Pilgrim Mother Campaign

The Pilgrim Mother Campaign, also known as the Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign, is an apostolic work founded by the Servant of God John Pozzobon and coordinated by the Schoenstatt Movement, counting presently more than 30 million members[1] in over one million groups spanning 120 nations of the world.[2]

Pilgrim Mother / Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign
Formation10 September 1950 (1950-09-10)
FounderServant of God John Pozzobon
TypeCatholic Lay Apostolate
PurposeMinistry of visitation of families, students, sick, elderly, prisoners, etc.
Membership (2017)
30 million, in 120 nations

Overview

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The Campaign consists in the regular visit of an image of the Mother Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt Madonna to families, schools, hospitals and all places where families or people accept to receive her. It is carried out by lay volunteers - missionaries and coordinators - organized at the parish, diocesan, regional or linguistic levels.

The pilgrim image employed in the campaign is the same venerated in the Schoenstatt Shrines. They are replicas of the 'original pilgrim image' with which the campaign began and have the form of a sanctuary to express the essential link to the Schoenstatt Shrine and all the graces that there are received. They are blessed and sent from a Schoenstatt Shrine. The Secretariats of the Campaign of the Pilgrim Mother of Schoenstatt have the function of coordinating and help the missionaries in their work and relationship with dioceses and parishes.

History

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The Campaign's founder, John Pozzobon, carrying the Original Pilgrim Image to a village on foot, as he habitually did

It was initiated by the Servant of God, Deacon John Pozzobon, a Schoenstatt Movement's member, on 10 September 1950. Feeling an inner call to get involved in some apostolate with Our Lady, he receives an invitation from Sister Teresinha Gobbo, from the Secular Institute of Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary, to bring the image of the Mother, Queen and Winner Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt to visit the families. Sister Teresinha entrusts him the image that had been blessed at the Schoenstatt Shrine of Santa Maria (Brazil) by Father Celestino Trevisan, telling him: "This image will be under your care. You don't need to pray the rosary every night. You should only take care that it peregrinates from home to home."[3]

John accepted this invitation. He assumes the task of taking the Pilgrim Mother of Schoenstatt to the families and exercises this mission for 35 years until the date of his death on 27 June 1985. With her, he travels over 87,000 miles carrying the Madonna picture in a shrine-shaped frame weighing over 25 pounds.[4]

From 1959, the Campaign multiplies through smaller replicas of the Pilgrim Mother to visit families monthly. In 1979, Pozzobon visits Germany and Rome, and the Pilgrim Mother Campaign takes an international dimension.

Theological Rationale

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The Campaign is inspired by the attitude of Mary who went to visit her cousin Elizabeth (Luke 1: 39-41[5]). It is an ecclesial ministry that the Church and the service of the Church, wants to collaborate with the ordinary pastoral care of parishes.

It is a popular apostolic work, as it seeks to reach all people in all situations of life, adapting to different pastoral realities: families, schools, hospitals, prisons, etc., following Jesus command: "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mark 16: 15).[6]

Another source of inspiration is the idea of the universal apostolic work according to Saint Vincent Pallotti regarding Mary: "She is the great Missionary; She works miracles".[3] It also performs a will of the founder of the Schoenstatt Movement, Fr. Joseph Kentenich, expressed in 1948, to bring the Mother of God to the homes and give Her a place of honor, for that they become small shrines.[3]

Walking the pilgrimage way with Mary means, Father Kentenich argued, being drawn into Mary's mission by bearing, bringing, and serving Christ. becoming another Mary: "Each of us bears a large share of the responsibility for the form that the world will take in the future. If this future—regardless of the specific characteristics it will have — is to bear the resemblance of Christ, then Mary must step more into the foreground and be acknowledged everywhere as the official Christ-giver, Christ-bearer, and Christ-bringer."[7]

Modalities

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There are various types of "pilgrim images", according to the ministry on which they are used:[3]

The Original Pilgrim Image

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It is the image with which Deacon John Pozzobon began the Pilgrim Mother Campaign in September 1950. This image was his 'pilgrimage companion' for more than 30 years. In 1980, he returned it to Sr. Terezinha Gobbo. Since Pozzobon's death, in 1985, the Pilgrim Original is kept in the Marian Center, home of the Schoenstatt Movement in Santa Maria (Brazil).

