The Pilgrims Can Come!
An intense volunteer week is now at an end. With great commitment and tireless engagement over the past few days we have achieved an enormous number of registered volunteers - somewhere over 500 all here to make sure that the 100 years jubilee of the Shoenstatt’s founding in time for the pilgrims who will come from all around the world. “It gives me unbelievable pleasure, to work together with so many members of the Schoenstatt family to make this Jubilee a reality,” said a young volunteer who just hung the banner with the welcome messages for the world visitors. “Everything that isn’t quite ready yet will be finished tonight, or at the latest tomorrow morning”, say the volunteers in the Covenant Tent Team, who have had 'their nose to the grindstone' since the just after noon from the moment when the gymnasium and the classrooms at the school were no longer needed for lessons.
Today the work is our prayer, our devotion, says a proud 50-year-old volunteer who just cleared away the last of the chairs in the Covenant tent. “One just realizes that one simply isn’t 30 anymore,” he says as he winks.
The Torch bearers, have reached Germany and have arrived on time at the Schoenstatt-Shine in Merzhausen in the area of Freiburg, and together withe the Archbishop em. Dr. Robert Zollitsch and the Auxiliary Bishop Dr. Michael Gerber (who ran a section of the torch-route himself) in the local parish of Merzhausen had mass. (On the Facebook page of the Torchbearers: “Eine super Abendmesse mit Robert Zollitisch! Tolle Atmosphäre, toll musik und jetzt tolles beisammensein I’m Pfarrheim"(a great mass with Robert Zollitisch! a great atmosphere, good music and now a great time together in the Parish house))
The Pilgims can come!