"Crown your Flag, Allies for Chile"

More than 850 teenage girls at the Allies’ National Camp, Picarquin 2009

Lo que nos une... What unites us... Das ist es, was uns eint...
Aliadas para Chile, para Schoenstatt, para la Iglesia… Allied for Chile , for Schoenstatt, for the Church… Verbündete für Chile, für Schönstatt, für die Kirche
Santa Misa con el Cardenal Errázuriz Holy Mass wtih Cardinal Errázuriz Heilige Messe mit Kardinal Errázuriz
Entrega de la bandera Presentation of the flag Übernahme der Fahne
Momentos de alegría y compromiso Moments of joy and commitment Momente der Freude und Entscheidung
Banderas coronadas... Crowned flags... Fahnen mit Krone Fotos: Juventud Femenina Chile © 2009

CHILE, Sister Mariela. The National Camp for "Allies" (High school age) Picarquin 2009 that the Girls’ Youth of Chile experienced this summer continues to live on in the hearts of all of them. It was an event blessed by God and the blessed Mother, 850 teenage girls attended, and it was a very strong Schoenstatt experience for each one of them.

The Allies were convoked at Picarquin for something great that would mark their hearts at the present time and forever. God has called them through His beloved Immaculate Mother. Many things were accomplished at the National Camp, first it gathered all the Schoenstatters from Chile with the same ideal, and then it gathered strength with the Capital of Grace. They could stop for a while and begin to walk together once again; it was also time to fall in love again with the ideals, the history, and to unite each city with the entire country.

The great objective of Picaruquin was to form an integrated generation that could fill itself with the spirit of the original founders; and along with the crowning current, they could stir the entire country. In order to accomplish this, Picarquin had to be converted into the Kingdom of the Blessed Mother, where she would be the center and perfect way to reach God the Father.

Standing before the signs of the time, the Allies had to set new goals, so they could radically give their lives for the defense of the Kingdom of God. In order to do this, they needed fortresses to sustain and preserve the Kingdom.

The fortresses in Picarquin were:

• The Tower of Joy with the symbol of the Flag in the fire
• The Tower of Purity with the symbol of the Flag in a lily
• The Tower of Loyalty with the symbol of the Flag in the Father Eye
• The Tower of Courage with the symbol of the Flag in the Black Cross
• The Tower of Victory with the symbol of the Flag in the Shrine

Each Tower was composed of fifteen groups of Maidens such as: Joan of Arc, Saint Ines, Cristina Garcia, etc. These women each gave their testimony of total giving of self to God, and they were willing to struggle for the Kingdom of the Blessed Mother. About twelve allies participated in each group of maidens. In this way, each maiden in each Tower acquired a different trait.

The National Camp gave them the opportunity to meet again in a truly natural manner with the most profound sense of being Allies of Schoenstatt.

770 Allies, 70 university students, and 22 advisers in addition to the two national advisers of the Girls’ Youth of Chile, Sister Mariela Rivera, Father Juan Ignacio Pacheco of Region VI, and specifically San Francisco de Mostazal gathered for this great objective at the meeting place of many youth groups.

864 hearts gather for love for the Mother Thrice Admirable

With one heart and for the same ideal, they made Picarquin Mary’s Kingdom. As a result, in a sunlit meadow and full of joy, 864 hearts gathered because of their love for the Mother Thrice Admirable, and to express their gratitude for all the gifts they had received. In addition to Chile, there were also youth from Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, and Germany. Together they formed a Kingdom, where the Blessed Mother was the only Queen, Jesus the only King, and where the voice of only one Father, Father Joseph Kentenich, was heard.

Certainly, the six days at Picarquin were full of life. The Allies from all over Chile were able to discover the desire that God had for Chile, to crown the flag of Allies as a sign of the Victory of the Mother of God in each heart of the Chilean Girls Youth. The motto that guided the National Camp of Allies Picarquin 2009 was: Ally to Chile, crown your flag.

Each day of camp had its own motto: Ally to Chile, Ally to you, Ally to the Father, Ally to the Church, Ally to Schoenstatt, Crown your flag, Ally to Chile. Each day, the youth from a Shrine were in charge of the theme and program for that day.

On the night of the second day, they separated into branches from all over the country, so they could have their "branch night." It was a very special night, full of emotion, and of graces. On this day more than ever, the love that each one had for their ideal, their branch, and their youth was experienced.

There were intense experiences every day: Father Juan Ignacio Pacheco’s conference about being a woman, the renewal of the crowning of the Blessed Mother with the RTA crown, and the presentation of apostolic projects. This helped the communities that did not have projects to converse and to discover the apostolate God and the Queen asked of them.

