A first glance… at the "new schoenstatt.de"

Schoenstatt.de re-launch just around the corner – Changing the look and feel (and the system), but not the spirit

Pagina de entrada de „2014! – en alemán Entrance page of “2014”  - here in German Einstiegsseite von “2014! – hier in Deutsch
Teléfono del Padre Kentenich – en italiano Father Kentenich telephone – here in Italian Pater-Kentenich-Telefon – hier in Italienisch
Fabrizio Usai: Faltan pocos días... Fabrizio Usai: comino soon... Fabrizio Usai: bald ist es soweit mit der Umstellung Fotos: Crespo, Fischer © 2009

SCHOENSTATT, mkf. What a month August is! The Federation of Families began their second International Chapter on August 8^th, delegates of the Federations of many countries will join together next week to commemorate the 90^th anniversary of their foundation, the Schoenstatt Fathers are preparing for their General Congress to begin on August 19^th, and Schoenstatt in Paraguay is already celebrating the launch of the second Schoenstatt stamp (on the occasion of the 50^th anniversary of Schoenstatt in that country). This August 15^th is marked by a real symphony of grace-filled events mentioning only a few such as the crowning of the Blessed Mother as Queen of Peace and Reconciliation in Bujumbura, Burundi (transmitted live via the Internet) and the 50^th anniversary of Schoenstatt in the diocese of Parana, Argentina. And amidst all these great events, Schoenstatt.de next week will change its look and feel… but not its spirit.

This Friday, the Schoenstatt Mothers’ Federation already begins with a pre-program for the Congress of the Federations. From August 19^th through August 21^st, delegates from the Federations from different parts of the world join together " to commemorate ninety years of Hoerde, the day Schoenstatt outside the walls beyond the Congregation near the Original Shrine was born. From there Schoenstatt then presented itself to the world with the declaration of helping to build a new society based on changing hearts of today’s people," so said Jorge H. Day, of the Federation of Families from Argentina.

Schoenstatt outside the walls, Schoenstatt present in the world, and Schoenstatt as a communicating international family who know about each other, share with each other, and through day to day experiences how life enkindles life – in other words, Father Kentenich’s MTA magazine reloaded: this is the mission of Schoenstatt.de for over ten years. To make sure that this mission can be fulfilled through the use of more flexible, agile informational technology, the long-awaited re-launch of Schoenstatt.de, God-willing, will take place next week.

What defines Schoenstatt.de

For one and a half years, people – especially young people – around the globe have been considering, planning, designing, programming, writing, and translating in order to make the "new" Schoenstatt.de possible.

First, many of the editors who work for Schoenstatt.de for almost ten years, many young people, and several experts sat together (virtually) to think about the philosophy behind Schoenstatt.de; to characterize what defines Schoenstatt.de (the USP - unique selling point): sharing Schoenstatt life, quickly, authentically, internationally - "voice and vote for life – voice and vote for internationality -voice and vote for authenticity." Schoenstatt.de’s "mission statement" is the same since its beginning: Commited to the Kentenich Philosophy of Communication, schoenstatt. de wants to selflessly serve the Schoenstatt life, especially by helping to discover and foster the streams of life that are present in Schoenstatt, wherever they may flow. In 1966 Fr. Kentenich stated that because the Covenant of Love from the 18^th of October was a process of life, then everything that develops in and around Schoenstatt must develop from a current of life and be supported by it; this is the task that Schoenstatt.de commits to. In this context, "international" does not just mean to share news from different countries. It means to live and share an international attitude. One cannot really understand Schoenstatt without considering its international character that goes hand in hand with its spirituality and teachings.

This is also reflected in the universal spirit of Schoenstatt's founder, who in 1948 said, "the inclination towards the global, the impulse towards the international, the wish of the international apostolate is simply something that is intrinsic to the Family." This characteristic is the answer to present and future needs as our world increasingly becomes a single unit and is in danger of being transformed into a uniform sameness. Internationality is the basis for Schoenstatt's cultural contribution to the modern age. Nations produce culture. These have become increasingly interdependent due to communication, international politics, social, economic, and ecological problems. But it is necessary to create a new kind of internal solidarity that respects diverse origins and pluralism, stimulates international help, and generates a change of mentality and behavior. We need new ways of connecting with one another that is not solely governed by competitive contracts. In this way, Schoenstatt can become a "living sacrament" of Catholicism, the Church, and the great brotherhood of the people of God.

The www.schoenstatt.de website is expressly dedicated, in the international spirit of Father Kentenich, to the internationality of Schoenstatt as a gift and task.

What was done?

Around this philosophy, a new technique, a new design, and some new texts have been put together to be our new Schoenstatt.de with the same spirit that made it come into existence and grow.

The best engine to make this possible is a CMS system. Fabrizio Usai from the Schoenstatt Men’s Youth of Italy put the best of his professional gifts into the programming of the CMS system for Schoenstatt.de, a system that will make it possible to put articles online at any time, to change them – and to easily comment, print, or email, and find them (thanks to a powerful search engine). He was helped by Marcelo Selaya of Argentina and several people around the globe who put the page together in the five languages: Andre Peres, Luciana Rosas, Tobia Wiedemer, Kathrin Frentze, Sarah-Leah Pimentel… all of them offering their work to the international Schoenstatt – without any fees charged.

Gonzalo Crespo from Argentina provided the new design. Texts - especially for "Getting to know Schoenstatt" were written and provided by many. Then came the hour for the translators – Maria Tedeschi translated all the texts into Italian, Luciana Rosas, Cassio Leal, Br. Bruno Almeida OSB, and Andre Peres (all from Brazil) did the Portuguese translations, Monina Crivelli (Argentina), Manuel Huapaya (Peru) , Enrique Soros, Sofi Barbosa (both Argentina), Gilka Aranibar (Bolivia) and Josef Sauter (Costa Rica) worked on the Spanish translations, Sarah-Leah Pimentel (South Africa), Carlos Cantú, Celina Garza, Melissa Janknegt (all USA), and Tobia Wiedemer (Germany) on the English ones, Johanna Bettinger, Tobia Wiedemer and Kathrin Frentzen ( all Germany) on some of the German ones.

And a lot more silent work has been done during these past eighteen months… and a lot of prayers have been said !

What’s new?

The news as the entire website is offered - as before – in five languages: English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. On the new site, you will find the entire page in the language you choose on the home page (and your browser may even remember that for the future). Thus, it will be less confusing now to find the articles in your language. And if you know another language, you may find exciting news in the other languages just by a click on the language selection. News now can be commented on – and we hope that this will enkindle interesting exchange of opinions and insights.

The news will be presented as it is published on the main site, and can also be found according to the different news categories: international news, sheer life (testimonies), biographical news, 2014 news, upcoming events, and reflections.

The other sections of the website are similar to what you already know:

About Schoenstatt – different texts with introductions into Schoenstatt, gradually – from quick information for casual visitors to the invitation to join a spiritual pilgrimage to the Shrine with Fr. Esteban Uriburu. And there are some special hidden treasures - like a video on Fr. Kentenich (so far only in German in Spanish) and Father Kentenich’s own explanation of the Covenant of Love.

Resources – texts, talks, and conferences on different Schoenstatt issues for download, basic Schoenstatt texts, and periodically offered material like Fr. Nicolas’ Virtual Retreat, the Pedagogical Letters by Yvonne Barzil, Fr. Carlos Padillas Sunday sermons (Spanish only), information on books and other publications, and the possibility of downloading photos of the MTA, the Original Shrine, Father Kentenich…

Schoenstatt in Action – a survey of apostolic projects and missionary commitment. During the course of its almost 100-year history, the Schoenstatt Movement has been responsible for the birth of many apostolic, social, educational, missionary and pastoral activities throughout the world. These initiatives embrace different areas of life and are categorized into five areas or the ones identified at the 2014 Conference (February 2009) as the "five strategic areas that must become a priority. Our apostolic deeds must also be improved at this point in time."

Visitor information –this hopes to answer all those question that so far were asked a thousand times via telephone and mail… Somethink like a visitors' FAQ.

Interactive – invites you to participate and share in the guestbook, leave prayer petitions… and quite a few more things in the future.

2014 – maybe the most exciting new section offering all the material and information centered around the preparation for the centenary of the Covenant of Love in 2014.

And of course, the Father Kentenich telephone will be present for each surfer as before, and you will again find the lists of Shrines, the Links… and all you loved at the "old" Schoenstatt.de.

A final bit of advice for webmasters: some of you have put links on applications of Schoenstatt.de like the Father Kentenich telephone. With the re-launch, these links may have to be readapted. Please wait until August 23^rd to update your links, as the week from August 15^th – 23^rd is the one where we will still be working.

And finally: We will one day next week - maybe August 18^th – launch the new site. Farbizio Usai has offered one week of his annual vacation to come to Schoenstatt and work on the new site. We did our best to have everything prepared, but some bugs and some tasks yet to be done will only show up once the new site is online. So now, we already beg your pardon for any inconveniences during the following few days until we really can say: the new Schoenstatt.de is up and running!