United in your love, we will build a better world

80th Anniversary of the founding of the Marian Apostles

Invitación a subir al avión Invititation to board the plane and take off Die Mädchen werden eingeladen, das Flugzeug zu besteigen, und los geht’s
Un grupo de participantes radiantes A group of radiant participants Die strahlen nur so um die Wette, die strahlenden Marienapostel!
Teatro Theater Theaterstück
Todas princesas.. Little princesses... Alle kleine Prinzessinnen
Alegría pura Sheer joy Freude pur Fotos: Ir. M. Dina © 2007 Álbum de fotos – photo album – Fotoalbum

BRAZIL, Sr. M. Diná Batista de Souza. It was a day filled with grace and joy. such were our experiences as we stood in the shadow of the Shrine of the Permanent Presence of the Father in Atibaia. About 320 Marian Apostles – the Apostles of Light, aged between 4 and 14 years came from 30 cities around Brazil were very excited to celebrate the 80 years of their founding (06.08.1927).

The girls worked very hard and offered many contributions to the Capital of Grace in preparation for this Jubilee. Last year, their motto was: "Hand in hand with the Father, on our way to the Jubilee year!" The leaders motivated the Apostles to make a special journey to Schoenstatt to celebrate the anniversary of their founding. In order to achieve this, each girl was given a passport filled with various tasks that she had to take to every group meeting and receive a stamp proving her participation.

This year, under the motto: "Hand in hand with the Father, we shine in the Jubilee year!", they completed various tasks such as: writing a Jubilee hymn, interviewing another young girls who had once been Apostles, drawing their self-portrait, preparing for Pope Benedict’s XVI visit by creating a spiritual bouquet which was then sent to him, etc. All the tasks were sent to the Girls’ Youth and Apostles’ Secretariat in Atibaia. In this way, packages containing the completed tasks arrived almost everyday.

The Girls’ Youth groups were a great help in supporting the Apostles as volunteers, preparing the environment, workshops and everything else.

Finally, 25 August 2007, the day we had all been waiting for arrived

Finally, 25 August 2007, the day we had all been waiting for arrived. The Apostles had begun arriving the previous day. Their excitement filled the entire house with joy and lots of noise. They had waited eagerly for this day. On the morning of the 25^th, all of the girls who had already arrived were welcomed by the Girls’ youth who were dressed as air hostesses. They were invited to enter a large aeroplane, and when they passed through the door, they were welcomed by other girls who stamped their passports, thus bringing to a close two years of preparation.

In the auditorium, which had been decorated especially for the Jubilee day, the girls experienced moments of much joy, prayer, games, etc. They were then divided into age groups to examine aspects of the life of our Father and Founder. In the afternoon, they had a jubilee gymkhana, in which there were no losers, but rather a jubilee gift which all of them needed to conquer together. The gift was a symbol made from glass for the Apostles’ room in the Movement House in Atibaia. Following the solemn ceremony, we brought the day to a close with a jubilee cake and lots of fun.

The final photo will go down in history. In 20 years time, we will celebrate the centenary of the Schoenstatt Apostles and those who are now girls, will be mothers, and who knows, their daughters will be the ones celebrating. That’s our hope.

JUBILEE HYMN – Be a joyful light

Be a joyful light, Mother is calling you.
Be a joyful light, 80 years of our founding.

With our dear Mother our mission is to shine,
Reflecting the light of your gaze, we will found a new generation.
In our shrine, united to the three graces,
We want to be princesses, radiating the light of our Queen.

Hand in hand with the Father, we’ll be little Marys,
From our home source, I’ll shine out for all people.
Here I am Radiant Queen, I want to receive your light.
United in your love, we’ll build a better world.

Translation: Sarah-Leah Pimentel, Johannesburg., South Africa