The Apostolic Movement of Schoenstatt


The Pilgrim MTA shrine.


Schoenstatt Altar before installation.

Schoenstatt is a Catholic lay movement that strives to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the example and guidance of Mary. Schoenstatt was founded on October 18, 1914, by Father Joseph Kentenich in the little Schoenstatt valley in the Rhine region of west-central Germany. The word ‘Schoenstatt’ comes from German for ‘beautiful’ (schoen) and ‘place’ (statt).

Schoenstatt is deeply and devotedly Marian and has repeatedly experienced how love of Mary opens new avenues to a vibrant relationship with Christ, to the Holy Spirit, to God the Father, and to a renewal of love of neighbor and self. Not least of all, love of Mary has helped many grow in love for the Church. This is in keeping with Pope John Paul II’s message to the Schoenstatt Family during an audience in 1985:
“An authentic Marian spirituality leads to a deeper love for the Church.”

In 1993, the Schoenstatt Movement began in Nebraska at the invitation of Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, the Bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln. Sister Marie Day, a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary, began her work of building up the movement in Nebraska. Sister Marie traveled to Nebraska each month from the Schoenstatt on the Lake Center in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. On June 29, 2003, the Schoenstatt family in this diocese celebrated the milestone tenth anniversary with a Holy Mass celebrated by Bishop Bruskewitz together with the formal blessing of the shrine altar which had arrived several months previously from South America. The new shrine altar was placed in the small chapel building upon its arrival.

The Cor Mariae (Heart of Mary) Schoenstatt Center is a 93-acre plot of land near Crete, Nebraska, that the Schoenstatt family acquired from the diocese. The center is blessed with a shrine, which is a replica of the original shrine in Germany; the shrine was dedicated on November 17, 2007. Currently four Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary live at the Cor Mariae Schoenstatt Center. The movement continues to grow. More information is found at schoenstattne.org

View an article about the Schoenstatt’s start in Nebraska
View an article about the 10th Anniversary of Schoenstatt in Nebraska