Greetings from the Confidentia Shrine,
On July 8, the day we commemorate Father Kentenich’s ordination to the priesthood in 1910, a group of
devoted Schoenstatters gathered at the cathedral of Corpus Christi to make a pilgrimage in the
footsteps of our father and founder. Seventy-five years ago, between June 13 and June 19, 1948, FK
traveled by car from Subiaco, AR to Corpus Christi, TX. In his book A Visit to America, Father Jonathan
Niehaus muses “might they have stopped at one of the Benedictine parishes north of Dallas along the
way – Muenster and Lindsay (just west of Gainesville, Texas? They were pretty much on the route south,
and given the long, hot journey of over 700 miles to Corpus Christi, the parishes would have offered a
convenient stopping point along the way.”
In any case, “we consider ourselves richly blessed that, of all the places in Texas, God chose Corpus
Christi as the place where FK would set foot and plant the first seeds … for Schoenstatt.” These words
from the opening prayer at the cathedral set our hearts and minds for the encounter with our founder
at the various places he visited in 1948. After holy Mass, the recrowning of the TX Auxiliary Shrine, and a
group photo, we drove to the former Bishop’s Residence. It was here that Bishop Ledvina requested
Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary for his diocese. From there we went to North Alameda Street, where in 1948
the Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart had their convent. Father visited the convent inhabited by
mostly German nuns who ran a nursery. Our next stop was the former Benedictine Abbey, now owned
by the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. In his America Report FK writes: “Many of the
fathers came from old German settlements. A cheerful atmosphere prevailed. Before I knew it, the room
echoed with genuine, old German folksongs, the words and tunes of which were remembered from
childhood days.”
The former Corpus Christi airport from where Father Kentenich left to return to Milwaukee was our final
destination before we convened at the Corpus Christi Schoenstatt Center to enjoy a delicious meal.
Walking in the footsteps of our father and founder on a hot and humid summer day, helped us to
appreciate the hardships he endured to bring Schoenstatt to Texas. The annual boys’ walk from Corpus
Christi to the Confidentia shrine took place parallel to our pilgrimage. The boys, who were accompanied
by some dads and two Schoenstatt Fathers, arrived (delete there) on Sunday afternoon. They were
exhausted yet exuberant.
We pray that our Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt will also give you a share
in the abundant pilgrimage graces we received,
Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary