Recently, the Original Schoenstatt Shrine in Germany has been undergoing a period of restoration. At the beginning of the year, work was done on the altar, and a couple of months ago the interior painting was redone. Currently, the Argentinean artist Silvana Frias is working on the renovation of some important images in our Shrine.
Silvana started the restoration work on September 14 and continues working to make the images in the Shrine, some of which are almost a hundred years old, even better and more similar to the original.
The work will last almost two months, from September 14 until November 18 or 20, 2024.
Which pieces will be restored?
The scope of this work is to restore the principal figures of the Shrine. These are: the image of the Blessed Mother, the figures of St. Peter and St. Paul, the figures of St. Joseph and St. Vincent Pallotti, as well as the statue of the Archangel St. Michael. We are also going to work a little on some minor details of the broken pieces of the altarpiece (the front part of the sanctuary).
The work started with the restoration of the images of St. Joseph and Pallotti, which are now completed.
Silvana is currently working on the image of the Blessed Mother. For this reason, a temporary image of the MTA was placed in the Shrine, which many people did not even notice. However, many have noticed that during this process the crown, which is kept separately, is missing.
We hope that the image of the Blessed Mother will be ready by October 18.
Why refurbish the pieces?
The restoration is necessary because time has taken its toll. Some of the images had been badly damaged by the effect of the candles lit in the Shrine. In addition, there were other problems, such as broken pieces and remnants of restorations that had not been done properly, especially on some of the figures, which had been painted with inadequate paint. One of the figures even had the after-effects of a small fire. All this caused the images not to convey all that is expected of them.
That is how this process began. Many people came to me, as rector, and said, “Wouldn’t it be possible to do some work on these pieces? Clean up some of the images?” They realized that some kind of maintenance was missing. That had an influence on this work.
How about the visits to the Shrine?
The restoration will not interfere with the visits to the Shrine. The work has already begun. Obviously, the figures will be removed – and they will be removed in pieces – but that will not get in the way.
Professionalism and experience
Silvana Frías is especially dedicated -like her father- to the restoration of sacred pieces. She has worked with the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary in Argentina, in their different houses and chapels, so she knows Schoenstatt very well.
In her portfolio, besides restoring and conserving works of art, she has also worked in the United States Embassy (leaf gilding, ambassador’s residence), the Mitre Museum, restoring the American library, the La Prensa Building in Argentina, private collections, restoring the parish church of San Martin de Tours, among others.
We invite the Schoenstatt Family to accompany this restoration work with prayers and to take advantage of this occasion to also renew their hearts during these days in which we celebrate the 110th anniversary of the Covenant of Love, becoming a living Tabor of Mary.
You can see the images of the Original Shrine in real time via webcam here.
Translation: Maribel Acaron
