Missionaries and moderators from different corners of the world are traveling to participate in the International Congress of the Pilgrim Mother Apostolate. In the coming days, 700 representatives from 25 countries will gather in Santa Maria, which is located in southern Brazil.
The meeting, which will be held from September 10 – 14, will feature formative encounters, spiritual reflections, discussions, and many international exchanges in the place where the apostolate began.
Representatives from Germany, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Croatia, Slovakia, Italy, Luxembourg, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Burundi, India, and the Philippines will be present.
From Croatia: “We never imagined we would participate”
Anita and Dino Crnjak, who will represent their country, see this congress as a very special opportunity:
“Until recently, Brazil was an unimaginable and impossible trip for us as a family. We set out as apostles of the Queen of the Future and we know that nothing is impossible for the Blessed Mother. We are very proud to participate in this great jubilee, both personally and as a family, and as representatives of the Croatian Schoenstatt Family. We have faith and firmly believe that the MTA, with her apostles, will conquer the world and the Church through this Jubilee.
Anita and Dino Crnjak
THE WORLD NEEDS THE MTA! She is a missionary and will work miracles; her miracle is that we can be at the source where John Luiz Pozzobon began to serve as an apostle and missionary.”
In Slovakia, her image is small, but she is grand
The representative from Slovakia, Mária Púčková, explains why she wanted to be present at the congress:
“The Blessed Mother, our beloved MTA, works miracles in my town and in my country. Her image is small, but the Mother is grand: she acts, heals, and helps us every day. I would like to gather the graces from this Congress to share them with others and give thanks. We trust in her and in her Son, the good God, our Father.”
Mária Púčková
Spain: sharing experiences with other countries
Eulalia Solé, from Spain, details her expectations for the days of the encounter:
“First of all, I would like to say that I am very excited and grateful to be able to participate in this encounter. I hope that by sharing experiences with other people from other countries who are actively involved in the Pilgrim Mother Apostolate, by visiting the places where the apostolate began and with John Pozzobon, the first missionary, we can all emerge truly enriched to continue spreading it in our different countries with renewed strength.
Eulalia Solé
I also hope that we can all receive the graces of this jubilee as a new sending forth from the Tabor Shrine, so that the Pilgrim Mother can travel throughout the world and many more people can encounter her and Jesus. May it be a great motivation for everyone!”
Dominican Republic: the apostolate has grown in recent years
Mr. Pedro Abreu, from the Dominican Republic, tells us how the apostolate has expanded throughout the regions of the country in recent years and what his expectations are for the congress.
“I am part of the delegation of 22 pilgrims of hope from the Dominican Republic. Currently, we have about 4,000 pilgrim images in the northern region and another 3,000 in the city of Santo Domingo. We received an auxiliary image for the 50th anniversary of the Apostolate and are using it in the southern region. After this congress, we will receive another auxiliary image for the 75th anniversary, which will be used in the northern region of the country.
Our expectation for this jubilee is to be able to share and listen to the experiences and testimonies of other pilgrims of hope from other countries. We also want to visualize our mission for the future of our work as missionaries of the Pilgrim Mother.”
Pedro Abreu
Translation: Maribel Acaron