 
Pozzobon with the Pilgrim Mother visiting a peasant family

Auxiliary Pilgrim Images

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They are the images intended for a diocese, a diocesan shrine or a more specific apostolic work. The first one was received by Ubaldo Pimentel, also from Santa Maria (Brazil), on 8 December 1979. They are exact replicas of the original Pilgrim Image. According to interpretation of Deacon John Pozzobon, the Auxiliary Images are like an 'extension' of Fr. Kentenich's blessing to the Campaign, on 4 August 1951. As an expression of their union with the 'Original', all 'Auxiliaries' are blessed and sent from the Schoenstatt Shrine of Santa Maria, where the campaign began.

Parish Pilgrim Images

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Similar to the Original image and the Auxiliaries, but made in a smaller size and without the doors covering the picture of Mary. Each parish can have its image to use it in novenas, processions and other activities. Some parishes organize an itinerary for its parish image, where it visits the various chapels, schools, church groups, etc. Normally, the parish pilgrim image is under the care of the parish coordination team, which may delegate responsibility to a leadership campaign.

'Occasional' Pilgrim Images

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A Pilgrim Mother image for the blind

Used in various apostolic works of the Campaign of the Pilgrim Mother of Schoenstatt: the sick, in shops, hospitals, prisons, etc. They are entrusted to a missionary who organizes the itinerary and the form of ministry. All images are registered with the national secretariat of the Campaign.

Pilgrim Images for Families

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The most known and used in the world by the Campaign, they circulate monthly and on a permanent basis a group of families. Each image is in the care of a missionary, responsible for the image in his group. All have a number registered in the secretariat responsible for the geographic area.

Pilgrim Images for Children and Youth

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They are entrusted to young people and children who are placed as apostles for other young people and children. They can also be used in schools and catechism groups. All images used in this ministry are registered with the secretariat of the Campaign.

Pilgrim Mother Campaign per country

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Countries where the Pilgrim Mother Campaign is present in the world (in blue)

This list follows the geoscheme created by the United Nations Statistics Division.[8] According to the UN, the assignment of countries or areas to specific groupings is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories.[9]

Some countries may have more than one website on this list, for linguistic or organizational reasons. Others, for the same reasons, may share a single site.

Countries with the field "website" in blank mean that the country doesn't have a webpage dedicated exclusively to the Campaign's Secretariat.

Source of the data: Pilgrim Mother Campaign Secretariat from Brazil for Southern and Southeastern regions[10] and German-speaking Secretariat from Switzerland,[1] except where another source be expressly indicated.

Africa

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Flag Name Campaign Website
  Algeria No
  Angola Yes[11]
  Benin Yes
  Botswana No
  Burkina Faso Yes
  Burundi Yes
  Cameroon Yes
  Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) Yes
  Central African Republic Yes
  Chad Yes
  Comoros No
  Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) Yes
  Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa) Yes
  Djibouti No
  Egypt No
  Equatorial Guinea No
  Eritrea Yes
  Eswatini No
  Ethiopia Yes
  Gabon Yes
  Gambia No
  Ghana Yes
  Guinea No
  Guinea-Bissau Yes
  Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) No
  Kenya Yes
  Lesotho No
  Liberia Yes
  Libya No
  Madagascar No
  Malawi No
  Mali No
  Mauritania No
  Mauritius No
  Mayotte (France) No
  Morocco Yes
  Mozambique Yes
  Namibia No
  Niger Yes
  Nigeria Yes
  Réunion (France) No
  Rwanda Yes
  Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom) No
  São Tomé and Príncipe No
  Senegal Yes
  Seychelles No
  Sierra Leone No
  Somalia No
  South Africa Yes
  South Sudan No
  Sudan No
  Tanzania Yes
  Togo No
  Tunisia No
  Uganda No
  Zambia No
  Zimbabwe Yes[12]

