Benedetto XVI en la Jornada Mundial de la Juventud Benedict XVI at World Youth Day Benedetto XVI, GMG Benedikt XVI beim Weltjugendtag Fotos: Weltjugendtagsbüro Köln © 2006
El Santuario Matri Ecclesiae, Roma The Matri Ecclesiae Shrine, Rome Santuario Matri Ecclesiae, Roma Matri Ecclesiae-Heiligtum, Rom Foto: POS Fischer © 2006

	Grafik:POS Brehm © 2005

Shortly after his election, Pope Benedict XVI invited the Movements and new Ecclesial Communities to celebrate Pentecost together in Rome. We take this gesture of appreciation with gratitude and joy and we discover the obligation this holds for us: the challenge to live one’s own charisma more clearly for the good of the Church and to offer it to the communion born at Pentecost among all.

Let us look at the broad context of this event in order to read the signs of the times. Let us recall the gift of the Shrine in Belmonte (Rome) which already in 1965 had been promised to our Father and Founder for his 80^th birthday. We had to wait 40 years for its realization. The International Presidium participated in the laying of the cornerstone in 2003, and wrote, from Rome, an allusive letter to the entire Schoenstatt Family. Many were able to participate – directly or via internet – in the grand celebration of the blessing of the Shrine on that memorable 8^th of September of 2004. It was a festival of the International Movement and of many Church representatives from throughout the world. Hundreds of earthen vessels filled with contributions to the Treasury of Grace from many Shrines made present the Family in solidarity and expressed our active love for the Church. The Holy Father, John Paul II, received us the next day at Castelgandolfo and motivated us to assume more responsibilities in society.

Last year we actively participated in the realization of World Youth Day being fully inserted in this great life current of the entire Church. For thousands of youths throughout the world, our place of origin became a profound experience for meeting the Blessed Virgin and a place for a vital communion with a great International Family. For all of us it is a great joy knowing that we can count on this new founding generation which lives the Covenant of Love for the Youth of the world. The strength of the Original Shrine radiated with a new vigor during those last August days. From this experience, a new initiative was born….. "Schoenstatt Summer" wants to organize during the European summer, next to the Original Shrine, some weeks of meetings for Christian youths from throughout the world.

Months later, we commemorated the 40^th anniversaries of two historical events: the closing of the Second Vatican Council and the return of our Father and Founder from Milwaukee to Schoenstatt which once again made present the relevance and actuality of the DILEXIT ECCLESIAM (He Loved the Church). Under this perspective, we now look toward the next Pentecost meeting in Rome.

Eight years ago, John Paul II had invited all of the Movements to Rome for the feast of Pentecost. These not only met with the Holy Father but discovered that they have a common task within the Church. Today we know that Pentecost 1998 was a daring and necessary step. On that opportunity, the Pope said: "The Movements and new Communities, a Providential expression of the new Spring which the Holy Spirit aroused with the Second Vatican Council, proclaim the power of God’s love which surpasses all divisions and barriers, renews the face of the earth and creates a civilization of love." He emphasized that the Movements constitute a response from Providence to the many challenges of our time. And he was right. Those first contacts and cautious gatherings between the Movements now flow into a vital and powerful communion, not only at the level of those ultimately responsible internationally, but in the concrete life of innumerable dioceses and parishes. The visit of Chiara Lubich and Andrea Riccardi to Schoenstatt in 1999, opened the doors for this communion. What had seemed strange for some in the beginning, we now see clearly as Divine guidance.

Amid this life process, we surprisingly received the authorization to build the Shrine in Rome – like a call from God and an open door. The Schoenstatt Center in Rome is a symbol of the acceleration of our presence in the heart of the Church, of our work in common with other Movements and of our taking new steps toward the Apostolic World Organization. It has to do with love for the Church, it has to do with Rome. Bishop Rylko, the president of Pontifical Council for the Laity, told us in a meeting with the International Presidium on 9/9/04: "Here you experience the encounter with the successor of St. Peter. In Rome, the Ecclesial Movements can better understand what place they possess in the Church and what their charisma is. The security and confidence in themselves grows in Rome. Here, openness toward the universal Church takes place…..This is my wish for Schoenstatt: that this center be a light on the mountain."

It has to do with the "Dilexit Ecclesiam," of love for the Church. Our Holy Father in his first encyclical showed us in a beautiful and profound form what love is and how it reaches its fullness. We all experience in the encounter with the Blessed Mother in the Shrine that we are loved. We all experience spiritual transformation when the Covenant of Love urges us to be apostolically active. Our love response is our maturing toward the fullness of the Covenant through our pedagogical and ascetical means and apostolate. The second part of the encyclical sheds new light on our pedagogical and social works and motivates us toward a more daring service of love in the world. We want to contribute so that the Church may more and more be the soul of the world.

The feast of Pentecost with the Holy Father in Rome wants to be a testimony of this love. We are invited to enter into the great cenacle of the Church to celebrate with Mary the charismas of the Church at the start of the new millennium. Some representatives of our Movement will participate on the previous days (May 31^st and June 2^nd) in Rocca di Papa at the World Congress organized by the Pontifical Council for the Laity with the theme: "The beauty of being Christian and the joy of sharing it with others." Approximately 1,000 Schoenstatt pilgrims will be in Rome to accompany this congress with its prayers. On Friday evening begins the great encounter with vigil celebrations in the churches of Rome organized by the different Movements. Schoenstatt has the responsibility to prepare the vigil in the church of Sant’ Andrea della Valle which was a very important place of pastoral work for St. Vincent Pallotti. On Saturday afternoon begins the vigil of Pentecost with the Holy Father in St. Peter’s Square. On Pentecost Sunday we will celebrate Vespers in thanksgiving in the Shrine "Matri Ecclesiae" in Belmonte.

Hundreds of thousands of participants will gather in Rome for this event. The General Presidium will participate fully and we want Schoenstatt to be present through many representatives from the different countries and different branches. Everyone is invited to participate spiritually in this event. The press office of the Movement will publish with regularity the most recent news on www.schoenstatt.de

Mary gathers us in the heart of the Church. As Mother of the Church, She gathers this family of believers and of those who love in Rome. As Queen of the Apostles she will implore the gifts of the Holy Spirit for us.

In the name of the General Presidium,

Schoenstatt, February 2, 2006

Fr. Heinrich Walter

Translation Carlos Cantú Family Federation La Feria, Texas USA