The Imperial Cathedral and the Palatine of Mary

Holy Mass in preparation for the Fortieth Anniversary of the Schoenstatt Center in Herxheim

La corona de la Reina de alegría The crown of the Queen of joy Die Krone für die Königin der Freude
Icono de la misión del Santuario de la Alegría Icon of the the mission of the Shrine of joy Bildliche Darstellung der Sendung der Marienpfalz mit dem Heiligtum der Freude
En vinculacion con la catedral In union with the cathedral In Verbindung mit dem Kaiserdom Fotos © Dejon, Archiv 2008

GERMANY, Walter Dejon. "Great events are approaching." That was how Father Michael Hergl from Newstadt greeted the large number of people who filled the Marianpfalz Church on January 18^th. The great event he was referring to was the 40^th Anniversary of the Herxheim Schoenstatt Center in Landau. The first stage of the construction was inaugurated on June 16, 1968 with the Blessing of the Shrine and the Sisters’ House. This was the reason for the Schoenstatt Movement of the Espire Diocese to express gratitude for forty years of salvation history looking back while preparing for the future.

Schoenstatters from the Palatine and Sarre regions (both belonging to the Espire Diocese) have begun their march towards this great anniversary: The first stage was the result of a conference held on June 16, 2007 and a pilgrimage of gratitude to the Original Shrine on September 30, 2007.

The large anniversary celebration will be June 22, 2008.

The 18^th was chosen as the date to celebrate the solemn Holy Mass, because each 18^th of the month the entire Schoenstatt world is reminded of the founding of Schoenstatt on October 18, 1914.

It is about the Marian inheritance of the diocese

The celebrant said, "The motto for this Holy Mass is: The Imperial and Palatine Cathedral of Mary, which expresses the close relationship of the Palatine of Mary Schoenstatt Center with the diocese. ‘Behold your Mother,’ Jesus words to John in the gospel are our task and that of our diocese. It is valid to direct our gaze to Mary anew and preserve life in the reality of the Marian inheritance of the Espire Diocese."

Father Hergl expressed his joy in the naming of the new bishop of Espire, Dr. Karl Heinz Wiesemann, and he read a message of welcome that all the faithful could sign later. Father Stefan Seckinger PhD from Homburg presented the homily.

Flags can give clues about the aims and ideals of a Movement, said the homilist, remembering his own experience in the Schoenstatt Boys’ Youth. The figure of the immense Cathedral of Espire was represented on these flags and a small Schoenstatt Shrine was included in its center. This was also shown on the logo for the Palatine of Mary Schoenstatt Shrine in the area of Herxheim. Its Message: the Cathedral and the Shrine, the diocese and the Palatine of Mary, the Church and Schoenstatt are inseparable.

Something would be missing if the Palatine of Mary was not in the diocese, and the Shrine without the Cathedral would not have a foundation on the flag as well as in life. Mary, the Patroness of the diocese, is the attachment between the Cathedral and the Shrine.

A place of pilgrimage in the diocese

The homilist used an article Father Martin Nieder, the pastor of his hometown, wrote in 1994 as a reference to affirm the importance of the Marian history of the diocese for the diocesan Schoenstatt Movement. This history is also important for our life, because faith in Divine Providence just as the Founder Schoenstatt, Father Joseph Kentenich, proclaimed was a support in the past; it determined the present, and it is a guide for the future. Since the beginning since its construction almost a thousand years ago, the Cathedral was consecrated to Mary; she is the Patroness of Espire.

One of the statues of Mary from the 13^th century was saved in 1689 –from a fire in the Cathedral appertaining to war, and in 1794 the French revolution troops burned it and the Cathedral was used for strange purposes as a warehouse and pest house. "What did the people do about this situation?" Father Dr, Seckinger asked rhetorically. "The Cathedral had lost its meaning, but the life of faithful continued; the picture of the Mary was destroyed, but Mary continued to live in the people," was his response. For this reason the Cathedral was re-consecrated in 1822. In 1930 a new statue of Mary was enthroned for the 900^th Anniversary of the Cathedral. The Cathedral continued to be a place of pilgrimage for the diocese as he himself has experienced as vicar of the Cathedral especially during the celebrations on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother.

A greeting from Father Kentenich for the blessing of the cornerstone

On the day the cornerstone for the Shrine in the Palatine of Mary was blessed in 1967, Father Kentenich sent a quadruple greeting:

1. A greeting of blessing: May this blessing be first. We are blessed by God, we are not alone because He is always at our side.
2. A greeting of gratitude: During this jubilee year we can look at the past with gratitude, we should not consider it as something evident. Gratitude is one of the most important forms of prayer life.
3. A greeting of joy: With Mary we can always live joyfully and transmit this joy to others. Our era needs people who radiate joy. We should be a bearer of a joyful greeting for everyone that we encounter.
4. A greeting of trust: This greeting points to the future. What will it be, will our Schoenstatt Movement be in the future of our personal life, of the parish, of the diocese? We should trust in God, in God who loves us, in God who wants to shape the future with us.

That is why the small Schoenstatt Shrine is depicted on the flag in the large Cathedral, the homilist concluded, because we can enrich the diocese if Mary is transparent in our life. The Cathedral and the Shrine are two places in which we experience Mary, where we can express gratitude, where we can be joyful, and we can march towards the future filled with trust.

A shrine of joy

The Eucharistic celebration in the Cathedral ended with the Hail Mary in the Shrine of Joy, the name of the Schoenstatt Shrine, and since not everyone could fit in such a small place the prayer was said outside.

The introduction to the prayer stated: The experience of the 40^th Anniversary of the Palatine of Mary is that she can especially enrich our diocese through a gift: a profound joy. "With this Shrine, the Palatine, where joy, sun, and exhilaration are enjoyed, a new fountain of joy with a profound nature emerges flowing from the heart of God and from the heart of our beloved Mother Thrice Admirable. Where there is joy there is love, and vice versa. Everyone who comes here in the future should find a profound and true joy, they should find the joy of the Palatine of Mary, the Queen of joy, the cause of our joy in this place," that is what Father Joseph Kentenich wrote in his greeting for the blessing of the cornerstone.

The participants could joyfully return to their homes with this experience, after a gathering in which cookies and hot beverages were served.

The next stage of this road towards the anniversary will be the renewal of the crowning on March 8^th at 3:00 p.m. Following the tradition of the Church, Mary will be crowned with a new crown. Her original title in the Palatine of Mary will be: "Queen of Joy."

Translation: Celina Garza, Harlingen, TX, USA/amj