Americas

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Flag Name Campaign Website
  Anguilla (United Kingdom) No
  Antigua and Barbuda No
  Argentina Yes
  Aruba (Netherlands) No
  Bahamas No
  Barbados Yes
  Belize Yes
  Bermuda (United Kingdom) No
  Bolivia Yes
  Bonaire (Netherlands) No
  Brazil Yes
  British Virgin Islands (United Kingdom) No
  Canada Yes
  Cayman Islands (United Kingdom) No
  Chile Yes National Secretariat
  Clipperton Island (France) No
  Colombia Yes National Secretariat
  Costa Rica Yes National Secretariat
  Cuba Yes
  Curaçao (Netherlands) No
  Dominica No
  Dominican Republic Yes
  El Salvador Yes
  Ecuador Yes National Secretariat
  Falkland Islands No
  French Guiana (France) No
  Greenland No
  Grenada No
  Guadeloupe (France) No
  Guatemala Yes
  Guyana No
  Haiti Yes
  Honduras Yes
  Jamaica Yes
  Martinique (France) Yes
  Mexico Yes
  Montserrat (United Kingdom) No
  Navassa Island (United States) No
  Nicaragua Yes
  Panama Yes
  Paraguay Yes National Secretariat
  Peru Yes
  Puerto Rico Yes
  Saba (Netherlands) No
  Saint Barthélemy (France) No
  Saint Kitts and Nevis No
  Saint Lucia No
  Saint Martin (France) No
  Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France) No
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines No
  Sint Eustatius (Netherlands) No
  Sint Maarten (Netherlands) No
  South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands No
  Suriname No
  Trinidad and Tobago No
  Turks and Caicos Islands (United Kingdom) No
  United States of America Yes National Secretariat
  United States Virgin Islands (United States) No National Secretariat
  Uruguay Yes National Secretariat
  Venezuela Yes

Asia

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Flag Name Campaign Website
  Afghanistan Yes[13]
  Akrotiri and Dhekelia (United Kingdom) No
  Armenia [Europe] No
  Azerbaijan [Europe] No
  Bahrain No
  Bangladesh No
  Bhutan No
  British Indian Ocean Territory (United Kingdom) No
  Brunei No
  Cambodia No
  China Yes
  Christmas Island (Australia) No
  Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia) No
  Cyprus [Europe] No
  East Timor (Timor-Leste) Yes
  Georgia [Europe] No
  Hong Kong (China) Yes[14]
  India Yes Secretariat
  Indonesia Yes[15]
  Iran No
  Iraq Yes[16]
  Israel Yes
  Japan Yes
  Jordan No
  Kazakhstan No
  Kuwait No
  Kyrgyzstan Yes
  Laos No
  Lebanon Yes
  Macau (China) Yes
  Malaysia Yes[17]
  Maldives No
  Mongolia No
  Myanmar (Burma) No
  Nepal No
  North Korea Yes
  Oman No
  Pakistan Yes
  Palestine Yes
  Philippines Yes
  Qatar Yes[18]
  Saudi Arabia No
  Singapore Yes
  South Korea Yes
  Sri Lanka Yes
  Syria Yes[19]
  Taiwan (China) Yes[20]
  Tajikistan Yes
  Thailand Yes
  Turkey [Europe] Yes
  Turkmenistan No
  United Arab Emirates Yes[21]
  Uzbekistan No
  Vietnam Yes
  Yemen No

Notes

Europe

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Flag Name Campaign Website
  Åland (Finland) No
  Albania Yes
  Andorra Yes[22]
  Austria Yes National Secretariat
  Belarus Yes
  Belgium Yes National Secretariat
  Bosnia and Herzegovina Yes
  Bulgaria No
  Croatia Yes National Secretariat
  Czech Republic Yes National Secretariat
  Denmark Yes
  Estonia No
  Faroe Islands (Denmark) No
  Finland Yes[23]
  France Yes
  Germany Yes
  Gibraltar (United Kingdom) No
  Greece No
  Guernsey (United Kingdom) No
  Hungary Yes National Secretariat
  Iceland Yes
  Ireland Yes
  Isle of Man (United Kingdom) No
  Italy Yes
  Jan Mayen (Norway) No
  Jersey (United Kingdom) No
  Latvia No
  Liechtenstein Yes Secretariat for the German-speaking Switzerland and Liechtenstein
  Lithuania No
  Luxembourg Yes Secretariat from Germany
  Malta Yes[24]
  Moldova No
  Monaco No
  Montenegro Yes
  Netherlands Yes
  Norway Yes
  North Macedonia No
  Poland Yes National Secretariat
  Portugal Yes Mission for the University Students
  Romania Yes National Secretariat (Romanian/Hungarian)
  Russia Yes
  San Marino Yes Secretariat for San Marino and Italy
  Serbia Yes
  Slovakia Yes Secretariat for Western and Central Slovakia
  Slovenia Yes
  Spain Yes
  Svalbard (Norway) No
  Sweden Yes National Secretariat
  Switzerland Yes
  Ukraine Yes
  United Kingdom Yes
  Vatican City/Holy See Yes
Notes

