The Bells of the Original Shrine announced the beginning of the New Year

Encounters in Schoenstatt between Christmas and New Year’s

”Fiesta latina” el 31 de diciembre: voluntarias, visitantes y peregrinos de habla hispana celebraron el fin del año ”Latin Party” at December 31: Spanish speaking volunteers, visitors and pilgrims celebrated Year’s end ”Fiesta Latina” an Sylvester: Spanischsprechende Schönstätter feiern den Jahreswechsel
Bendición en el Santuario Original Benediction in the Original Shrine Andacht zum Neuen Jahr im Urheiligtum
Unidos con toda la Familia: Oh Señora mía... United with the whole family: My Queen, my Mother… Verbunden mit der ganzen Familie: O meine Gebieterin… Fotos: Santos © 2005
Rie Ishii, de Japón, con la Hna. María Julia en la Oficina de Prensa Rie Ishii, Japan, with Sr. Maria Julia at the Press Office Rie Ishii aus Japan mit Schwester Maria Julia im PressOffice Foto: PressOffice Fischer © 2005 Álbum de fotos – photoalbum – Fotoalbum

SCHOENSTATT.MKF. "Spiritually I unite myself to the Original Shrine to ask the Lord and his Mother that this year of 2006 be one of rich blessings for our Church and for our Schoenstatt Family in the world," wrote Ramiro Mendoza, of the University Boys’ Youth from Chile. Via e-mail and through the Schoenstatt Blog, the afternoon of the 31^st of December the bells of the Original Shrine invited everyone to unite as a family to bid farewell to the year 2005 and to welcome the year 2006

"Thanks for letting us be a part of everything from a distance, you do not know how happy my mother was when she heard the bells", writes Lucas Fiorucci, of La Plata, Argentina. Sister Regninita, of Atiabia, Brazil, commented the great surprise and joy of the Sisters of Mary to be able to hear the bell of the Original Shrine. "I made two families listen by telephone, who were also very happy and very surprised", read another e-mail. "One of the women told me that she had "goose bumps" because she immediately recognized the bell of the Shrine…What great things can be done through the media available now!" From Brazil, Argentina, Chile, United States, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Peru, Bolivia, Panama, France, Italy, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Poland, Uruguay, Japan, England, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Mauricio Islands, the bells of the Original Shrine could be heard by many people through their computers.

Greetings, embraces, and sparkers to welcome the New Year

From the original source of graces, as an International Schoenstatt Family, many united themselves spiritually to thank the Blessed Mother and the Triune God for the past year and at the same time to once more offer them their apostolate, their suffering, their joys, all the Capital of Grace of the last twelve months. The also consecrated all the persons who physically or spiritually prayed in the Original Shrine and sealed their Covenant of Love there – especially the thousands of youth who flooded this Shrine during the month of August! And they prayed for those who in the year 2006 will go on pilgrimage to the Shrine. After a blessing by Father Matthias Rummel SAC, punctually at midnight, a blessing was imparted with the Blessed Sacrament.

The international family was also physically present through the youth and the Sisters of Mary from Scotland, USA, Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Spain who prayed My Queen, my Mother in all languages after the last song, and then they sang "Mary of the Covenant".

After joyfully greeting the Schoenstatters from their respective countries , the young people continued to celebrate the New Year in this place of grace with greetings, embraces and sparklers. Afterwards, many went to the Center of the Boys’ Youth in Marienberg, where there was a great New Year’s celebration organized by the Boys’ Youth

Retreats, Journeys, Chapters, "Latin meal" and international visits

Before the celebration in the Original Shrine, the Spanish speaking youth gathered to share a "Latin meal" in House Marienland, an encounter for the end of the year that we enjoyed enormously.

With snow and more snow falling day by day from the 26^th of December Schoenstatt became a winter paradise (video). Many priests took advantage of the time between Christmas and New Year’s to make their annual retreat in Schoenstatt, while in Sonnenau some 15 girls were on retreat. At night they went to Father’s tomb with a great amount of snow on the streets… but they did not want to miss a private hour with Father! The Boys’ Youth gathered for their Annual Leader’s Journey, which ended on the 31^st of December with a Mass in the Original Shrine. Their new motto for the year: Covenant Generation, let us change the future. In House Mariengart, the International Chapter of the Federation Women began on the 27^th of December, and on January 1^st the German Federation of Families began their National Chapter.

Two seminarians from Mexico who are studying in Spain spent some days in Schoenstatt, elated that they could experience the snow – and to know more about Schoenstatt., that they had known two years ago in Queretaro. "What is needed to build a Shrine?" was the main question they asked.

On the 29^th of December, Father Marcelo Aravena, who had been Rector of the Father House of the Schoenstatt Fathers on Mount Sion, returned to Chile, from where he will depart for England in two months and then to Australia, where his community has assigned him a new task. "Surely the Holy Father was there also" several persons commented in jest, when they saw "two or three bishops enter the Original Shrine" on the 30^th of December. Those who participated in the Mass on the 31 of December were also surprised to encounter some "cardinals and bishops" and finally some correspondents for schoenstatt.de also met them during the afternoon of the 31st of December. (Regrettably they were so surprised they completely forgot to take their picture). Cardinal Errazuiz, Monsignor Camilo Vial along with several Schoenstatt Fathers from Chile, were visiting in Schoenstatt!

Rio Ishii, from Japan, who participated on the first pilgrimage to Schoenstatt from Japan last year, again visited on the day before Christmas. He commented that for him it was an enormous surprise when he found out through schoenstatt.de that the Rosary Campaign is in Japan. He said that last year they took a Pilgrim MTA that has been circulating since then among the participants of that pilgrimage and that only a few weeks ago he read Consuelo’s article on schoenstatt.de. She is the girl from the Girls’ Youth from Argentina who took the Pilgrim MTA to Japan and she also found out that there are Pilgrim MTA’s in the embassies of Chile and Paraguay. He read the magazine, "Tuparenda" of Paraguay and Connie’s article in the Press Office, astonished at the marvels that the Pilgrim MTA is working in his native country…He happily departed with the Japanese text about the Campaign. She is the Great Missionary...she will also work miracles, in this year 2006!

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