When hundreds of thousand pilgrims arrive at the Shrine

Encounter of Schoenstatt Shrines, Tuparenda, Paraguay, October 16-18, 2006

Para ello, se requiere que la acción pastoral se oriente a vincular creyentemente al pueblo de Dios con las fuentes originales de Schoenstatt Therefore it is necessary that the pastoral activity is orientated towards attaching the people of God, in faith, with the original sources of Schoenstatt. Darum ist es notwendig, dass die Pastoral sich dahingehend orientiert, das Volk Gottes gläubig mit den ursprünglichen Quellen Schönstatts zu verbinden.
Para eso, la Virgen María precisa de instrumentos. En la foto: Guardianes del Santuario For this task, the Blessed Mother needs instruments. Photo: Guardians of the Shrine Dazu braucht die Gottesmutter Werkzeuge; Foto: Wächter des Heiligtums in Tuparenda
María ha desplegado el misterio de Schoenstatt en una original geografía de la fe Mary has unfolded the Schoenstatt Mystery in an original geography of faith Maria hat das Schönstatt-Geheimnis in einer originellen Geographie des Glaubens entfaltet
Si bien, el Misterio de Schoenstatt es uno, los carismas de cada Santuario son diferentes; responden a culturas, lugares y religiosidades diferentes Though the Schoenstatt Mystery is one, the charismas of the Shrines are different, responding to cultures, places, and different religious styles Auch wenn das Schönstatt-Geheimnis ein und dasselbe ist, sind die Charismen der Heiligtümer unterschiedlich und geben Antwort auf Kultur, Ort und verschiedene Arten der Religiosität
El fenómeno de Tuparenda: toda la estructura e infraestructura del Movimiento al servicio del peregrino. The phenomenon of Tuparenda: the entire structure and infrastructure of the Movement at the service of the pilgrim Das Phänomen Tuparenda: die gesamte Struktur und Infrastruktur der Bewegung im Dienst der Pilger Fotos: Pardo © 2006

PARAGUAY, Jose Blas Villalba. Within the framework of the Silver Jubilee of the Shrine of Tuparenda, the Family of Paraguay is organizing the Encounter of Schoenstatt Shrines to which those committed to the Shrine Pastoral from all the countries of the region are invited. It is about discovering and deepening the pastoral accent that Father Kentenich had in mind for all the Schoenstatt Shrines.

The Encounter, which already counts with the participation of Schoenstatters from Brazil, Peru, Argentina, and Chile, will take place next October 16^th-18^th. During the days before the great Jubilee Day, that is to say, on the 16^th and 17^th, the participants will share experiences, they will reflect together and they will deepen the awareness of the richness of the Schoenstatt Pastoral; and on the 18^th all the participants will join the different teams of the Pastoral of the Shrine of Tuparenda to attend to some 100,000 pilgrims who will congregate that day. It will be a unique experience!

A vital experience of pastoral work

Concretely, the objectives for this singular encounter are:

• To discover the pastoral accent that Father Kentenich had in mind for the Schoenstatt Shrines
• To learn about the mission of the National Shrines of the participants
• To identify new ways of attachments that are vital to the pilgrim who comes to the Shrine
• To carry out a vital experience of pastoral work to attend to the pilgrims in the massive celebration of October 18^th

The desire to express gratitude to the Blessed Mother for the miracles she has worked during this blessed time through her maternal presence in Paraguay, has given the organizers the impetus to face this great task, as a unique occasion to share experiences, reflect together, to deepen and to continue to discover the richness of the Schoenstatt Pastoral.

The program for the encounter includes conferences, workshops, panels and debates, a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Caacupe – Patroness of Paraguay – a Shrine-Expo and the most thrilling thing, to work in pastoral teams to attend to the thousands of pilgrims on October 18^th. Surely, it will be an unforgettable experience! And all for the love for the Blessed Mother!

In search of a new synthesis for the Pastoral of the Shrine

Father Guillermo Carmona, Argentina, will be in charge of a Conference ("In search of a new synthesis for the Pastoral of the Shrine"), as well as Father Juan José Riba, Argentina ("The Pastoral of the Shrine and the Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign"), and Father Antonio Cosp, Paraguay ("Rites and symbols – their theological and Schoenstatt meanings").

The subjects for the workshops are:

• The Guardians of the Shrine
• Attention at the Shrine: message and information
• Attention to the pilgrim: people
• Attention to the site: Gestures and rites
• Attention to the atmosphere: space and time

During one of the panels subjects such as Capital of Grace for the pilgrim will be clarified, Theology of the Place, a concept of the "popular". In the final workshop, it is thought to como to agreements at the level of strategic accents, structural level, and at the level of information on the movement.

A beautiful place

When hundreds of thousands of pilgrims arrive at the Shrine –which is the case in Tuparenda, in Atibaia, in Queretaro and many other Shrines of Latin America, the Blessed Mother needs hundreds of instruments that "multiply" and transmit her hands, her voice, her warmth, her advice, her message…through the attention to the pilgrim; she needs instruments that make her place beautiful with natural beauty, and much more by what is formed by this world of "Pastoral of the Shrine" – so that it is not only a visit rather it will be a pilgrimage, and it is not just to any chapel, rather, to a Schoenstatt Shrine. The encounter is about all of this and how to guarantee it – in search of a new synthesis for the Pastoral of the Shrine.

Additional information can be obtained at the Secretariat of the Schoenstatt Movement in Paraguay, from Mrs. Estela Franco. estelafranco@schoenstatt.org.py