We crown you Queen of the Movement!

Crowning of the MTA in the parish church of Tandil

Alianza de Amor Covenant of Love Liebesbündnis
Antes  de la coronación Before the crowning Vor der Krönung Fotos: Abella © 2008

ARGENTINA, HMA. On October 22^nd in the oldest parish of Tandil – a province of Buenos Aires –a large picture of the Blessed Mother has been enthroned close to the main altar. The Schoenstatters from all the Branches of years past and present told the Blessed Mother with great affection and hopeful trust: "Beloved Mother Thrice Admirable Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt: On this day of the Father and Founder’s release from exile, your small Schoenstatt Family in Tandil surrounds you with affection and gratitude to offer you a humble crown. We want you to manifest yourself as Queen of our Movement in Tandil."

For some time Schoenstatters in Tandil, a beautiful, hilly city in the south central province of Buenos Aires, recognized that the Movement was not growing enough and that they needed a deeper commitment with a greater mission consciousness. A desire grew in many people to pray for the grace necessary to continue and to discover new ways to overcome this condition.

The Blessed Mother responded

And the Blessed Mother did not wait. While a "Garden of Mary" Mothers’ Group reflected on the Father and Founder’s attitude in difficult situations, an inspired question emerged spontaneously: "Couldn’t we crown the Blessed Mother as Queen of the Movement?" The response within all the Branches was enthusiastic and positive. They quickly made contributions to the Capital of Grace, the groups assumed concrete commitments to conquer the crown in a relatively short time. The first proposal was to crown Her on October 18^th, but it was a Saturday and the Blessed Sacrament Parish, where the picture of the Blessed Mother is enthroned had so many activities scheduled that it was impossible to add one more. They wanted the crowning to be solemn and carried out with plenty of time. Providentially they chose October 22^nd, the anniversary of Father Kentenich’s release and the beginning of his return from exile (1965).

The crown

The symbolism for the crown also emerged spontaneously. Since they wanted to crown Her as Queen of the Movement, the main shape was the profile of the Adoration Church, a symbol of the plenitude of the Covenant of Love: the Blessed Mother always leads us to the Holy Trinity. At the center of the crown, the Shrine was drawn like the Pilgrim MTAs . It was made along a triple line: the daughter Shrine, the Homeshrine, and the Heart Shrine. On the base, on both sides, there are four crosses, which recall the milestones of development of the Covenant of Love.

The ceremony was carried out after the evening Mass with such a large attendance everyone was surprised: the church was almost as full as a Sunday Mass. The picture of the Blessed Mother was majestic, with a long red cloth behind the picture, which stressed Her royal character. During the Mass, eight women who belong to the Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign (missionaries and those who receive the Pilgrim MTA, and friends) sealed their Covenant of Love. The priest who celebrated the Mass was enthusiastically and joyfully involved in both rites, and at the end, he invited the Movement to collaborate actively with the diocesan mission that he will carry out next year to celebrate the 75^th Anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Azul, to which Tandil belongs.

These were very touching moments of desire to grow in number, quality, and commitment just as they had proposed during the preparation. The Schoenstatt Family made the resolution to evaluate what has been done in this regard within one year.

After the blessing of the crown, the crowning, praying, and singing to the Immaculate Queen, small wooden crowns were distributed as souvenirs along with a card to remind them of the commitment:

Translation: Celina Garza, San Antonio, USA/amj