The Pilgrim Mother Apostolate crosses borders and unites Schoenstatt sons and daughters from all over the world. A concrete example is the Brazilian and Hispanic communities of St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Atlanta, USA.
The Pilgrim Mother Apostolate was presented to the parishioners in 2021 and was officially established in August 2022, when the Brazilian communities from St. Jude the Apostle and Holy Family Churches were brought together. Since then, Brazilians and Hispanics have been renewing the Covenant of Love monthly, during the Holy Mass on the 18th or the Sunday closest to that date.
Ivoni Braccialli, who has lived in the USA for five years, explains that the community was already familiar with the Pilgrim Mother, but it was a special effort that made the Apostolate a success. “It was through our chaplain, Father Vanderlei Oliveira, who is a born devotee of the Mother of God, that the Apostolate began to gather strength.”
Currently, there are 17 missionaries of the Pilgrim Mother who move among the families and 20 missionaries for the Children’s Apostolate, whose images are intended for the children of the catechism. Each month, more than 150 families participate in the Covenant renewal Mass.
“As far as it depends on us…”
In the Founding Document [1] we read the words, “I would like to make this place a place of pilgrimage, a place of grace for our house and for the entire German Province, and perhaps even further afield.”
Throughout Schoenstatt’s history, the Holy Spirit has guided this “further afield” and it has been carried out in different ways, among these the Apostolate of the Pilgrim Mother which brings the graces of the Shrine to families on all five continents.
However, the Founding Document also points out that for this to be accomplished, human collaboration is necessary: “as far as it depends on us […], none of us will allow anything to be lacking”.
Taking Mary to the World
Ivoni Braccialli’s testimony shows that personal commitment continues to be part of the mission of every Schoenstatter. In 1994, Ivoni took the first Pilgrim MTA to her hometown in Minas Gerais (Brazil). She tells us: “I, like our Founder, continue with the mission of taking Mary to the world through simple actions in the community and in the places where I have lived”.
Almost 30 years later, she continues to make herself an instrument in Mary’s hands to proclaim Christ. Ivonne adds, “Here, together with the coordinator of the Pilgrim Mother Apostolate, Thaiany Mata, we intend to break barriers, motivate people to get to know the graces of the Shrine and take Mary to their homes, so that they may be transformed,” and thus inspire many others to do the same.
Reference:
[1] KENTENICH, Fr. Joseph Kentenich. Schoenstatt Documents. Santa Maria: Apostolic Movement of Schoenstatt, 1995. 136 p.
