What is Schoenstatt?

Schoenstatt is a Roman Catholic movement of religious and moral renewal founded by Father Joseph Kentenich in October 1914. The members, present in all inhabited continents, serve the universal apostolate of the Church in society and strive to fulfill the challenge of Vatican II, to “consecrate the world.”

Schoenstatt is a religious center, a place of pilgrimage, a shrine dedicated to Mary. The first shrine – located in Germany near Koblenz on the Rhine River – became a Marian pilgrimage place and a special place of grace on October 18, 1914. Throughout the years, many such shrines have been erected in the whole world, each of them exact replicas of the original shrine. They are the spiritual centers of the international Apostolic Movement of Schoenstatt. Countless people come to the shrine to pray, to unburden themselves, to entrust their special intentions to the Mother of God. At this holy place they experience Mary as a real mother and educator.

Schoenstatt is a way of life, which can affect and form every aspect of daily living. The spirituality of Schoenstatt helps people to deepen their lives of faith. We are invited to consecrate ourselves to the Blessed Mother and to enter into a covenant with the Triune God in a more perfect way. Schoenstatt offers a spiritual wealth to everyone, a great inspiration for our personal striving for sanctity, and perseverance in the apostolate.

“Schoenstatt has the task to form the new person in the new community imbued with great apostolic spirit. As an instrument of the Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt, we want to help imprint the countenance of Christ upon the nations of the entire world.” Father Joseph Kentenich