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20° aniversario de la Campaña en Paraná 20th annivesary of the Campaign in Paraná Zwanzig Jahre Kampagne in Paraná Foto: Ríos © 2005 |
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To begin to speak about the most beautiful task that the Father entrusted to us, through the Blessed Mother, we remember the words of our initiator Joao Luiz Pozzobon, in his prayer of consecration on the 8th of December of 1983: "Beloved Mother and Queen…may this grandiose Campaign of the Holy Rosary signify a great spiritual flourishing in the great Work of Schoenstatt; that it may extend throughout all the world, for the greater good of the Holy Church". Our Father and Founder, Father Kentenich, defined the Campaign in the person of Joao affirming: "In the work of Mr. Pozzobon all the fundamental forces of Schoenstatt become effective".
Making history
The Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign began on the 10th of September 1950 in Santa Maria, Brazil, when Sister M. Tersina entrusted Joao with a big picture (like the auxiliary) of Our Lady of Schoenstatt, asking him to take her on pilgrimage to the families of the neighborhood. Joao thinks and he tells us: "She (the Blessed Mother) entrusted this picture to me, she placed all her confidence in me. I felt responsible and I said to myself: I will pray the Rosary every night."
This was the beginning the Rosary Campaign, to which Joao dedicated 2 hours daily, later he began to dedicate all his time. His mission extended to families, schools, prisons and hospitals. In 1959 the Campaign began with the visit of the small Pilgrim MTA Shrines (as we now know them) to the families, and it extended with greater strength. Its pilgrimage went to Europe, in 1979, where it visited the Original Shrine in Schoenstatt, Germany, and several Schoenstatt centers of that country. It also arrived in Rome with Original Pilgrim Shrine, which was blessed by Pope John Paul II. Upon its return to Santa Maria, it blessed the first wayside shrine, built to reach the places where the priests did not have easy access.
A mission that is open to the people, the nations, and the Church
Another person enters the history of the Campaign, to whom we owe a lot: Father Esteban Uriburu, who totally identified himself with the person and mission of Joao. He admired his simplicity and at the same time, the greatness of the Campaign. He observed the profound rootedness of this mission to the origins of Schoenstatt, but he also foresaw its reach, its projection. It was (and is) a mission open to the people, the nations, and to the Church. He felt called, anointed by the Campaign and he placed all his strength to expand it. Therefore, on the 30th of December of 1983, Father Esteban gave Joao a letter from Ana Echevarria from Buenos Aires, in which she asked him for 25 Pilgrim MTA Shrines for the Shrines of America. Joao responded to this letter immediately, catching a glimpse of the Campaign on a worldwide level. So on the 29th of March of 1984 the first pilgrimage from Buenos Aires arrived in Santa Maria to receive the 25 Pilgrim MTA Shrines for America from the hands of Joao. In June, the first International Auxiliary is received in Buenos Aires. In the following months the Campaign spreads through several places of the world. Today, thousands of men, women, and children continue with the mission of taking the Pilgrim MTA to more than 4 million families in the five continents.
It is important to stress that the Campaign arrived at Parana in June of 1985 and the following year an Auxiliary Shrine is received. So, from Parana, there is an impetus for the communities in the interior of the province of Entre Rios and of the neighboring province of Santa Fe, the Campaign expands rapidly and the Blessed Mother along with her Son, more than once, is the first contact with the Schoenstatt spirituality that many persons have. We recall that the Pilgrim Shrine departs from the Shrines and it is a living reflection of it. This Saturday, the 3rd of September, we started with the celebrations for the 20 years of mission in Parana, which will conclude with our annual journey of renewal of the missionaries’ commitment in November, to which all are invited.
The great family of the Campaign
The Rosary Campaign is an active force in the Apostolic Movement of Schoenstatt, a great family composed by the missionaries and the by the families that receive the Pilgrim MTA Shrines, and which is always open to everyone who wants to know its charisma and to collaborate with this beautiful task that the Father has entrusted to us. As Joao would say:
"I see something very great in the future, very great…Much lies ahead of us that has yet to be done; a great deal has to be done…I think that we are just beginning. From now on we are really going to get down to work. Our Lady has prepared a large field, for this and she will need people to look after it. She will need people to cultivate the harvest, to make it grow so that it may become known and loved." (Hero Today, Not Tomorrow, page, 71).
Mariana R. Gonzalez, Coordinators’ Team of Iqa Campaign in Parana, Argentina