There was a covenant renewal celebration in the Original Shrine on the evening of the 18th during the start of the “October Encounter” of the German Schoenstatt Movement (the German October Congress). The celebration was organized in collaboration with the German participants of the 2014 Torch Race.
This weekend, some of the torch runners were at the place where the Movement was founded for a reunion ten years later. In 2014, they ran 1800 kilometers through Europe over nine days, from Pompeii in southern Italy to Vallendar-Schoenstatt. The run was a milestone in the centennial celebration of the Covenant of Love and they arrived just in time for the opening ceremony of the international celebration.
10 years of the Torch Race
The nearly 200 people who gathered around the Original Shrine amidst a light rain were immersed in the Jubilee atmosphere through the 2014 hymn and songs, as well as through the contributions of each young person who carried the torch.
It was impressive even after ten years to hear that the 83 runners had managed to cover the long distance in such a short time.
The route was divided into sections stretching about six kilometers, which had to be completed in roughly half an hour. In total, 300 relay runners covered 200 kilometers a day.
As runners, we were part of something bigger
That afternoon, several runners recounted what they remembered of the experience ten years later and what life lessons the race had taught them.
In the beginning, according to Father Felix Geyer – the current director of the Movement in Germany who was also one of the runners at that time – the idea was simply to run. “It was an athletic idea, it had to do with manliness.” But then came the intentions. “Hundreds of pieces of paper on which people wrote their intentions as to why we wanted to run with the torch.” This brought about a decisive change. The sporting experience became a deep spiritual process.
The idea of carrying one of Schoenstatt’s initial impulses from 1914 to the International Jubilee celebrations in 2014, running between Pompeii and Schoenstatt, has become something great. “We, as runners with the torch, have become part of this large Schoenstatt Family all over the world.”
Shortly before the start in Pompeii, the runners asked themselves, “Why are we here?” And it quickly became clear: “We are here because we have been touched by the authenticity of the Covenant of Love.”
Praying with our feet
Stefan Jehle remembers, above all, the war cry he would utter three times a day: “Fackellauf, Fackellauf, Fackellauf, Fackellauf,” which his foreign companions also shouted in German. “It expressed our unity and mutual solidarity.”
For him, the torch relay became a “prayer with his feet,” an experience that distinguishes him to this day. “To this day, every time I run, I ask myself: for whom am I going out on the street today?” says Stefan.
Running for those who can no longer walk
At the time, Lorenz Klausmann was fascinated by the question, “Will we be able to run so far in such a short time and still make it on time?” He wants to remember it forever: “You become greater, you grow when you approach something with full trust in God, not knowing whether you will succeed or not.”
Impressive words from a former torch runner who has been in a wheelchair since 2022: “If I got off the bus today to take over from another torch runner and started running, I would be running for all those who can no longer walk.”
Like the dawn at the time when Schoenstatt was founded
Dominic Schultheiß especially remembers the moment when the runners with the torch entered the Schoenstatt arena. “The number of people who were there with us and ourselves being part of this great ensemble.”
Another moment he still keeps very present is the time they were able to spend together as torch runners in the Original Shrine: “It seemed to me like the time when Father Kentenich founded Schoenstatt with the boys”. And he adds, amazed but also defiant: “How much is possible when people who have a common goal on an international level go on the road together!”.
Who would you run for?
“It’s good to realize that we are all here as torchbearers. We all carry the fire of the Covenant of Love in our hands,” Father Sandro Koch from Switzerland said later during the celebration.
He, who also participated in the torch relay when he was in the Schoenstatt Boys’ Youth, invited those present to discuss in small groups this question: “If you had to get off the runners’ bus, for whom would you run?”
The renewal of the Covenant of Love and the evening blessing with the torch in hand capped off a celebration that was not only spiritually inspiring, but also motivating and stimulating in terms of the personal life journey.
Photos: Kröper
Translation: Maribel Acaron
Source: schoenstatt.de