La Virgen de Schoenstatt Schoenstatt - Movimiento Internacional de Schoenstatt - Padre Kentenich

How has the Virgin Mary, under the title of Mater Ter Admirabilis, known as Our Lady of Schoenstatt, come to conquer thousands of hearts? How has she become so deeply embedded in our lives? How has she become our primary source of self-formation in Schoenstatt? What are her miracles of transformation? In a simpler and more mundane question: How did she become our Mother? The Blessed Mother? Let's talk about: Our Lady of Schoenstatt The core of Schoenstatt is the Covenant of Love with Our Lady. Perhaps the Marian trait is the one best known about Schoenstatt. The grace that is sought from Mary in Schoenstatt is the grace of becoming like her. Mary is God's incorruptible concept of humanity, the fully human woman, configured to Christ, a collaborator in the Father's plan, who invites us to freely and actively build his Kingdom. But: What is the origin of the image of the Mother Thrice Admirable? The entire Schoenstatt Family has a strong connection with the image of the Mother Thrice Admirable (Mother Thrice Admirable). It is in every Shrine, in every home, in every heart. But what is the origin of this beautiful image? Who is the artist behind it? The painter Luigi Crosio lived on the outskirts of Turin, in northern Italy. He painted the image of the Mother Thrice Admirable long before Schoenstatt was conceived in Father Kentenich's mind. He finished the painting in late 1890 and gave it the title Refuge of Sinners. In 1898, the image was delivered to the Künzli Brothers' printing house for large-scale printing and distribution. The artist Luigi wanted it to be distributed worldwide. In this way, this image of Our Lady holding the Child Jesus in her arms became quite popular among various Catholic groups. In April 1915, the image arrived in Schoenstatt. Father Huggle presented it to the congregants at the Original Shrine. It was as if the Pilgrim Mother had made her first trip, from Italy to the Original Shrine, of the many journeys that would take place in the years to come. In fact, at first, the congregants were not entirely happy with the image. They thought the style was too Italian and too sweet. However, they dared not reject the gift of a priest and professor. They placed it above the tabernacle. It wasn't long before the young people fell in love with it and declared it the official symbol of the Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victorious of Schoenstatt. Did the Virgin of Schoenstatt appear? Did she perform any miracles? How did she come to reside in the Schoenstatt Shrine? The title of the Mother of the Admirabilis in Schoenstatt did not originate with an apparition of the Mother of God, as is often the case in other holy places such as Lourdes, Fatima, or Guadalupe. Nor did it originate through a miracle. But she manifested herself from that small place; there she took a divine initiative, through a priestly instrument, Father Joseph Kentenich. In Schoenstatt, everything has to do with Divine Providence and our spirit of conquest and challenge. The invitation to the Virgin to settle in the Shrine is no exception. It was at the request of Father Kentenich and his congregants that the challenge arose to ask the Virgin Mary to settle in the small chapel they had recently received and repaired with their own hands. From that moment, the founding of Schoenstatt on October 18, 1914, they set out to obtain the arrival of the Virgin Mary in exchange for their self-education and apostolic efforts. They knew that the approaching times were difficult, with the First World War having already broken out. Some even knew they had to offer their own lives so that Mary, their Mother, our Mother, could settle in that small chapel. From the beginning, the history of Schoenstatt has three elements without which we could not understand the Movement: a Founder, Father Joseph Kentenich; a place, the Schoenstatt Shrine; and a Mother, the Virgin Mary of Schoenstatt. All fused in a Covenant of Love, of which the congregants were witnesses and participants, a Covenant of Love into which all Schoenstattians join, fostering a constant regeneration of the Schoenstatt Movement. We always seek to conquer the heart of Mary, we always challenge the mechanistic world and seek the new man, the new community, through our self-formation… It begins what for Schoenstatt is the source of energy, the fuel that keeps the Movement alive and alive. For Schoenstattians, the Covenant means: NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, NOTHING WITHOUT US… We ask our Mother to establish her dwelling in our small chapel; in return, we offer contributions to the Capital of Grace… In this way, so simple and supplicating, so devoted and humble, so firm and infirm…