The crowned flag

At the middle of the camp, Father had prepared a great gift for this generation of Allies. After imploring the Holy Spirit, the council of Picarquin unearthed the "treasure"…everyone wanted the treasure chest to be opened, so they could see the gift that the Father had given to the Girls’ Youth. After a few minutes of uncertainty, the members of the council showed the great gift that all of Chile had received on this night: the Allies’ flag had another symbol included: the RTA Crown. The Allies expressed their great joy for this moment with fervent applause. They had crowned the flag that had accompanied them for years. On this night, the generation who came up with the flag and the RTA (Regina Thrice Admirable) current that had existed for seventy-five years as part of the Girls’ Youth was integrated. Did they think they were going to make history? It seemed that there were many desires, but they never imagined it would become a reality. The council of the camp called all the branch leaders to come forward to receive the crowned flag for their city. After the presentation of flags, a true Vigil began which consisted in each branch spending half an hour accompanying Jesus, King of the Camp.

At the conclusion of the camp, the Allies were asked to form a human chain as a sign of loyalty to the mission that Father had given them, and the national flag was placed in the center of this enormous chain of loyalty. The camp leader asked, "Ally of Schoenstatt do we agree?" and they all responded, "Yes, Queen, we agree, we will remain loyal, we will live, and die for you." With these words, they swore their loyalty to the flag, to the mission, and their motto: Crown your flag, Ally to Chile.

The experience of this night concluded with joyful Allies and their flags raised on high. On the last day, the Allies traveled from Picarquin to the hallowed ground of Bellavista, a place marked by the desire of many generations for sanctity; they arrived at the Shrine to conclude the great National Camp. It was a day full of gratitude and of great blessings. After the closing ceremony outside the Cenacle Shrine, the Holy Mass was celebrated at the Church of the Holy Spirit. The youth with fervent souls renewed their experience at Picarquin with Christ, and in the Shrine of the Mission of the 31^st of May, they committed themselves to be loyal to the mission that Father Kentenich had given them, to be little Immaculate Daughters.

What did Picarquin 2009 mean to me?

Antonia Lorenzini, Leader of the Girls’ Youth from Temuco, said:

"If I am asked about the camp, the response is simple and complete, ‘Heaven touched Earth.’ They were incredible days; we truly felt the presence of our Blessed Mother and of Father.

It was incredible to realize that I am not alone in this and that there are many women who are with me struggling and vibrating for the same ideal.

It was neither a coincidence nor an accident that I went; it was the Blessed Mother that is calling me by name to give a response to this world that needs so much.

They were also intense days, where we experienced things that will mark our history as Schoenstatt Allies. The Blessed Mother crowned each one of us and at the same time we crowned our flag.

We are less than a year away from the bicentennial of our country, and we also want to leave our mark and to do this we need much strength. Picarquin was a renewal and a return to stir us up as a Branch in order to continue in this struggle.

We want to express our appreciation to all the people who worked so that this dream of bringing all of us together could become a reality, but we especially want to thank our Blessed Mother, who made me realize that it is possible to accomplish what we propose.

United in the Shrine and in the heart of God we will all work to be what we truly are: ‘Crowned Allies’."

To contribute to the continental Mission

"I had the gift of participating in this Allies’ camp, as a university student," said Maria Rosario Fernandez from Rio Larrain, Bellavista. "I was enriched by the joy and loyalty to the ideal that they have. My main motivation to go was to help, so that the little girls could fall in love with Schoenstatt just I did in Picarquin in the year 2003. Now I feel small before these little girls who truly struggle to conquer the towers of purity, loyalty, joy, courage, and victory in the kingdom of our Blessed Mother.

It was incredible for me to observe through conversations with some of the little girls the way in which from their smallness they truly aspired to be immaculate daughters who love God in the most mundane circumstances. Even the new members, who received the RTA Crown for the first time, feel small, but at the same time they are worthy bearers of that crown. It was beautiful to see the emotion with which they received it, the leaps of joy or tears in their eyes, the solemnity with which some of them renewed their loyalty. Since the night on which they received their crown, the atmosphere was truly different, there were smiles on their little faces and everything was bright wherever they passed, even the most disorganized bedrooms began to shine; little by little, they dignified their steps. It was incredible to see how Mary reigned in each one of them. The Allies took this camp seriously, and they were able to assume commitments that will make them more of a woman, who will give themselves to others from their originality.

The Church invited us at Aparecidea to be ‘Disciples and missionaries,’ and in this sense the Allies want to contribute to the continental mission that the Church of Latin America is experiencing. Joyful at having heard the call of the Church from each Shrine and Wayside Shrine, now more than ever they will affect hearts, and they will be positive influences in their schools, their families, and among their friends, since through the crown, the Blessed Mother will continue to manifest her Victory, and the Allies will be able to proclaim aloud: ‘Crown your Flag, Ally to Chile!’"

Translation: Celina Garza, San Antonio, USA/amj