A Marian pedagogy of faith, in the spirit of Aparecida

Conference of Schoenstatt Diocesan Priests – Peru January 14^th-17^th, 2008

La Hermana Consuelo con los sacerdotes Sister Consuelo with the priests Schw. Consuelo im Gespräch mit den Priestern
Santa Misa en el Santuario de Lima Holy Mass in the Shrine in Lima Heilige Messe im Heiligtum in Lima
En la casa de retiro In the retreat house Im Exerzitienhaus
Panel con laicos del Movimiento Panel discussion with laypeople of the Schoenstatt Movement Podiumsdiskussion mit Laien aus der Bewegung Fotos © Espinoza 2008

PERU, Father José Luis Correa. The Conference of formation for Schoenstatt Diocesan Priests was held for the second time on January 14^th-17^th, 2008. Just as in January 2007, the conference took place at the Carmelite Retreat House in Lurin, a neighboring diocese of Lima. Twelve diocesan priests participated. The majority of them were from Lima, Callao, Chosica, and Trujillo along with three seminarians from the Diocese of Callao, Arequipa, and Huacho who also attended.

The subject studied was a continuation and application of what was initiated the previous time by Father Humberto Anwandter. This year Father José Luis Correa, National Adviser of the Movement in Peru, who is also the adviser of the Diocesan Branch of Priests in Chile, presented the main talks. The topics of his presentations were: A Marian pedagogy of faith, from Aparecida and The ideal pedagogy in Schoenstatt. He also presented a workshop about the personal ideal, which included a test of the temperaments.

How to serve Schoenstatt as a diocesan priest

In the afternoons there were forums or panels. Schoenstatt laypersons from Peru participated in the first panel. They shared what Schoenstatt meant in their lives. Edith and Félix Changs from Lima, Victor Morillo from El Callao, Queca Espinoza from Lima, and Mr. César Medina from Trujillo were present. The subject of the second panel was What does Schoenstatt contribute to your lives as consecrated persons? During this panel Father Paul Jaimes from the Diocese of Chosica and seminarian Edgar Merel from the Diocese of Callao participated. Fathers José Antonio Arbuló from Callao, and José Antonio Bohuytrón from Trujillo spoke during the third workshop on Wednesday afternoon. They proposed how diocesan priests could serve Schoenstatt.

The conference was also enriched by the visit of Sister Consuelo Cerda on Tuesday morning, and by Lurin’s Bishop, the Most Reverend Carlos Garcia on Wednesday morning. During his surprise visit, the Bishop made the commitment to attend the next conference and to participate in its entirety at the end of this year 2008; furthermore, he offered to host the final lunch at his house.

Visit of the Apostolic Nuncio…who learned about Schoenstatt in Burundi and in Bolivia

The other surprise visit was that of the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Rino Passigato, who learned about Schoenstatt during his first assignment as Nuncio in Burundi and also from his second assignment in La Paz, Bolivia. He celebrated Holy Mass one time at the Shrine of Lima in La Molina, and at this time he visited them for an entire hour. It should be noted that in total he spent the afternoon on this visit, since it is a one-hour trip each way from the Nunciature to the retreat house! The meeting with the representative of the Holy Father was wonderful and very meaningful for the priests and seminarians that participated. This encounter ended with a photo taken in front of the Auxiliary Shrine from Lima and with a song in the Chapel, in closing the Nuncio said: "Nos Cum prole pía…"

The conference ended on Thursday at noon in the Lima Shrine, with the Eucharist followed by a fraternal lunch in the home of the leaders of the Couples’ Branch, Coco and Vero Arteta, who are neighbors of the Shrine.

In the final evaluation, it was decided that the next conference would be a retreat about priestly paternity, which will take place at the same place on December 28^th -31st, 2008.

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