The Schoenstatt Shrine in Lisbon celebrated its 50th anniversary on September 15, 2024. After a year of indulgences, the Movement gathered in an encounter that left no room for doubt: what unites us is the immense grace of Mary’s presence.
The celebration took place in the shade of the Shrine, in the square located in front of the Shrine’s door. It all started on Saturday morning, September 14, with the setting up and decoration of the tents where, starting at 4:00 p.m., each branch would show its history, its goals and its ideals.
We called this day “Jubilee Festival” and here the Schoenstatt Family began to gather with music, food, drinks and great joy. Smiles and hugs were everywhere. It was a gathering of friends who do not see each other every day, but who share crucial moments of their lives in the Shrine and with the Blessed Mother. The bonds become strong. Inside the Shrine, we prayed all day and all night before the Blessed Sacrament, exposed for Adoration and beneath the gaze of the Mother Thrice Admirable.
The great thanksgiving
Sunday was the day of the Family’s great national feast, with the Eucharist presided by Cardinal Manuel Clemente, Patriarch Emeritus of Lisbon, and co-celebrated by several Schoenstatt priests from Portugal, Germany, Spain and Chile. Priests who had worked in Lisbon during the 50 years of the Shrine were present, among them the Portuguese priests Fr. Alexandre Martínez, Fr. José Melo, Fr. Francisco Sobral and Fr Diogo Barata, who did not want to miss the Lisbon Jubilee. For many members of the Movement, the reunion with the priests who once accompanied them was an additional source of joy.
The presence of the Institute of Our Lady of Schoenstatt, especially its General Superior, Dr. Gertrud Pollack, highlighted the importance that this Institute had in the beginnings of the Schoenstatt Movement in our country and still has in the Lisbon Shrine. Portugal was its first mission outside the German-speaking lands in the 1960s. The Institute of the Sisters of Mary, which has its headquarters in Portugal, in the Shrine of Aveiro, was represented by a group of sisters from the community of Portugal and also by Sister M. Cacilda Becker, from the International Coordination of the Movement, and Sister Maria Ignacia Maillard, from Spain.
The presence of Bishop Manuel Clemente represented our Church in Lisbon and our unity and service to Her as a Marian Movement. The Mass readings also reflected what we intend to live. The first reading, from the book of Isaiah (Is 50:5-9a), began with “The Lord God opened my ears, and I did not resist or turn back”; the Psalm’s response “I love the Lord, for he heard the voice of my supplication. He answered me the day I called upon him” reminded us that God never leaves us alone.
The second reading, from the epistle of James (James 2:14-18), began by asking us: “Brothers, what good is it for someone to say that he has faith if he has no deeds? And the Gospel posed another question: “And who do you say that I am?”
Listening attentively, Bishop Manuel praised in his homily the presence of Schoenstatt in Portugal and helped us to discern that it is not enough to recognize Jesus as Messiah. We have to follow him, and although this recognition is given to us by faith, following him requires making a decision on our part, as well as a change of life. “Recognizing the Lord is the first step and it is God who gives it to us, it is faith. But that is not enough,” he warned. Anyone who is willing can adopt this program of life, which can be fulfilled hand in hand with Mary and with the teachings of our Father and Founder, whose departure to the Father’s house took place on September 15, 1968.
The same love for Mary
All the readings of the Mass were delivered by members of different branches of the Movement, and during the offertory these 50 years of (numerous) graces were offered. Before the final blessing, one of the founding couples of Schoenstatt in Portugal, along with the Patriarch Emeritus of Lisbon, crowned the picture of the Blessed Mother that had been taken down from its place in the interior of the Shrine and carried in procession to the altar. Crowned as QUEEN OF OUR LIVES AND OF HOPE IN THE NEW GENERATIONS, she was carried back into the interior of the Shrine on the shoulders of members of the Boys’ Youth, while everyone greeted the Blessed Mother with white handkerchiefs, just as in Fatima. There were tears on some faces, some couples held hands and parents held their children in their arms so they could see everything better. There were about a thousand of us looking at Mary the same way and with the same love for her.
The celebration included a lunch for more than 400 people, which was the perfect opportunity to continue socializing. Of course, during the afternoon there were many visits to the Lisbon Shrine, which is now enjoying its 50th anniversary.
“We are going to do everything possible to honor the role that the Founding Generation played as instruments in Mary’s hands in the lands of Santa Maria, as well as that of the generations that have brought us the charism of the Founding Father to Portugal up to the present time,” said Sofia Salema, from the Mothers’ Branch of the Lisbon Diocese.
Fr. Juan Barbudo, diocesan coordinator of Lisbon, said: “This has been a very special year for our Schoenstatt Family in Lisbon since, with the help of the Jubilee Commission, we have had the opportunity to delve into our founding history and discover its profound richness.
He also stressed that “it has been a year to take a deeper look into the treasure of graces which is the Shrine of the Mother Thrice Admirable and Queen of Schoenstatt and to receive the great gift of the Plenary Indulgence granted by Rome. I thank all those who worked so hard to make this jubilee possible.”
Translation: Maribel Acaron
