Spain is a land of mission. This is something we experience with increasing strength in our families, youth, and Schoenstatt communities. For years, the young people of the “Mission Country” project have been planting seeds of life in dozens of towns, and in 2025 they have already reached more than 30 locations. During a recent long weekend in May, the Awaken Project—with young adults already in professional careers—also set out to go on mission in several towns. Many of them had already had the experience during their university years, and although they don’t have as much time now, once you’ve tasted the joy of being on mission… you don’t want to stop.
We too, as families, have felt the urge to go out, and we have been doing so for more than a decade. But this year has been different. Something is happening. Family Missions have multiplied, and during Holy Week, from April 12 to 20, more than 30 families—with young children, teenagers, young professionals, Sisters, and Fathers—set out on mission.
We felt sent to plant God’s love in different corners of the country: the town of Moriles in the province of Córdoba, the town of Santaella, also in the province of Córdoba, and the island of Formentera in the Balearic Islands were the places chosen for the visit of the Schoenstatt missionaries.
Santaella: “Do whatever he tells you”
Under the Gospel motto “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5), a group of families and young people from different parts of Spain and Germany gathered to spend Holy Week on a family mission experience in Santaella, a beautiful and simple village in the interior of Córdoba. Santaella, represented by its parish priest, Fr. José Natalino Rendo Abril, opened its doors with enormous generosity, welcoming the missionaries to one of its most cherished places: the shrine of Our Lady of the Valley.
Pablo Aymerich and Mer Soto recount: “There, amid the scent of orange blossoms and orange trees, and with the constant presence of our Mother, the great educator, we shared Holy Week with local people in an atmosphere of prayer, austerity, and fraternity. These were days marked deeply by hope in the Lord’s victory in this jubilee year. The figure of Mary and her testimony of hope permeated all our activities during the days of the mission: visits to homes, workshops with moments of encounter for children, youth, and adults, vigils, games for children, moments of adoration and praise, testimonies, visits by young people from the town to our meetings, participation in liturgical celebrations… All of this was lived with great joy, uplifted spirits, and a feeling of deep gratitude for the many gifts received.”
In this town, rich in tradition and vibrant faith, more than ten brotherhoods and confraternities coexist with a deeply rooted popular religiosity. “Thanks to the very generous invitation of the parish priest, Santaella will be a mission town for three years, and the first seed has been just planted. We leave with hearts full of gratitude, knowing that this mission does not end, but is just beginning”.
Formentera: Missions on the island
For the second consecutive year, the Schoenstatt Family visited the island of Formentera. The place is known for its paradise beaches, its beach kiosks, its lively festivals… But also, for the faith of the people who live there.
Carlota Gil, from Madrid, recounts: “We were able to be instruments of our Schoenstatt Mother and of Jesus, with the purpose of helping Father Nando (Fr. Fernando Jesús Bayón Plaz) and passing on that love in community, visiting the elderly in the nursing home, with whom we had the good fortune to share everything from bingo to Mass, as well as visiting sick people on the island and going door to door in San Francesc, one of the villages in Formentera. In this experience, we missionaries also encountered the love of Jesus once again through the locals we met, who opened the doors of their homes to us and welcomed us with joy when they saw the Pilgrim Mother, an image already recognized on the island…”
Moriles: In every house that welcomed us, we uncovered a story
A group of families set out once again for Moriles, a village in Cordoba that has welcomed the Family Missions with love and vibrant faith for three years.
Clari Roberts explains the meaning of these visits: “When we go on mission, we don’t go to preach, and sometimes we’re not even sure what to say. To go on mission is to put ourselves at the service of others. It is letting ourselves be sent. In doing so, we become the feet of the pilgrim Mother, who wants to bring Christ to every home. It is the Child in her arms who works miracles; we simply follow the path she shows us. Missionary work is not so much about doing or saying, but about being present and letting God act. It is being witnesses of Love, with humility. And then, carrying those stories in our hearts, meditating on them, praying for them, and giving thanks for them.”
This was precisely what was experienced in every corner of Spain where Family Missions took place. It was the same experience with a multitude of faces: families, young people, and communities willing to let themselves be transformed while bringing the living presence of God to others.
Translation: Maribel Acaron
