While praying an Illuminated Rosary, she felt the MTA conquered her heart forever

A Schoenstatt Wayside Shrine in Salamanca-Lima, Peru

Familiares de Nelly, Hna. Consuelo y Maria Ignacia de la JF de Chile Relatives of Nelly, Sr. Consuelo, and Maria Ignacia of the Girls’ Youth, Chile Verwandte von Nelly, Schw. Consuelo und Maria Ignacia aus der Mädchenjugend von Chile
Rezando con la Hna Consuelo Praying with Sr Consuelo Im Gebet mit Schw Consuelo
Rezando el rosario Praying the rosary Beim Rosenkranz Fotos: Queca Espinoza © 2008

PERU, Queca Espinoza. While scanning an article published on Schoenstatt.de about one of the Illuminated Rosaries prayed in Schoenstatt, Germany, I read about a person who wanted to know if there was a Shrine in Peru. I quickly wrote to Sister Kornelia asking for information about this person. I contacted her and we began a very interesting e-mail relationship. Nelly was impressed while praying an Illuminated Rosary in the Original Shrine (a few weeks after her husband’s death during their honeymoon), and she wanted to share this beautiful experience with her family who live in Peru.

Nelly returned to Peru from Schoenstatt with a picture of the Blessed Mother and with an objective: to place it in a Wayside Shrine she had built in a park close to her family home. After becoming friends via the Internet, we met recently at the blessing on December 8, 2007. It was very touching, and I was very happy to arrive at the place, and see our MTA in this beautiful wayside shrine. After the blessing imparted by Father José Luis Correa, our national advisor, we shared a long conversation and at the end we distributed holy cards and pamphlets about Schoenstatt. Upon bidding farewell knowing far from ending, something was beginning. Nelly who learned about Schoenstatt in Germany when she was seeking information about World Youth Day in Cologne found schoenstatt.de; surely, she has started on the road to a flourishing apostolate in this area of Salamanca.

We were making her known to all the people we talked to

Since Sister Consuelo the Women’s Branch advisor would be in Peru for a few days. I called my friend Nelly so we could visit with her. We agreed to meet on Wednesday morning, January 23^rd, and since I had been before, I thought I would arrive without any problem. But we got lost! We couldn’t find the park and I didn’t have Nelly’s address or phone number. We made several rounds and nothing… Then it occurred to me to take out a holy card of the Blessed Mother, and we began to ask different people if they knew about the Wayside Shrine by showing them the picture. No one could give us information, and I felt very bad about not carrying out our plan. It was then when Sister Consuelo told me: "Don’t worry; the Blessed Mother wants something with this delay. Besides we are making her known to all the people we have talked to." Then we began to pray the Prayer of Confidence and my cell phone rang. It was Nelly; she was worried because we had not arrived! Thanks to this call we found the place where she was waiting with a group of ladies who live by the park. Sister Consuelo spoke to them about the Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign and also about the three graces of the Shrine. Maria Ignacia, who belongs to the Girls’ Youth in Chile who had also gone with us spoke to them about the picture of the Blessed Mother.

An instrument to spread Schoenstatt

Nelly’s story is surprising, and I wanted to share it with you. She arrived in Germany some time ago where she was married, and became a widow during her honeymoon. Seeking information on the web, she found something on schoenstatt.de, and when she arrived at Schoenstatt hoping to find consolation for her soul, she felt the MTA conquered her heart forever during the prayer of the Illuminated Rosary. Nelly shows us how with little knowledge about Schoenstatt and living in another country a beautiful Wayside Shrine can be built where our Blessed Mother now reigns in Salamanca (Lima-Peru), and from there the road of evangelization can begin. It was not easy to build the wayside shrine because the neighbors of the park wanted to enthrone another picture of the Virgin, since they did not know Schoenstatt. Nelly was able to persuade them so that the MTA would be the owner of the place, and thanks to her many people will learn about Schoenstatt. She will return to Germany but here in Peru she has left a little seed that we have committed to care for and to make grow. There is much work to do, isn’t there?

Thanks Nelly for this worthy example to follow!

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