Today, October 1, 2025, the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary begin their jubilee year, marking their approach to the 100th anniversary of their founding. On this day of celebration, Sisters from different continents share with us what it is like to live their vocation within their cultures and realities.
The challenges in each region are numerous: political pressures, being a religious minority, and the weakening of faith… But Mary is the “light of our hope,” as the jubilee motto says, and they want to be a sign of hope for the world.
Sr. M. Connie O’Brien, South Africa
In the 1970s, as a teenager during the challenging Apartheid years in South Africa, I discovered our Schoenstatt Shrine and our Mother Thrice Admirable, and I felt not only the tangible presence of our Blessed Mother but also knew that I had ‘come home’. As an active member of the Schoenstatt Movement for many years, my love for our Blessed Mother and our Schoenstatt spirituality has deepened. Aspects of our founder’s own life helped me through our socio-political minefield. Our Schoenstatt Sisters were a beacon of hope as the human dignity and freedom of most of our people were being trampled upon. Undeterred, they spread the message of the covenant of love. I experienced firsthand what ‘solidarity in the covenant of love’ really meant. My own search for meaning had found an answer, and I entered our Sisters Family in 1982. Our new democracy in 1994 presented its own challenges with a nation in need of healing, reconciliation, and the balancing of newly gained rights with responsibilities. The transformation of human hearts has been and remains a key factor in rebuilding our nation. Our MTA, as an Immaculata educator and one who exemplifies the fullness of human dignity, is sorely needed in our country, but she also needs willing instruments.
As a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary, I lectured for 24 years at the University of Cape Town as a Social Work Educator. Guided by our Blessed Mother and our founder, I could help form the hearts and minds of numerous Social Work graduates and doctoral candidates, bearing in mind our founder’s pedagogical approach. My covenant of love helped me transcend issues of race, creed, and culture in the academic sphere and also helped me build bonds of unity among our Movement members from different cultural backgrounds. As Movement Director for several years, I am guided by our founder’s principles. Our founder’s source of life, Mary, and his mission are the ultimate light of our hope!
Sr. M. Rubini Joseph, India
I am Sr. M. Rubini, a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary from India. I come from the state of Tamil Nadu and belong to the Cor Unum in Patre region. Rooted in my Indian heritage and inspired by the Marian spirit of Schoenstatt, I strive to live my vocation with joy, simplicity, and deep faith, serving God and others in daily life.
As we joyfully begin our centennial Jubilee on 1st October 2025, my heart is filled with gratitude for the gift of my vocation. Being part of this Marian family is a blessing that has shaped my entire life. I am happy and proud to be a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary—called, formed, and sent to reflect Mary in today’s world.
To be Altera Maria—another Mary—is a mission I treasure from our founder, Fr. Joseph Kentenich. It means striving each day to think, love, and serve like our Blessed Mother, the great Immaculata. I wanted to strive to become a joyful witness rooted in trust in God and in love for all people.
In the Indian context, this vocation takes on profound significance. Our culture values womanhood, sacrifice, and faith. The people of India are very pious, praying a lot; those who believe have a strong faith in God. As a Marian sister, I am called to live this spirit, to be a sign of peace, joy, and God’s presence, especially for the people of India, with whom I come in contact.
For three years, I have been responsible for building up the Schoenstatt apostolate in Nagasandra, Bangalore. I serve as animator for the pilgrims, those who come to visit our Blessed Mother in the shrine, work in the Schoenstatt Mothers and Family League, helping them unfold their God-given dignity. Here, I encounter people of all religions, cultures, and ages seeking someone to listen to and accompany them. I am grateful that our Region has given me the freedom to undertake this task of leading people to God. In this way, I try to carry out the mission of Fr. Joseph Kentenich, our father and founder, in this present time.
As we step into our Jubilee Year, may my life be a living Magnificat—giving glory to God through “Mary, light of our hope” and bringing Christ to the world.
Sr. M. Kathia Martínez, Paraguay
Being a sister of Mary means for me GIVING THE GIFT OF HER VITAL PRESENCE. I come from a deeply Marian culture. Mary continues to live in popular devotion, in villages, in the tears and hopes of the people. But today, rather than remaining in shrines, she wants to go out to meet each of her children. As a mother and educator, she desires to transform concrete life into a path of human fulfillment.
We all need Mary to give us a sincere smile in the midst of our busy lives, a word of encouragement in despair, comfort in pain, and light to face the challenges of today.
From the strength of the Covenant of Love, I want to be always available for God to work the miracle of Mary in my heart and in the heart of each person. May every small action that He entrusts to me as an instrument be a seed of new life.
To be a sister of Mary is to let God break down my limitations and weaknesses, so that in the fertile soil of Schoenstatt, everything may contribute to Mary’s rebirth in hearts like “a bright spring morning.” That morning is the rebirth of our life in God, who is Father and loves us, pouring out His mercy and leaving in us the fragrance of His love.
To be a sister of Mary is to place no limits on love and to believe with all my heart that God and Mary TRULY Walk very close to us.
Sr. M. Florence Harder, Switzerland
For me, being a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary means being present for people, just as Mary was, and in my current role, especially for young people. Helping them experience their dignity. Bringing them into contact with the divine spark that has been placed within them. And bringing out what makes them blossom.
It means shaping the world by living out the covenant of love and passing on this treasure.
I live in a prosperous country where faith and Christian values are becoming less and less important. Sisters have become something rare, even foreign. But there is a longing: a longing for what is truly human, and a longing for guidance. Against this backdrop, Mary, in her complete humanity, is once again completely relevant. Her natural manner, her openness, her heart full of warmth, her steadfastness – our times need all of this. And because Mary is too far away for many, she needs us and, therefore, wants to walk with us through the present day.
This is a wonderful and enormous vocation. “I did not choose myself!” My vocation is the greatest gift God could have given me! And I thank him for our father and founder, Father Joseph Kentenich, who gave us everything we need to live such a vocation in today’s world.
Sr. M. Rita Baysari, Australia
In 2012, I had a deep personal encounter with our dear Mother Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt in the Shrine. At the time, I knew nothing about Schoenstatt and was simply advised by my parish priest to visit the Shrine in Mulgoa, Sydney (Australia). Sitting in the little Shrine, I immediately felt at home and at peace.
I continued to visit the Shrine and spend time alone there in prayer. I was drawn to open my heart and reveal my innermost secrets, my heart’s desires as well as the painful wounds that for a time I was too scared to bring to mind, let alone in prayer. I felt her gentle motherly gaze upon me, and her tender care enveloped me. I sensed the Blessed Mother’s presence in a way that I had never felt before and recognized she was calling me to something great. This was the start of the most beautiful relationship that I now have with our MTA.
In this Shrine, I found my calling, my mission, my vocation, my purpose in this world. Here I heard God calling me to be what I was born to be, a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary: a little Mary for today’s world. I still carry with me the immense joy, liberation, and fulfillment that my yes to becoming a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary gives me. My vocation has fulfilled all my heart’s desires more than I could have ever imagined or personally wished for. To be a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary for me is to become the person who God has envisioned me to be from the very beginning, and how I will encounter him at the very end. It is the fulfilment of God’s plan in my life and the way to my eternal happiness.
