27 March 2026 · 2026-03 newsletter
The Annual Victorian Schoenstatt Family Retreat took place on Saturday 14 February at Holy Family Parish Hall, Doveton, and on Sunday 15 February at the Victorian Schoenstatt Chapel in Wantirna. Around 30 members participated in the Retreat overall.
Sr M. Elizabeth Foley led the Retreat and expounded many important aspects of Schoenstatt’s history and spirituality.
Highlighted were the following:
On Saturday, the Letters sent by Father Joseph Kentenich on the occasions of the Blessing of the former Kew Shrine and the National Shrine in Mulgoa were discussed. The parallels in the letters and content being inspired by Sacred Scripture were illustrated in the discussions. “Today Salvation has come to this house (Luke 19:9) …”
– Today, Our Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt has made her home in this place … in this Shrine which she has selected to be the place from where she distributes her graces; the need to encourage people to visit the Shrine, though challenging, and to bring their contributions to the Capital of Grace, was emphasised.
The forthcoming ‘Naming of the National Shrine’, where the need to give the Shrine an identity that God has willed it to be, according to his plan and mission, was explained. The mission of the Australian Schoenstatt Family had been earlier identified – “One Heart in the Father for the family of God”. Post the recent National Schoenstatt Conference, it was agreed, that the National Shrine will be named ‘Consors Patris’ (Helpmate of the Father), highlighting the need to be united with God the Father as we endeavour to serve the Church.
The history of the name “Consors Patris” was further explained by Sr. Elizabeth in great detail, from the passing of Sr Bonitas in 1952 to the crowning of the Blessed Mother in Western Australia in 1958 as ‘Consors Patris’. Ten years later, the Picture of Grace was brought to Mulgoa when the National Shrine in Mulgoa was blessed on 19 May 1968. In 1994 a similar crowning took place in the Sisters’ Shrine in Rome, and the Crown from the Australian National Shrine was taken to Rome. When it returned to Australia, it was seen as an opportunity to involve the whole Schoenstatt community – resulting in the Crown travelling around Australia for twelve months. Then in October 1995, the Picture of Grace was re-crowned in the National Shrine as Consors Patris by the Australian Schoenstatt family.
Associating the title of Consors Patris with the express mission of ‘One Heart in the Father for the Family of God’ was discussed at the recent National Conference. The Schoenstatt movement’s mission is to serve the Church and serve God. God’s plan was that the Blessed Mother be the chosen instrument to be the permanent companion ‘helpmate’ through all of eternity. From the moment she gave her Fiat ‘Yes’, she became “Consors Christi” and consequently also then became “Consors Patris”.
The naming of the National Shrine as the Consors Patris Shrine will occur on 6 April this year in Mulgoa. This is the actual date of the arrival of the first Schoenstatt Sisters in Australia 75 years ago.
Other topics discussed over the weekend included –
The Covenant of Love – the need to encourage more people to enter into this deepened renewal of our Baptismal Covenant. Our mission is a co-participation of the Blessed Mother’s mission. Knowing and living out the Covenant of Love is important in this journey.
Pilgrim Mother Apostolate (PMA):
The need to know and understand the difference between the Schoenstatt Movement and PMA was explained.
The History of the PMA and the story of Venerable John Pozzobon was illustrated in a power point presentation. The PMA evolved with 30 smaller replicas of the Auxiliary Shrine being made and given to families to use to visit families in their circles.
John Pozzobon died at age 80 in 1985. He was elevated to ‘Venerable’ by Pope Leo the XIV on 20 June 2025.
The title of Mother Thrice Admirable Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt was also explained: Queen during the difficult time of WW II – to take control over the situation as Queen, when war was reigning.
Victress – to celebrate the victory of Father Kentenich’s return from Exile in Milwaukee.
The renewal of the Covenant of Love took place at 3pm preceded by the recitation of the Rosary.
An exciting finish to the two days was the Commissioning and sending out from the Schoenstatt Chapel a new Coordinator – Rukmani de Silva – a member from Jean Jansz’ PMA circle.
Much fellowship was enjoyed by all on both days, and I want to thank all participants and a very special and grateful thanks to Sr M. Elizabeth for her dedication and commitment to the Victorian Schoenstatt Family.
Florida Nugara
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