Oceania

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Flag Name Campaign Website
  American Samoa (United States) No
  Ashmore and Cartier Islands (Australia) No
  Australia Yes National Secretariat
  Baker Island (United States) No
  Cook Islands No
  Coral Sea Islands (Australia) No
  Fiji No
  French Polynesia (France) No
  Guam (United States) No
  Howland Island (United States) No
  Jarvis Island (United States) No
  Johnston Atoll (United States) No
  Kingman Reef (United States) No
  Kiribati No
  Marshall Islands No
  Micronesia No
  Midway Atoll (United States) No
  Nauru No
  New Caledonia (Sui generis collectivity of France) Yes
  New Zealand Yes Campaign's representative
  Niue No
  Norfolk Island (Australia) No
  Northern Mariana Islands (United States) No
  Palau Yes[25]
  Palmyra Atoll (United States) No
  Papua New Guinea No
  Pitcairn Islands (United Kingdom) No
  Samoa No
  Solomon Islands No
  Tokelau (New Zealand) No
  Tonga No
  Tuvalu No
  Vanuatu No
  Wake Island (United States) No
  Wallis and Futuna (France) No

Antarctica

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Antarctica, regulated by the Antarctic Treaty System, has no government and belongs to no country. It was there that a bronze image of the Mother Thrice Admirable of Schoenstatt was installed in 1984 at the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station, located at the King George Island, in the Admiralty Bay.[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Projekt Pilgerheiligtum | Schönstattbewegung Schweiz". schoenstatt.ch. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
  2. ^ "History of the Pilgrim MTA". www.schoenstattrosarycampaign.com. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  3. ^ a b c d Bittencourt, Marcelo Valvassori. "Tabor MTA". tabormta.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  4. ^ "Deacon John Pozzobon". www.schoenstattrosarycampaign.com. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  5. ^ "Luke 13A 39-41 NIV - - Bible Gateway". www.biblegateway.com. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  6. ^ "Mark 16:15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation". biblehub.com. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  7. ^ Astell, Ann W.; Peters, Danielle M. (October 2014). "Schoenstatt's Shrine for the Pilgrim People of God". Claritas: Journal of Dialogue and Culture. 3 (2). p. 82. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  8. ^ "Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings". United Nations Statistics Division.
  9. ^ "Standard country or area codes and geographical regions for statistical use". United Nations Statistics Division.
  10. ^ Bittencourt, Marcelo Valvassori. "Tabor MTA". tabormta.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  11. ^ "Towards 2014 – In covenant with Afghanistan". Schoenstatt.org. 2010-03-19. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  12. ^ "Chirenderano chenyu kutumwa kwedu…". Schoenstatt.org. 2011-08-19. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  13. ^ "Towards 2014 – In covenant with Afghanistan". Schoenstatt.org. 2010-03-19. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  14. ^ "Toward 2014: in covenant with Hong Kong, Hungary, India and Indonesia". Schoenstatt.org. 2011-03-31. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  15. ^ "Toward 2014: in covenant with Hong Kong, Hungary, India and Indonesia". Schoenstatt.org. 2011-03-31. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  16. ^ "Going where she is needed–the Pilgrim Mothers' in the Middle East". Schoenstatt.org. 2016-12-25. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
  17. ^ "On the Way to 2014 – in covenant with all the projects of a covenant culture in business". Schoenstatt.org. 2013-07-15. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  18. ^ "Now and from this place bless every member of our family throughout the world…". Schoenstatt.org. 2015-10-23. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  19. ^ "She can't wait anymore: the Pilgrim Mother wants to fly to Syria". 2016-06-10. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  20. ^ "Toward 2014 – in Covenant with Taiwan". Schoenstatt.org. 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  21. ^ "Towards 2014 – In covenant with Afghanistan". Schoenstatt.org. 2010-03-19. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  22. ^ "Schönstatt - Grenzübergänge". www.schoenstatt.de. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  23. ^ "Toward 2014 - in Covenant with Finland". Schoenstatt.org. 2012-05-31. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  24. ^ "August Masses in Covenant with Malta, Morocco, and Mexico: a gaze at the spirit of the internationality thru the network". Schoenstatt.org. 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
  25. ^ "The Pilgrim MTA once again: Palau (Palaos)". Schoenstatt.org. 2011-12-01. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
  26. ^ "A MTA está na Antártida". Campanha da Mãe Peregrina de Schoenstatt (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2011-10-12. Archived from the original on 2016-01-30. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
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