Pilgrimage May 2014 – A complete success

Pilgrims from different parts of the Miami Dade, Broward and West Palm Beach areas, came to our Schoenstatt Shrine since very early on the morning of Saturday May 10th. Around 9 am there were more than 100 people and by the time of mass they were gathered, under the blue sky, more than 400 people of all ages and nationalities, represented by 27 flags on both sides of the Shrine. This way, we celebrated in the midst of the Jubilee Year our tenth Annual Pilgrimage to this place of grace.

The program started with a procession from the Schoenstatt House to the Shrine. Missionaries of the Pilgrim MTA carried on their shoulders the Auxiliary Pilgrim Picture, and other four knights of the Blessed Mother carried the giant picture of our MTA accompanied by their wives. Both images were placed next to the Shrine, where men, women, young people and children were praying and offering one-on-one each Our Father and each Hail Mary, to complete the Holy Rosary. At the end, father Marcelo Aravena guided all in an act of crowning of the Auxiliary MTA Picture, crowning her as our «Queen of the one hundred years of the Covenant of Love».

As requested, many people arrived with a flower in their hands, and with the help of Sister Miriam, they were placed in a structure prepared for this, which finally turned into a beautiful and colorful crown of flowers, which was offered to the Blessed Mother during the offertory and finally settled at the foot of the altar in the Shrine. At the end of the mass, the Pilgrim MTAs which had been placed next to the Shrine and their missionaries received a blessing from the celebrant.

After mass it was offered, at the multipurpose room of the house, the Expo Schoenstatt, which presented this time a series of informational videos about Schoenstatt. Next to the MTA wayside shrine for the children, there was a tent with volunteers ready for their entertainment. In the area of the courtyard of the house there was a food fair available to attendees. Filled with joy, in the middle of a beautiful day, everyone enjoyed a family meeting that ended around 3 o’clock.

By: Glenda Puente