There are few times in life when one can consciously choose to be part of a milestone, to decide to build and experience a historic moment for oneself and one’s city. On March 1st, we were able to experience the gift of participating in the Blessing of a new Schoenstatt Shrine in our city of Monterrey, Mexico. It is a small Sacred House that, just like Saint Juan Diego, we decided to build for the Blessed Mother in the center of our city more than four years ago.
The three-day celebration began on Friday, February 28th, with a cantata to Mary that combined the talents of several of the Schoenstatt Fathers and Sisters of Mary who had traveled to be present, as well as all the members of the Schoenstatt family. The music created an ambiance of prayer in the shadow of our new Shrine.
At the end of the cantata, several brave young people decided to spend the night guarding the Shrine, to witness how the preparations began early in the morning for the opening of the doors for the pilgrims who had been gathering since dawn to secure their place and be present at this historic moment. At 8:30 a.m., the official program began.
The Race with Torches
On Saturday, March 1st, Monterrey, an industrial city in northern Mexico, where the Schoenstatt Family has been growing since the arrival of the Blessed Mother in 1986, experienced one of those moments where heaven touches earth. For the event, there were over 1,200 people who, while waiting for the Blessing celebration, were taken on a journey through the history of Schoenstatt Monterrey, the history of the construction of the Shrine, prayed the Holy Rosary, connected with the two postulants to the Community of the Schoenstatt Fathers, received greetings from Schoenstatt families around the world and experienced one of the many unforgettable moments of the day, the arrival of the torch.
The Boys’ Youth, under the guidance of Father Rodrigo Correa and focused on conquering the Ver Sacrum symbol for the Shrine, decided to complete their journey to the new Shrine by linking some of the city’s main Marian temples through fire. They embarked on their journey through the different Churches at dawn, beginning their 45 km+ route at the first Schoenstatt Shrine in Monterrey, María, Camino al Cielo. The flame arrived, with part of the journey being broadcast live, and the fire race ended as 1,200 people sang Franz Reinisch’s hymn and the branch leaders lit the cauldron, indicating that the family was ready. The race had fulfilled its destiny: to light Monterrey with the fire of the Blessed Mother and deliver it to the city’s heart.
Expressions of faith
And at 11:00 a.m. sharp, a symbol of our Mexico made its presence felt. The dance of the matlachinas, who in our tradition represent the devotion of our people to Our Lady of Guadalupe, led the way for a procession of more than 25 people representing the apostolates and branches of the family, followed by the Archbishop of Monterrey, Monsignor Rogelio Cabrera, who, together with many of the Schoenstatt Fathers who have worked in Monterrey throughout history and some other invited concelebrants, began the Holy Mass and the Blessing ceremony.
Fr. Carlos Padilla, the national director of the Movement in Mexico, began the celebration by presenting the Sacred House built for the Blessed Mother to our Archbishop, and then the liturgy started. The joy of the people present on a sunny and beautiful day that the Blessed Mother had given us was combined with emotion, tears, and the words of Monsignor in his homily. He told us that this small house built for the Blessed Mother in the city’s center would be our responsibility to keep Hope alive, as it had been formulated in the name of the new Shrine.
A video message from the Pope
The blessing rite was, without a doubt, very moving from the start, but the emotion overflowed when the MTA began to be carried around the whole place by representatives of the different branches. It was the same MTA image that had previously visited hundreds of homes for more than three years, to be enthroned in the altarpiece of the new Shrine finally.
Emotions and tears were already running high; however, one last surprise awaited us. A video of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, who greeted everyone, congratulated the family, and, without thinking twice, left everyone present with an invitation to continue “shrining ourselves” (Santuarizar in Spanish) [1], to be living shrines from our hearts, and to pray for him.
Emotion and tears were immediate. Visiting this new Shrine had now become a mission in life: turning hearts into shrines through Mary, Land of Hope, for Monterrey and the whole world. With that feeling, people visited the Shrine for the first time at the end of the ceremony, where the lines were as long as the smiles.
Life begins to flourish
In the afternoon, Father Carlos presided over the first Holy Mass of the Monterrey Schoenstatt Family, which was celebrated in the Shrine. Once again, more than 800 people participated in this gathering.
But the celebration did not end there. After the Holy Mass, an all-night vigil began, during which hundreds of young people and families arrived at different times to pray and visit the Blessed Mother in this new site. On Sunday, six Holy Masses were celebrated by different priests, and the crowds did not diminish throughout the day. Without a doubt, something has been awakened in Monterrey; something has begun to be engendered, and as was repeated several times during the weekend, this has only just begun.
The first weekend in March brought Monterrey a gift that has filled us with joy, but above all, with a sense of mission. The Blessed Mother now has a new workshop, a sacred little corner in the center of a big city, where everyone can come and visit her. The mission is to build this new land from that workshop, a Land of Hope.
[1] The Spanish verb “santuarizar” actually derives from the Latin word “sanitarium,” which means “sanctuary.” In modern usage, it is often used figuratively to describe the act of making something or someone a “sanctuary” or consecrating it metaphorically. It means to declare something sacred or to give it a holy status.
Translation: Maribel Acaron
