History » 1939 - 1969 » 1946 Dedication of the Bells
A Short Report on the Dedication of the Bells 1946
From: Kastner, Heiliges Marienland, p. 53 f.:
The dedication of the bells
The young men belonging to the Schoenstatt Youth had prepared a marvelous gift for their Queen on her crowning day: four large bells for the Adoration Church that had still to be built. They now hang in the quarry near the Home of the Federation just as they have come from the factory. They are made of steel. Their names proclaim their message: With Mary through Christ in the Holy Spirit to the Father. The whole Family had gathered for the dedication of the bells. May they bear Schoenstatt’s secret into the world and admonish us to become messengers, creators and guardians of this message. The priests and the Institute of our Lady of Schoenstatt (Frauen von Schoenstatt) are the godparents of the Holy Spirit bell. The priest led us in saying over the bells:
Bell, consecrated to the Holy Spirit,
Schoenstatt’s priests proclaim: In the storm of time
to be the tongue, not hollow-sounding ore
full of light and fire for longing hearts.
Apostels of truth, apostles for justice,
apostels of love for a new generation.
Bell of the Holy Spirit
ring in a new Pentecost!
At the close of the celebration the bells rang as we sang the Hymn of Home. They rang that evening as our dear departed returned home, they rang in the crowning day. May they ever proclaim Schoenstatt and its world!”
When the promised Adoration Church was built in 1964/65, the steel bells forged in 1946 could unfortunately no longer be used; they are now the silent witnesses of a past age close to the shrine of the Sisters’ Family on Mount Schoenstatt.
