The Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Schoenstatt-Tabor Province, based at the Shrine of the Mother and Queen, Tabor of the Permanent Presence of the Father, in Atibaia (São Paulo, Brazil).
The jubilee celebration was marked by a festive Mass on June 10, presided over by Bishop Sérgio Aparecido Colombo of the Diocese of Bragança Paulista, who in his homily highlighted the jubilee as a time of profound gratitude, interior renewal, and missionary sending.
Inspired by the passage from Jeremiah 29:11 (“I know the plans I have for you”), the bishop highlighted God’s faithfulness in the province’s history and the fruits of the sisters’ perseverance over the decades. He expressed his great joy and affirmed that “everything is, has been, and will be God’s grace and goodness. We know that from this shrine flow graces and more graces through the intercession of the Mother Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt.”
Monsignor Sergio also highlighted the divine providence of being able to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the province in the year of the diocese’s centenary.
Apostolic blessing of Pope Leo XIV
During the celebration, Sister M. Silvia Regina Formagio, provincial superior, presented a message with the apostolic blessing of Pope Leo XIV for this occasion, which Monsignor Sergio read. The sister expressed her gratitude for the “50 years lived intensely, in which we have experienced God’s presence, and we are grateful for the possibilities He offers us to fulfill the mission He has entrusted to us through the Mother and Queen of Schoenstatt.”
The jubilee is being celebrated on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the arrival of the first missionaries sent from Schoenstatt (Germany) to Brazil. “Celebrating the jubilee awakens in our hearts a deep gratitude to the Triune God for all that we have received over the years,” said the provincial superior.
Social and pastoral impact
Currently, the Schoenstatt-Tabor Province comprises 132 sisters who work in various professional and pastoral fields, including education and healthcare. Through the Pilgrim Mother Apostolate, they collaborate with 153 dioceses in the evangelization of families, children, the sick, and those deprived of their liberty. The province is a branch of the Tabor Province, based in Santa Maria, RS, whose objective is to optimize the presence and service to the Church with the charism of its founder, Father Joseph Kentenich.
The name “Schoenstatt-Tabor” expresses the mission of bringing the experience of the Covenant of Love with the Mother and Queen of Schoenstatt as a means of living in Christ, as beloved and heroic children of the Father, because, as Pope Leo XIV said in his first greeting: “Our Mother, Mary, always wants to walk with us, be close to us, help us with her intercession and her love.”
Translation: Sr. M. Lourdes Macías
