The globalized world has a home

Around the Original Shrine: Saturday Rosary, Illuminated Rosary, visit of Brazilian pilgrims…

Santuario Original: Andrés Valenzuela D. entrega el capitalario con los pedidos de oración Original Shrine: Andrés Valenzuela D. offers the petitions that came from all over the world Im Urheiligtum: Andrés Valenzuela D. aus Chile legt die Gebetsanliegen aus aller Welt in den Krug
Andrés Valenzuela, de Chile, Maria Elena Vilches y su hija, de Ecuador, la Hna María Julia, de Argentina Andrés Valenzuela, from Chile, Maria Elena Vilches and her daughter, from  Ecuador, Sr. María Julia, from Argentina Andrés Valenzuela aus Chile, Maria Elena Vilches und ihre Tochter aus Ecuador, Schw. María Julia aus Argentinien
El equipo del Rosario Iluminado, de la Rama de Profesionales: Gabriele Sudermann, Martina Rasch, Hildegard Fischer The team that offers the Illuminated Rosary, all members of the Professional Women’s League: Gabriele Sudermann, Martina Rasch, Hildegard Fischer Das Team aus der Schönstattgemeinschaft Berufstätiger Frauen, das seit mehreren Jahren den Lichter-Rosenkranz anbietet: Gabriele Sudermann, Martina Rasch, Hildegard Fischer
Una vela, una rosa... Ser parte de un rosario vivo A light, a rose... Being part of living rosary Ein Licht, eine Rose. Teil eines lebendigen Rosenkranzes werden Fotos: POS Fischer © 2008
Santa Misa de los Brasileños, en la Casa de Peregrinos Holy Mass of the Brazilians in the chapel of the Pilgrims’s Home Heilige Messe der Brasilianer in der Hauskapelle des Pilgerheims
Los peregrinos de Brasil en el Santuario Original The pilgrims from Brazil in the Original Shrine Die Pilger aus Brasilien im Urheiligtum Fotos: Hna. Maria Julia © 2008

SCHOENSTATT, MKF. Saturday it rained unceasingly, on Sunday it snowed… However, it was one of those weekends around the Original Shrine of "feeling grace and family," commented Andrés Valenzuela from Til-Til, Chile who had the honor of placing in the Original Shrine the jug containing all the prayer petitions sent during the past week to Schoenstatt, and also the petitions for all the activities around the Shrines throughout the world during this weekend.

Earlier, in the afternoon Maria Elena Vilches and her daughter from Ecuador had participated in the guided tour through Schoenstatt which is offered every Saturday afternoon. They also participated for a little while in the Illuminated Rosary, which was offered once again in the Adoration Church. Gabriele Sudermann, Hildegard Fischer, and Martina Rasch, the proven team of the Professional Branch, were surprised: only about twenty people arrived, but they participated with so much enthusiasm, that there was even a line in front of the microphone. After the rosary, two ladies from Vallendar summarized what everyone who participated for the first time experienced: "With each Hail Mary prayed, one recalls more who need prayers. Now the Rosary has ended, and I still have many people whom I also wanted to take to Jesus and Mary," said one of them, and she wants to know the date for the next Illuminated Rosary: It will be June 7^th. A young lady arrived late and she stayed at the very back of the church. When someone explained to her that she could also approach the microphone to pray, she answered: "I am always present at the Illuminated Rosary; I do not miss a single one. But I still cannot pray something aloud, because I always cry…" a man in a pew at the back, had tears in his eyes. When he bid farewell, he only said: "Thanks a million." –"It was a very beautiful Illuminated Rosary," commented Gabriele Sudermann, "a very profound prayer atmosphere reigned, and one truly felt a part of a living rosary."

Two special rosaries

Just like each Saturday at five-thirty, the Rosary was prayed at the Original Shrine in Spanish: Andrés Valenzuel from Chile, Maria Elena Viches and her daughter from Ecuador, Sisters of Mary from Ecuador and Argentina were present. They prayed for the Schoenstatt Family in Hungary celebrating the blessing of its Training Center this Saturday, for the Schoenstatt Family in Burundi, where with the presence of the Third International Auxiliary MTA, a pilgrimage for peace was held Sunday, and for the blessing of the Schoenstatt bookstore in Lima on the same day. They prayed for the Family from Mendoza, where a few days ago the Tabernacle of the Shrine was profaned, and prayers were offered for all the regions of the world where there are wars, conflicts and injustices causing so many to suffer…There were also petitions for prayers – for the health of a little girl, for a boy who had an accident in a swimming pool, for a couple who suffered an accident, for employment, for a newborn: Nathan, and other petitions for health, and all the intentions of those present. Like other times, there were many who joined in from their Shrines, wayside shrines, and home shrine or who heard the recording afterwards on the Internet. Two Pilgrim MTAs connected this rosary with the Illuminated Rosary in the Adoration Church that had ended a few minutes before. "We anxiously await 10:30 a.m. Costa Rica time to begin to pray the rosary making a very special union from our Home Shrine with the Orignal Shrine," writes Erick Perera from Costa Rica. "How beautiful it would be to be on line at least by sound to follow the prayer of the Rosary live, we hope that in the near future technology will permit us to make Schoenstatt larger at the global level."

Schoenstatt Visitors from Brazil

On Sunday, April 6^th, a group of eighty-five Brazilians on a trip through Europe arrived in two buses. Several of them were very happy because they saw snow! It seemed to them that it was gift from the Blessed Mother. They were coming from Fatima, Santiago de Compostela and Lourdes. They wanted to visit the "Mae Rainha," who many met through the Rosary Campaign! They had a Mass in the chapel of the Pilgrims’ House celebrated by Father Damiao. He has a group of men in Recife who have been praying the rosary for a year; it is part of the "Rosary for Men" that is growing and growing in Brazil. It is an initiative inspired by the model of Joao Pozzobon. During one annual conference there were 8,000 men, the next conference had 15,000 men! He said that he will return with another group. After the Mass, they went to the Original Shrine in procession. There they prayed, sang, and they brought their petitions to the Blessed Mother. After lunch they continued to Maria Laach, on Monday they returned to Brazil. On April 17^th another group from Brazil will come.

Concurrently, there was a symposium in Schoenstatt for priests and laity from the Catholic Polish Mission in Germany. Many individual pilgrims visited, among them some youth from Paraguay, and the Albiguers, a couple from Neuquén, Argentina, of the Family Federation. Paula de Guernica who was in Schoenstatt for a few days experienced them in a special way just like, "being at home." "I want to express my gratitude to everyone for keeping us united through ‘schoenstatt.de.’ Being here I truly feel at home, of course because of the presence of the Blessed Mother and Father, but also because I read the web pages every week and I know everything that is happening as if it were about my diocesan family…to read it now is to be in our beloved Schoenstatt again and we feel closer to the places we love, the Original Shrine, Father’s tomb…Thanks!" The global world has a home…and over there, every Saturday at five- thirty we pray with and for everyone.

• Audio: Saturday Rosary in the Original Shrine