Schoenstatt in Rome: The Present and Hopes for the Future

May 18^th at the Shrine in Belmonte. We celebrated it together with the local Church

Fiesta de la Facultad Feast of the Faculty Fakultätstag
Estudiantes Students Studenten
Aniversario de Mons. Gino Reali Anniversary of Bishop Gino Reali Jahrestag des Amtsantritts von Bischof Gino Reali
El coche de la mudanza llegue The removal van is coming! Die Möbel kommen an! Fotos: Francisco Nuño © 2007

ROME, Francisco Nuño. The past 18^th, we celebrated the day of the Covenant in our Matri Ecclesiae Shine, spiritually united with the entire International Schoenstatt Family. Portable microphones had to be connected so that the people outside the Shrine could hear and follow along. A small multitude of mostly Italians were in attendance. The Italian pilgrims really like to offer up their "burnt" offerings to the Treasury of Grace. At the last minute they like to write something to the Madonna and thus be present in the offertory. After the final blessing, given on this occasion by Father Ludovico Tadeschi, we remained conversing as a family in the shadow of the Shrine. It is good to share your own experiences with others. It is the month of May, the month of Mary!

In this month of May which is filled with parish celebration, the land of Belmonte opens itself once again – also as a parking lot – to the needs of the St. Gemma parish. It is another demonstration of the "communion" which exists between our Schoenstatt Shrine and the local church.

The last official invitation which we received a few weeks ago from the Bishopric of the Porto-Santa Rufina Diocese can also be understood in this context. We were invited to participate on the 5^th of May in the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the Episcopal ministry of His Excellency Bishop Gino Reali, bishop of the diocese. The festivity began with the Holy Eucharist in the Cathedral Church located on La Storta (Rome). The Church was filled with faithful and with more than sixty priests (pastors and members of priestly communities in the diocese) who concelebrated with our Bishop. After Holy Mass we were able to enjoy some festivity. We greeted and personally congratulated Bishop Gino Reali who was happy to see us and took interest in our Shrine and in the Casa dell’ Alleanza (House of the Covenant).

The presence of Schoenstatt in the heart of the Church

In his homily, the Bishop took time to refer to the priests and the obligation these have to be the first preachers of the Gospel. Referring to the Acts of the Apostles and the strategy of Paul and his disciples to preach the Good News, he invited the priests to allow themselves to be guided by the Spirit and to take the Gospel to the new areas of the great city of Rome which are being populated by people of various origins and cultures. I must confess that we would have liked to have with us a priest from our two Schoenstatt priest communities. We believe that our International Schoenstatt Center in Belmonte is in need of the continuous presence of a priest and we pray to the Blessed Mother that those responsible from our Schoenstatt Family find an adequate solution for this need.

A few days later, May 8^th, we had the opportunity to also attend another important event in our area: the faculty party which is organized every year by the faculty of the Pontifical School of Educational Sciences – the "Auxilium" – and this course has been inspired by the year’s motto of the School: "La bellezza del credere y valori e rischi" (The beauty of believing: values and risks). As a student of the school (a course of Italian for foreigners), I had to attend the party. Furthermore, Anneliese and I were invited especially as good neighbors of the Auxilium. It is a gift from Divine Providence which has made us reflect once again on the future of our International Schoenstatt Center in Belmonte.

One Church – universal family, Catholic

The testimony of Salesian Sister, Sr. Maria Esther Posada, fma, a member of the School’s academic community and a member of the the Salesian Sisters who took up the task of building this pontifical school in 1970, really caught our attention.

This all involved building a university center, a school, as a faith experience with values and risks. This was also the experience of the international community of the Institute of Daughters of Mary Auxiliary – Salesians of Don Bosco – and the group of Sisters who placed themselves at the disposition of the project, for example, the mentioned Sr. María Esther Posada from Colombia. She spoke to us about the values and risks of this experience. She began by telling of the risks: the school to be built had to be a school directed exclusively by women (first challenge) and it had to be ecclesiastical and pontifical (second challenge; we are speaking of the 1960’s and 1970’s). The pontifical schools of the time were exclusively directed toward philosophy, theology, or canonical law. Nevertheless, they were to start a school of "educational sciences," which they did with the "courage of faith." It was a hard and very slow task (third risk or challenge).

They were all able to assume these risks supported by the values they wanted to guarantee and which they guaranteed by the dynamics of putting the project in motion. On one hand, they wanted the school to be the expression of Christian humanism and the values received from the founders, St. John Bosco and St. Mary Dominga Mazzarello. The climate breathed during the time of the founding of the school was marked by a characteristic principle of the Salesian spirituality, the spirit of family…..a serious discipline and a true spirit of family and all with one ideal in the foreground: to fulfill a mission in the Church and from the Church for the good of the youth throughout the world. Today, the "Auxilium" gives to all its students and friends who frequent it the value of a presence and living together in Rome by persons of the most diverse cultures and nations. In an academic and university project, one experiences the value of a family which is the universal Church. Each one of us who visits the school experiences dialog with diverse vocations at the service of a common ideal which is for the good of the youth. The students from the "second course of Salesian spirituality" – who are from different countries and religious communities – closed the festivity with songs and prayers.

With hope and joy, confident in the victory, we go with Father into the newest times!

In previous reflections I have tried to see myself and to see those who build the International Schoenstatt Center with the mirror of the "Auxilium." I have dreamt that I was organizing courses in Schoenstatt spirituality and other "specialties" of the spiritual and pedagogical world received from our Founder in a school located here in Belmonte/Rome and that I received students from the most diverse cultures interested in intellectual and academic formation originating from a "Kentenich mode" and living together the spirit of family which our Father thought of in order to give a new face to the Church of the third millennium. I invite my friends to reflect and to dream with me.

In the meantime, our furniture and utensils arrived in Belmonte. Deo gratias! The renters still have to wait a few weeks before entering the house. Grateful hope!

Translation: Carlos Cantú Family Federation La Feria, Texas USA 062407