With great joy, the Schoenstatt Family of Brazil celebrates the beginning of the construction of a new Schoenstatt Shrine in the country. The land is located in the city of Maringá, state of Paraná, 650 km. west of Sao Paulo. March 25th was not only marked by the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, but also by the blessing of the foundation stone of the Shrine of Maringá – which will be the 24th Schoenstatt daughter Shrine in Brazil.

The Holy Mass was presided by Archbishop Severino Clasen, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Maringá, and was attended by about a thousand people. “The Holy Spirit’s manifestation on Mary transforms and inaugurates a new era. And today, on the feast of the Annunciation, she is called to a great mission, a mission that changes human culture”, he said. According to the Archbishop, “another Shrine is being born so that we can conceive in our hearts the one whom Mary conceived and incarnated: Jesus, our Savior”.

During the celebration, the cornerstone was blessed and presented to the faithful. This is composed of a main stone that was taken from the soil of the land itself, and six smaller ones, which came from Rome, Mount Tabor, Schoenstatt, the house of John Louis Pozzobon, Dachau and Mount Nazareth in Schoenstatt. All of them have a special meaning linked to the history of the Family of Maringá.

During the celebration, the participants had their first contact with the altar of the future Shrine. It was made in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, and had a luminous frame when it was delivered.

Who will be responsible for this new Shrine?

The Schoenstatt Institute of Families will be the legal guardian of the new Shrine. Marcelo and Gislaine Mafra, superiors of the community in Brazil, commented: “This moment is extremely important for our Institute of Families because it is the crowning of a long journey. It has been about 20 years since the beginning of this path which Divine Providence placed before us, bringing to the Institute the opportunity to be responsible for the land of the future Shrine of Maringá”.

The superiors added: “For us, it is an important founding moment, in which we identify with our founders, we seek their inspiration, their strength and their intercession so that this Shrine becomes a reality. Divine Providence has given us the indication that all this love in marriage should be preserved and developed as a source of graces. Our goal is to make the Shrine a source of blessings for the families and for everyone. We are very happy and grateful.

The Shrine will be administered by the Schoenstatt Family Association of Maringá (Afasm) and the archdiocesan council. The council chairpersons, Juliana Mewes and Geovani Moresco, stated: “This blessing represents the loyalty of the MTA to our Family and the contributions to the capital of grace that many people have made over the last decades. We want this stone, simple and rough, taken from the same place where the Shrine is being built, to be the foundation of a new era and of the renewal of the Church”.

The Shrine will flourish where the spirit and the fellow man are fed

Under this motto, the new stage of construction begins. The local advisors of the Movement, the couple Teresinha and Alberto Gomig, explain that the conquest will have both a spiritual and a material component. Together with the spiritual conquest, they want to make concrete gestures: “We want to do something that can further insert us in society, we want the capital of grace of the Shrine of Maringá to reach the table of many people in need. And we will do it by donating food to others”. 

Basically, each person who wishes to contribute to the capital of grace can donate food at any place or institution they wish. They can then send the evidence of the activity to the WhatsApp number: +55 (44) 99901-8979.

The Schoenstatt Family of Maringá rejoices in this moment of grace and invites all who wish to participate in this spiritual conquest.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNtXebWRngk

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/arquidiocesedemaringa/sets/72177720306995385/