That the world may become more Christian and human

Evangelizing the world of work - The Pilgrim MTA in the business sphere

Misionando con la Virgen Peregrina en el Microcentro de Buenos Aires With the Pilgrim MTA in the Microcenter of Buenos Aires Mit der Pilgernden Gottesmutter im Microcentro, im Hauptgeschäftsviertel von Buenos Aires
Salir al encuentro de la gente Setting out to where the people are Hinaus zu den Menschen in ihrem Arbeitsalltag Fotos: Dumas © 2007
Federico Dumas en la Fiesta de Sión Federico Dumas at the Sion Feast Federico Dumas beim Sionsfest Foto: Crivelli © 2007

ARGENTINA, mkf. "It truly gives more meaning to the dedication of my work, when I do this it gives me great joy and vitality", says Federico Dumas, consultant in the area of petro-chemistry and industrial training,; he is the father of six children and the grandfather of nine grandchildren. He belongs to the Family Federation and he takes the Pilgrim MTA to the offices of the micro-center of Buenos Aires. Why? Because he wants to change the world, in covenant with her.

Several weeks ago an interview with Federico Dumas appeared in the La Nacion, he happily accepted the invitation to also tell Schoenstatt.de how he began his apostolate and what motivates him to continue.

How did you start this?

It all began in the year 1985, during Father Kentenich’s centennial celebration, in which I literally found myself in the shadow of the Original Shrine with Sister Edit Raidt, whom I did not know, and I told her that I was going to invite her to Argentina to present her course of Christian Business Management. In 1989 she came to present her course to a select group of business people and at two open conferences about this subject and it was very well attended. She returned in the year 1990. I began my apostolate in the business world in different ways within the Schoenstatt Movement and outside of it.

Ana Echeverria gave me a pilgrim MTA in her Homeshrine for the business sphere. At the beginning it would go on pilgrimage in an irregular way, until I began to form the first group that received it at their work places. Then I had the Work Shrine in my office blessed.

What motivates you to carry out this apostolate?

The desire to change the world so that it will function according to the Gospel, and so that the world will become more Christian and human is what motivates me to carry out this apostolate. The sphere of the family is very important, but the business sector is also a great influence that molds the present world, and since God has placed me in the business work that is where I should also carry out my apostolate.

What was the reason to take the Pilgrim MTA to the other work places?

I am convinced that Jesus Christ asks that we live the values of the Gospel in the work place. It is this certainty that has motivated me for a long time to carry out an apostolate in the business world. During 2004 I realized that if I wanted my apostolate to give abundant fruits I had to increase my human efforts. I decided to become an ally of the Blessed Mother, because there is no one better than She, who carries Christ, to be present, to act, and to help transform people according to the values of the Gospel in their place of work. It was then that I began to carry the Pilgrim MTs through the offices of the micro-center of Buenos Aires.

The following testimony summarizes very well the many testimonies that have been received: "All of us in the office like the life experience of having the Pilgrim MTA. It gives a great sensation of spiritual well being".

What is the connection to the work pastoral of Saint Catherine of Sienna?

For six years there has been a center for spiritual help for the people who work in the micro-center of the City of Buenos Aires at Saint Catherine de Sienna Church (this is the most important center for the business sector and for the national government). There they collaborate with 150 priest and laity in different pastoral activities. After dedicating itself to sheltering during 5 years since its founding, it progressed to a new stage of going out of it convent walls to meet the people in their work places. It encountered the Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign that I had started in the in the work places some months before from my Work Shrine in my office that is three blocks away from this center. One day, when the first group was just starting, I took the Pilgrim MTA to the Mass to pass it the first person in the group. Before entering the Church I encountered Father Braun, the rector, who became interested in what I was holding. It was the Mass for Saint Francisco Javier, patron of missions. During the homily, Father Braun referred to the Schoenstatt Pilgrim MTA and the 35,000 Pilgrim MTAs that are on pilgrimage in the families of the country, and he commented that what I was holding in my arms was for the work places. I strongly embraced the Pilgrim MTA against my heart: I felt that this was a confirmation of the mission that I had started recently. Then there were other similar signs, among them, the fact that the center for spiritual help at Saint Catherine had decided to give impetus to this campaign in the micro-center in conjunction with the Schoenstatt Movement.

We have formed a team of 10 people to carry out this apostolate that is a joint task between the Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement and Saint Catherine Church. This group is composed of some Schoenstatters and others who are not Schoenstatters, some are permanent collaborators at Saint Catherine and others work at the micro-center.

What is your vision for this work with the Pilgrim MTA?

My vision is for the greatest number of people who work in the offices and businesses of the micro-center to receive the Pilgrim MTA so that through this they will live their Christianity and life in the church more intensely, and that they come closer especially to Saint Catherine’s.. I also want the number of Work Shrines to increase.

What does Schoenstatt mean for you and your work?

Schoenstatt has led me to discover the reality of a God who is a Father; if I had to write it on a fingernail, as Father Kentenich said, it is that he is an almighty God and Father of love. I experienced this during a very critical circumstance in my business life in which God clearly intervened so that I could find a way out from this situation in way that was less painful; and it happened while I was participating in the Mass on the eve of the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother, it was the Blessed Mother, the intercessor with her omnipotent petition. The Blessed Mother extended a gesture that was an invitation for me to seal a Covenant of Love with Her. From then on I got closer and I began to participate in Schoenstatt. I began to live my faith with more conviction and less formality.

In my work life I can synthesize it by living practical faith in Divine Providence. I can demonstrate this in the following situation. I dedicated a lot of time during the years of 1992-1993 helping to organize the Business Mission that is a mission of evangelization for the businessman that was carried out by the Christian Association of Business Leaders along with some movements of the church; I represented the Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement. I dedicated so much time to this that my family asked me when I was going to work to support our family of six children, because my income depended directly to how much time I spent on working, because I was working as an independent consultant. My certainty and my answer were "I work for God and He will take care of me". It was exactly at the time when we finished the Business Mission that I was signing a contract with largest engineering and construction company in the world that changed my economic and professional situation. It was clearly a gift from God.

Summarizing what motivates him in one sentence, Federico Dumas does not hesitate for one minute by answering: "Working for the Blessed Mother and Schoenstatt is what gives me the greatest joy."

Translation: Celina Garza, Harlingen, TX, USA