Father Joseph Kentenich, Father and Founder of the Schoenstatt Movement meets with Sister Erlinda Pimo, ISSM in Germany on Aug. 16, 1968.
Contributed photo
Initially, I had other plans for my life, but God had something better for me. He showed me the way through a priest. This priest told me in a simple and matter of fact way about the needs of the time and the needs of God’s people. He said there was a new modern German community that wanted to work for the renewal of the world as an instrument in Mary’s hand.
Mary, the Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen, and Victress of Schoenstatt is the model for this renewal and the mother of the Institute. Mary draws hearts to her Schoenstatt Shrine and offers graces of transformation to those who dedicate themselves to her.
She unites the members in the shrine and strengthens them for the apostolates of the Schoenstatt Movement. The institute is a family-like community where all strive to live in, with, and for one another. Their many and varied apostolic fields demand a dynamic lifestyle.
I was on fire with the idea of serving God fully in and among the people and decided to join this “modern” community founded in 1914. In February 1965, I said goodbye to my family and friends and with another young woman flew to Germany to enter the Secular Institute of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary.
When we arrived, we had to take a rush course learning the German language for about three months. Then we were enrolled in the Schoenstatt Academy for what was known at the time as parish helpers. However, since it was challenging for us to follow the classes in German, we were invited first to begin our postulancy – the initial training to become a sister, and then to continue our studies later.
During postulancy, we were introduced to Father Joseph Kentenich, the Father and Founder of the Schoenstatt Movement.
Of all the qualities of our father and founder, his priestly fatherhood was the most captivating. He truly reflected the features of God the Father as Jesus taught us in the Bible: a caring fatherliness that gave life, strength, joy and a fatherliness that brought God to us.
In novitiate, among other things we studied theology and philosophy. I reached a point where I started to doubt. Is there really a God, a God who loves us personally? If there is a God, what does he look like? Whenever Father Kentenich gave a talk he always seemed to say something new and beautiful about the Blessed Mother, but what did she really look like, was all of this real?
With a troubled mind, I asked to meet Father Kentenich and hoped to get some answers. As soon as I stepped into his office, he immediately showed his concern. He asked: “How are you? Are you happy here? Do you have everything you need?” The moment I saw him – up close and not just in a big crowd – I was amazed–mesmerized. I can say that I felt as if I saw in his face the features of what God could look like. There was a kind of warmth and kindness in his eyes. He listened with all his heart and took my questions seriously.
My question about the Blessed Mother also was answered. After that visit, I can say that all my doubts disappeared. In 1968, a month before he died, together with my classmates, I was officially incorporated into the Sisters’ community in a ceremony presided by Father Kentenich. He also presented me with my mission cross and even blessed it twice.
Father Kentenich proclaimed by the Church as Servant of God, died on September 15, 1968. “He loved the Church” were the words engraved on his sarcophagus. This inscription is a testimony of his love for the Church. The process of beatification is pending.
In the spring of 1971, I was sent to the United States province since the Schoenstatt Sisters were not yet established in the Philippines. After having adjusted to American culture, I was transferred to Staten Island, New York and went to college for my degree in Education.
In 1979, I began teaching third grade in a Catholic grade school. I also coordinated the first Communion classes in the parish, both the public school students and my own class. The comments that touched me most when my students graduated was that I had brought them to Jesus and helped them believe. While teaching, I also conducted days of prayer, recollection and pilgrimages.
In 1988, while still working I received my Masters in Education. After ten years of teaching, I became Director of Religious Education for several parishes. As a DRE, I was involved in ongoing leadership training that enriched my work in the pastoral field.
In 1995, I had the joy of going to the World Youth Day in Manila and came very close to then Pope John Paul II, now a saint. I also brought the youth of my parish to the World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain. From there, my group traveled overnight to Portugal and visited the place where the Blessed Mother appeared in Fatima.
Since 2016, I have been happily retired. I live and work at our Schoenstatt center in Lamar. I help around the house and am the sacristan for the Schoenstatt Shrine and the chapels. I have many opportunities to greet people that visit our shrine and have even organized yearly pilgrimages for the Filipinos who live in the area. In addition to our community prayer times, I am able to have adoration in the shrine where I pray for the needs of the Church and the world and also for the needs of our Diocese of Corpus Christi.
For more information on the Schoenstatt Movement and Shrine visit schoenstatt-texas.org.