Poverty as an opportunity? Is someone trying to challenge us with these words? Poverty is usually seen as a “social constrain” that prevents people from getting an education and moving up in society in order to lead a good life. To see poverty as something positive seems to be provoking. Isn’t that downright sarcastic toward poor countries?
New Helvetia, in Uruguay, is the first Schoenstatt daughter Shrine where Our Lady chose to descend, just as she had done in 1914. It is located in Uruguay, 60 km. from Colonia del Sacramento and 17 km. from Rio de la Plata. It was blessed on October 18, 1943, during the Second World War, while the founder was behind the electrified wires of Dachau. October marks the 80th anniversary of its blessing.
In view of the (over)abundance of challenges to find a spiritual perspective, Father Peter Falk, diocesan priest of the Schoenstatt Institute and head of the Schoenstatt Family Movement in the Archdiocese of Freiburg, was invited to offer suggestions to the participants.
THE INSTITUTE OF FAMILIES OF SCHOENSTATT INVITES YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SEMINAR “LEADING TO LOVE”
Father Ignacio Camacho, a Chilean from the Secular Institute of the Schoenstatt Fathers, was appointed to this task by the Bishop of the Diocese of Trier, Monsignor Stephan Ackermann. He will be responsible for the pastoral and administrative life of Schoenstatt’s international center, its Original Shrine, for the next three years.
He says: “The most impressive thing is to see how the Shrine impacts people’s lives”
The Blessed Mother visits families in southern Chile, in a missionary journey, departing from the Schoenstatt Shrine of Ayinrehue, in Temuco, by the hands of families and young people.
Pope Francis sends a video message to participants in World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, and urges young people to open their horizons and hearts to other pilgrims.
The Institute of Families at International level, held its first Congress as a Community in early December 2022.
20 Schoenstatt diocesan priests and friends of the Movement gathered at the Schoenstatt Shrine in Guayaquil, Ecuador for a moment of prayer, and then had a family-like encounter with Schoenstatt Fathers and Sisters and members of the Family Movement. An experience that filled everyone’s heart.
In Germany, Covenant of Love preparation lectures are being offered online. This method has been used because of the pandemic, and it confirms how the virtual world provides us with an excellent instrument to evangelize and to spread the graces of the Shrine.
The Christmas Eve Mass at the Schoenstatt Shrine in Quito was very colorful. Mary arriving on a donkey, offerings from five indigenous ethnic groups in Ecuador, and a homily by Father Eduardo Auza associating the reality of the people with the divine miracle of Bethlehem.
A Place, a Movement, a Way of Life, a Mission
