The Basilica is there to venerate the Mother of God, who is the "figure
of the Church in the order of faith, of love and of perfect union with
Christ.
Saint Paul outside the walls, there you sense the soul of the holy Apostle
and missionary; we could almost hear him announcing Christ with love and
frankness; with the urgency and the compulsion of a messenger who is obeying
an order. It seemed as if he told us: "I cannot be quiet, let me evangelize
you" and afterwards: "Now it is your turn, you should go out to evangelize,
you cannot remain silent".
Saint John Lateran, with the Holy Stairs, cathedral of Rome and mother
of all the churches. According to a legend, the emperor Constantine had
this Basilica built in gratitude that he was healed from leprosy after
his Baptism. Saint John Lateran is dedicated to the Redeemer, to Saint
John the Baptist and to Saint John the Evangelist, it is the ancient Papal
See and it allows us to make contact with the living history of the Church.
Five Ecumenical Councils have been celebrated here. Many kings and emperors
were crowned here. It speaks to our heart about the unity of the Church,
it speaks to the necessity of inter-religious dialogue, it speaks about
love…
Highlights of the pilgrimage: the two Shrines…
We visited the "Shrine that belongs to all of us", Father’s great desire;
we visited the Matri Ecclesiae Shrine in Belmonte, a few days after its
first anniversary. How exciting, it was to step on this holy place, which
received so many of our prayers! Nivaldo and Tersinha Abram cordially
welcomed us, Father Alberto explained the history of the Shrine to us,
we were touched by all the anecdotes, we were happy about the growth of
the Family around the Shrine, and we were full of joy during the Holy
Mass, concelebrated by Father Alberto and Father Guillermo. Thank you
Mother, for allowing us to be here, in your house! Thank you for wanting
to be in this place, close to the Holy Father, in the "Heart of the Church"!
We were also at the first MTA Shrine of Rome, the Cor Ecclesiae Shrine
from where the dome of Saint Peter’s can be seen from the patio! This
shrine is truly built in the shadow of Saint Peter’s, under the loving
mantle of the Mother Church, and it has been the home of every Schoenstatt
pilgrim in Rome since it was built. At this time the house and surrounding
area was being remodeled, for which the Sisters apologized for the "inconvenience"
which did not exist for us.
The place breathes peace, even in the midst of such a busy city. Father
Guillermo celebrated Holy Mass, a daily gift for the pilgrims, who eagerly
await the homily every day, it is so full of life, it so profoundly Marian,
it so sincerely affectionate.
The Pope with the Pilgrim MTA
On Wednesday the 21st of September we had the great opportunity:
we participated in the General Audience with the Holy Father, Benedict
XVI. It is impossible to describe the excitement we felt, it was so great
that we arose very early, by 7:00 a.m. we were on our way to Saint Peter’s,
and we had already had breakfast, incredible! After the long wait, unending
lines, going through security we could finally enter. Thanks to the early
rising we were able to find a place close the center aisle of the square,
where we thought the popemobile would pass. Patricia placed her elbows
on the barrier she was holding a Pilgrim MTA in her hands, it had accompanied
us all the time, and when the Pope passed she began to call him –just
as the youth did at World Youth Day- "Benedict, Benedict". When he turned
towards her she showed him the Pilgrim MTA and then, Benedict XVI blessed
it and he smiled with a pleased look on his face. We all felt we had received
that smile and that blessing, that we believe can be extended to all the
Schoenstatt Family. Patricia relates: We were not sure where he would
go , we only hoped that it would be through the aisle where we were. At
exactly 10:00 a.m. we heard the clamoring of the people before Benedict
appeared to being traveling through the square in the popemobile.
I had put my camera away since my objective was for him to bless the
Pilgrim MTA that I had and for him to see that She was also present. Between
shoves and toes that were stepped on we eagerly awaited his arrival. And
that is how it was, when the popemobile turned down the aisle where we
were our excitement was immense, and when he heard Benedict, Benedict
called out he turned, he looked and when he saw the Pilgrim MTA his eyes
opened with surprise, like when someone suddenly sees a familiar face,
and he blessed it.
Sister, you cannot imagine the joy we felt, his surprised face will always
remain etched in our hearts.
To feel the universality of the Church
In summary, our trip through Rome was very brief, but full of marvelous
sensations: we had the opportunity to feel the universality of the Church,
we were able to have contact with traces of the first communities (in
the Colosseum, the catacombs), and we quickly reviewed the history of
the successors of Peter, the Popes, who assure us that THIS is the Church
Jesus founded..
We also encountered Saint Vincent Pallotti, founder of the Pallotines,
the one who inspired our Apostolic
In Pompei, in the Shrine founded by Bartolo Longo, we discovered with
surprise that there are many common and significant points between both
shrines (Schoenstatt and Pompeii). (The brochure they gave us was edited
mostly by Monsignor Claudio Gimenez, Schoenstatt Father); Father Guillermo
had the opportunity to concelebrate the Holy Mass on Saturday, the day
dedicated to Mary. Thank you people of Pompeii for welcoming us with so
much affection!
Of course we did some "tourist" things: we drank coffee, ate pizza and
pasta, we visited Trastevere, the Fountain of Trevi, the Spanish Steps,
the Vittorio Emanuele monument, we walked through the streets full of
color and ambience…it was a beautiful experience that is worth repeating.
Again we thank God for allowing us to make this trip, we thank Jesus
for having "chosen" Mary to give us her maternal protection, and on the
human level we thank those who made this dream possible:
Juan Carlos and Mariana who organized the economic part, Patricia who
took care of many of the logistic details; Father Guillermo for being
a magnificent spiritual guide, a true transparency of our Founder; to
each one of our traveling companions, for their affection and good spirit,
for being:
"Family of the Father, with Mary
Translation: Celina M Garza, Harlingen, TX, USA
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