With great joy, the International Schoenstatt Family received the letter from the Diocese of Treves indicating the Original Shrine as a holy place of pilgrimage during this Holy Year of the Church. According to the determination of the Diocesan Bishop, Dr. Stephan Ackermann, pilgrims who visit the Shrine during the Jubilee Year will be able to receive the special grace of plenary indulgence.
The Movement received the news with gratitude, emotion, and joy. Throughout the year, many pilgrims are expected to travel to Rome and include Schoenstatt in their pilgrimage itinerary. In addition, international events, such as the Boys’ and Girls’ Youth Encounters and the Jubilee of the Family Federation, will be held in the shadow of the Original Shrine.
According to the shrine’s rector, Fr. Ignacio Camacho, the idea is to hold an official inauguration ceremony on March 9.
The diocese’s letter mentions that “this designation is in accordance with the declared will of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, as he indicated in the bull of promulgation “Spes non confundit” of May 9, 2024, in n. 24 and as then explicitly expressed several times in the decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary of May 13, 2024.”
How to obtain the plenary indulgence?
To obtain the plenary indulgence of the penance of sins, it is necessary, in addition to visiting the places designated by the Church, to perform these three gestures:
– Sacramental confession
– Receiving Holy Communion
– Pray for the Holy Father, the Pope
For a more complete understanding of the meaning of this year’s jubilee graces:
Service
For more information about visits, contacts, schedules, the webcam to follow the Eucharist, and other questions about the Original Shrine, visit the Original Shrine website at urheiligtum.de or the International Pilgrimage Center website at schoenstatt-info.com/en/home-english.
Contact us for more information:
Spanish – esp@schoenstatt-info.org
Portuguese – port@schoenstatt-info.org
English – eng@schoenstatt-info.org
German – kontakt@schoenstatt-info.de
Polish – kontakt@pielgrzymujace-sanktuarium.de
Letter from the Diocese of Trier
Dear Father Rector,
In the name and on behalf of Bishop Dr. Stephan Ackermann, we are pleased to respond to your request to designate the Schoenstatt Shrine in Vallendar as a place of pilgrimage to gain the plenary indulgence in the context of the Holy Year 2025.This designation is by the declared will of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, as he indicated in the promulgation bull “Spes non confundit” of May 9, 2024, in n. 24 and as then explicitly expressed several times in the decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary of May 13, 2024.
We invite you to adequately inform the faithful who will gather in the Original Shrine of Schoenstatt in the Jubilee Year 2025 about the possibility of obtaining the Plenary Indulgence under the usual conditions.
Especially in this Jubilee year, may the saints become models of hope, Christian love, and companions on our faith journey, especially Mary, the Mother of Hope (see Pope Francis’s address to the Wednesday audience on May 10, 2017).
Mary, Mother of Hope, pray for us.
