Dear Schoenstatt Family and Friends:

Summer was intense this year! With this letter I would like to share with you some of the life of our Movement. As many of you know the main event this summer was the kick off of the Capital Campaign for our Shrine. In our presentation letter we read:

We are now entering a very crucial time period for the project of the Shrine as we launch the Capital Campaign. The success of this effort will be the confirmation necessary for the leaders of the Movement to know that we are mature and ready to receive the Shrine.

The goal of the Capital Campaign is to raise $650,000. This will cover the costs for the construction of the Shrine, a small welcome house, the parking lot, and the landscaping around the property. It will also cover the cost of the furnishings inside the Shrine such as the altar, the statues, and the tabernacle… many of which are handmade in different parts of the world. Finally, the Capital Campaign will cover the costs of the operating expenses and any engineering or architectural services that might be required throughout the project.

You can help us in our Capital Campaign! If you know of people whom you think will be interested in being a part of this project, please don’t hesitate to contact me or any of the members of the Board. We would be happy to visit with them and present them the project. We are also featured in the September Catholic Spirit issue of our Diocesan Newspaper and many people from across the diocese have contacted us already to know more about the Shrine. It is our desire to dedicate the shrine on October 2012, as a gift for the year of the Shrine. I am impressed with the response some of our groups and branches of the Movement, with their generosity and initiative and I would like to thank them all. For instance, there is a group of young mothers from Ecuador who are donating the door of the Shrine. Another group is working on collecting money for the St. Joseph statue and the SUM branch is presenting the Unity Cross for the shrine this Covenant Sunday, after over a year of work and COG. As a Schoenstatt Family of Central Texas we have been longing for many years for the shrine and today it is closer than ever. It now depends on our ability to pull the project together as a family.

This summer I participated with 13 University men of Texas in World Youth Day in Madrid, including a pilgrimage to Schoenstatt in Germany. It was a joy and a blessing to be at the original Shrine and visit Father’s tomb. In Schoenstatt we prayed for our entire Movement of Austin and entrusted Father the project of the Shrine. Being with the Holy Father and more than one million youth from all over the world was a highlight of the trip. As part of the celebrations in Madrid, the International Schoenstatt Men Youth put together a conference, where over 800 youth from across the world participated. For all of our 13 Texas pilgrims it was a first time experience. I hope you can join us for a presentation this Sunday after Covenant Mass.

At the beginning of September we had the visit of Andrea Musalem, of the Institute of Our Lady of Schoenstatt and moderator of SUW for Austin to start off the year with the UT University Women. They elected Megan McQuaid as their new branch leader for this year. We are very grateful for the work of the Ladies of Schoenstatt in forming and accompanying our University Woman’s branch.

As a Movement we are on our way to Schoesntatt’s centennial in 2014. Our first year of our triennium of preparation has been centered in the person of our Father and Founder with our Texas motto: With Father, proclaim the Covenant of Love. To close the year of Father as a Family of Central Texas we want to officially install a picture of Father Kentenich in our Movement House. This will happen at the end of Covenant Mass on this month of October. On the 15th of this month we also remember Father’s death anniversary. To open the second year in the triennium of preparation, which will be dedicated to the Shrine, the SUM branch wants to invite the Movement to do a Pilgrimage from St. Mary Cathedral to the Wayside shrine at Addie Roy. More information and date will be announced soon. AS a Schoenstatt Family of the United States we want to share one of the gifts of Father’s time in our country, namely the reality of the Home Shrines. We are making a photo album with pictures of American Home shrines to be presented as our contribution for the 2014 celebrations. If you would like your home shrine to be included as part of this gift, please provide a picture of your Home Shrine with a brief explanation including the date of dedication and send it to Rachel Gardner on or before October 30th.

I would also like to announce that starting on Saturday, September 17 and all Saturdays, Marian Masses will be offered by a Schoenstatt Father at our Movement House Chapel at 12 noon. In the tradition of the Church, Saturday has always been a day to honor the Blessed Mother in a special way. By celebrating Saturday daily masses we hope to increase our attachment to our Shrine land anticipating the day when we will celebrate such masses in our future Shrine. This will also be an opportunity to bring friends and family to our beautiful Wayside Shrine!

With these lines I hope you can grasp a bit of the vibrant life of our Movement and we entrust to your prayers all of our branch initiatives, most specially the project of our Shrine.

Fr. Jesus Ferras, ISP
Movement Coordinator
Diocese of Austin