João Luis Pozzobon‘s family was characterized by harmony and by a deep religiousness inherited from his grandparents.
They gathered daily to pray the rosary after a hard day’s work. The adults, usually on their knees, leaning on a chair, and the children standing, followed the prayer until, overcome by fatigue, they fell asleep.
This had a great influence on João Pozzobon’s life, and it remained in his heart. When he received the image of Our Lady to visit the families and pray the Rosary with them, he understood that this was the great mission of his life. He said: “The most important thing is to penetrate into the family…. Let us pray for the families, because […] the whole spirit [of the Pilgrim Mother Apostolate] is to rescue the family”.
Can I pray 15 rosaries?
“At first I prayed one rosary,” he tells us. “Then I advanced to three rosaries, then to seven, in memory of the Seven Joys of the Blessed Mother. From seven I went to eleven, because the Blessing of the Shrine (of Santa Maria) was on the eleventh (April 11, 1948). After a while – I have never gone back once I have taken a step forward – I said to Our Lady: ‘Mother, please, may I pray fifteen rosaries in honor of the fifteen mysteries?’ I thought, ‘How am I going to do that? There is not enough time for fifteen rosaries….. However, I decided to begin” (Hero Today, Not Tomorrow, Fr. Esteban J. Uriburu).
João began his activities early in the morning. In the Shrine, he prayed the first rosaries. At the back of the house, when he was working in the garden, he came up with the idea of putting five marks on the handle of the hoe. As he weeded, he would run his index finger along those ridges and so, as he worked, he could pray.
A shield for our Schoenstatt Family
Praying the rosary transformed him into a fearless missionary, an exemplary husband, an honest and successful professional, an exemplary Christian, a saint.
The Rosary is a precious crown that we give to our dear Mother. Each Hail Mary we pray is like a precious stone that we embed in her crown.
Father Joseph Kentenich said: “The rosary should also become the shield of our Schoenstatt Family. The rosary is, as simple as it is, the great means to transform us into great souls, vigorous fighters and courageous victors.”
João Pozzobon incorporated the Founder’s definition and, with the simple prayer of the Rosary, his Apostolate reached the whole world. “I saw the Apostolate as a work of saintliness, something necessary for the times, but very simple: praying the holy rosary, which is the great weapon. The holy rosary unites people and life acquires a Christian dimension”.
Source: schoenstatt.org.br
