In 2025, on June 9, the Mother and Queen will be crowned in the Matri Ecclesiae Shrine at the International Schoenstatt Center in Rome, Belmonte.
The meaning of the crown
Today we’re going to find out what the shape and meaning of the MTA crown will be for the Belmonte Shrine. Follow along:
“When you are in difficulty, crown the Blessed Mother!” (J. Kentenich)
“What is the reason for offering the crown to the Mother of God? Why crown Mary? The crowning is a personal gratitude expression, of total self-offering and of unlimited trust in the power of the One who, as well as being Mother, is Queen and Victress…. ‘She is the great missionary! She will work miracles!'” (Monsignor Tenhumberg)
The Queen Mater Ecclesiae crown is a faithful replica of the Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt crown, from the Original Shrine, which indicates: unity, cohesion and fidelity to the origin, as well as total self-giving and unlimited trust in the charism and mission of our Father and Founder, prophet of the Church on the new edges of time.
There is a small detail that distinguishes it: the crown has Belmonte’s logo on its central base, in amaranth red (between scarlet and crimson). The logo indicates the union of the Schoenstatt family, who embrace St Peter’s Basilica, on whose dome there is a small triangle, reminiscent of the Father’s symbol, towards whom human history tends: “Through Christ, with Mary, in the Holy Spirit, to the Father!”
Symbol of Belmonte
The logo is centred between the two delicate horizontal lines of ruby stones and the four small crosses. The two rows of rhinestones could mean: “Nothing without you (the top one), nothing without us (the bottom one)”. The red of the crown’s rubies expresses the spousal union, the blood of Christ, immolated and resurrected, out of total love for us, his Church. In Sacred Scripture, rubies appear as the first stone placed in the “breastplate of judgement” of the High Priest (cf. Ex 28:17) and the material of the battlements of the walls of the new Jerusalem, adorned like the beloved Lord’s bride (cf. Is 54:12).
The little crosses
The four small crosses mean Schoenstatt’s four historical milestones: 18.10.1914 / 20.01.1942 / 31.05.1949 / 22.10.1965.
They also indicate that Schoenstatt’s history is part of Christ salvation mystery who lived, suffered, died and rose again for us and for all humanity. Mary, Mother, Queen and Victress, is indissolubly associated with Christ the King in the entire Work of Redemption. With the Covenant of Love of 18 October 1914, sealed in the Original Schoenstatt Shrine, she agreed to settle there, moved by the free human collaboration of the Father and Founder and his young allies.
A poor Church
The crown is made of gold-plated metal. We renounced a crown made entirely of gold, thinking of one of the renewed Church characteristics (one of the Matri Ecclesiae Shrine messages) according to Father Kentenich’s thinking: “a poor Church”, capable of renouncing the external splendour to which it has become accustomed throughout history.
Gold is a symbol of perfection, quality, enlightenment, knowledge, nobility, love and immortality. In the Bible, gold is mentioned more than 400 times. God always wanted to clothe his house (cf. 2Chr 3:1-10), his ark (cf. Ex 25:10-18) and his bride (cf. Ps 45:14) with gold. Its use means earthly and heavenly dignity and glory (cf. Ps 21:4-5). Gold manifests the royalty of Jesus (cf. Mt 2:11), the King of kings (cf. Rev 17:14; 19:16). Finally, gold indicates great brilliance and luminous transparency; characteristics that are impossible to unite in nature, but are united in Scripture, which describes the heavenly Jerusalem as a “city of pure gold, like crystal”: Revelation 21:18.
Mary’s Garden
From the crown’s base comes the five tapering stems, which curve and seem to envelop the sacred mystery and the power of love it contains. They can also signify our smallness as we bow before Regina Mater Ecclesiae. In the space between the stems there is the delicate outline of four lilies supporting, on small pedestals, four flowers formed by sparkling crystal stones, symbols of purity and transparency (cf. Rev 4:6; 22:1; 22:1) that signify Schoenstatt’s Garden of Mary.
The three central rods are inlaid with three larger rubies, which offer the possibility of many symbolic interpretations: the Holy Trinity, the main mystery of our Christian faith; the three theological virtues: faith, hope and charity; the three graces of the Shrine; the three Schoenstatt messages: Covenant of Love, practical faith in Divine Providence and mission consciousness; the three points of contact: the Blessed Mother, the Shrine and the Founder.
The phrases
On the back of the crown are engraved the date of the coronation (06/09/2025) and two phrases: “Regina Mater Ecclesiae, clarifica Te” and “Dilexit Ecclesiam”. The crowning of Regina Mater Ecclesiae will take place on the feast of Mary Mother of the Church, the day after the feast of Pentecost 2025, in the context of the Holy Year that coincides with the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council closing. It is an expression of gratitude, total surrender and unlimited trust on the part of the Schoenstatt Movement for Our Lady, as Regina Mater Ecclesiae, can intervene in history with her real power, especially:
- the complete and definitive opening of the International Centre of the Schoenstatt Movement in Rome, with its “Holiday House”;
- in the realisation of the “Vision of Candelaria”, at a time when some accusations are trying to “send Father Kentenich back into exile”, imploring the Blessed Virgin to free the Founder and help the Church to arrive at the truth.
The rector of the International Center, Fr. Marcelo Cervi, reinforces the invitation: “Everyone is invited to come to Rome for the 2025 Jubilee and to visit our Shrine, just to remember what Pope Francis wrote in the Bull SPES NON CONFUNDIT, with which he proclaimed the 2025 Jubilee: ‘To the pilgrims who come to Rome, I invite you to make a prayerful stop at the Marian Shrines in the city in order to venerate the Virgin Mary and invoke her protection’.”
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