Schoenstatt Pilgrim Mother for Families
A Beautiful New Beginning in Your Home
Bringing the Image of the Schoenstatt Pilgrim Mother — prayers and reflections on Mary, marriage, and family life based on Father Kentenich’s wisdom for daily living
Are you wanting a new beginning to take place in your family? Would you like to find tools that will give your family life a new direction? With the intention of helping families open the door of their homes to the presence of Jesus, a picture of Mary with the holy child visits homes and families — inviting all members to gather, pray, grow in faith, and trust in God.
You’re invited to bring the presence of Mary into your home, gather your family for prayer, and reflect on the treasures of marriage and family life. Together, these three elements are an effective formula to ensure that our families become what God meant them to be: communities and sanctuaries of life and love.
“Take this picture of the Blessed Mother and give it a place of honor in your home. Then your home will become a little shrine in which the picture of grace will mediate many graces, creating a holy family atmosphere, and form holy family members.”
— Father Joseph Kentenich (1885–1968), Founder of Schoenstatt, 1948
Open the door to the Holy Spirit through Mary’s intercession and presence in the home
Help one family at a time to learn how to pray together as family
Spark ongoing conversations to form a network of families bonded in common spiritual goals
Whether it’s a prayer for healing, a petition for guidance, or for strength in a particular situation, the visit of the Schoenstatt Pilgrim Mother will bring inner peace and consolation. The connection with other families in the circle will help you gain perspective and grow stronger in faith, and in your bond in and with Christ.
Contact 4–6 families and organize the weekly exchange of the image
The bag contains flyers, booklets, novenas, and prayer cards
The missionary family initiates the rotation, circulating the image weekly
Light a candle and place flowers by her picture if possible
Find time to pray as a family while the image is in your home
As a couple, read the provided text and share responses to the questions
At the end of your designated days, pass it to the next family
After all families receive the image, gather together to share and reflect
Circulate for a full year, then evaluate and decide together as a circle
Anytime during the rotation or at the end of the year, visit the nearest shrine — the place where the image of Mary was blessed
Additional printed resources from the Schoenstatt Movement, available to download.
Schoenstatt Pilgrim Mother for Families
A Schoenstatt outreach to families: bringing the image of the Schoenstatt Pilgrim Mother with prayers and reflections on marriage and family life, based on Father Kentenich’s wisdom for daily living.
Catechism Lessons on Mary
CALM, a catechism with lessons on Mary by Sr. M. Isabel Bracero, Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary. Nihil obstat and Imprimatur, 2026.
Faith
Begin and end with prayer. Read from Scripture, share intentions, and create a moment of silence
Formation
Read the material, discuss observations, draw comparisons between ideal and real life
Focus
Narrow ideas into a short practical resolution — a deed, a prayer, or a small sacrifice
Fellowship
Share at table, celebrate birthdays and milestones, strengthen bonds through hospitality
Family
Foster continuous contact between meetings; remain connected like a family under Mary’s mantle
Consecration
My Queen, My Mother, I give myself entirely to you, and to show my devotion to you, I consecrate to you this day my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, my entire self without reserve. As I am your own, my good Mother, guard me and defend me as your property and possession. Amen.
Confidence
I trust your might, your kindness, Mother dear, I do believe that you are always near. Schoenstatt’s great Queen, O Mother mild, I blindly trust in you and in your Child.
Divine Providence
You know the way for me, you know the time, into your hands I trustingly place mine. Your plan is perfect, born of perfect love. You know the way for me, that is enough.
Gratitude
With heartfelt love, I thank you, Mother dear, with you to guide me I need have no fear. When all around seemed dark and drear and gray, you stood as beacon for a brighter day. Thanks, a thousand thanks to you, to God shall be now and for all eternity. Amen.
International Shrine — Waukesha, WI
W284 N698 Cherry Lane, Waukesha WI 53188
(262) 522-4300
internationalschoenstattcenter.us
Founder Shrine — Madison, WI
5901 Cottage Grove Road, Madison WI 53718
(608) 222-7208
schoenstattheights@schsrsmary.org
Milwaukee Shrine
5310 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee WI 53208
(414) 774-3536
movementhouse@att.net
Cor Mariae — Crete, NE
340 State Highway 103, Crete NE 68333
(420) 826-3346
cor.mariae.crete@gmail.com
Bethlehem — Austin, TX
225 Addie Roy Rd, Austin TX 78733
(512) 330-0602
schoenstatt.us
Mount Schoenstatt — Helotes, TX
17071 Low Road, Helotes TX 78023
(210) 695-1400
Confidentia — Rockport, TX
134 Front Street, Rockport TX 78382
(361) 729-2019
Shrine of Light — Staten Island, NY
337 Cary Avenue, Staten Island NY 10310
(718) 727-8005
Schoenstatt on the Lake — Sleepy Eye, MN
27762 County Road 27, Sleepy Eye MN 56085
(507) 794-7727
Light and Way — Miami, FL
22800 SW 187th Ave, Miami FL 33170
(305) 248-4800
schoenstattmiami@gmail.com
The Covenant-Based Family Formation Program accompanies families entering the Movement through parish life, as well as families already journeying within the Schoenstatt Family Branch.
Inspired by Father Joseph Kentenich’s pedagogical vision, the formation path seeks to foster the growth of the new person in the new community through covenant spirituality, Marian pedagogy, self-education, sacramental life, and organic bonds within marriage, family life, and the parish community.
“Remember that the renewal of the world must begin in my own family, not in the family of the neighbors.”
— Father Joseph Kentenich, Last Talk, On Monday Evenings, Vol. 1
Rather than functioning as a rigid academic structure, formation unfolds as an organic path of growth. Families encounter the great currents of covenant formation — the Schoenstatt charism, the Covenant of Love, Home Shrine spirituality, Practical Faith in Divine Providence, and holiness in marriage and apostolic mission — progressively, each time with greater depth and practical application according to their concrete stage of family life:
Young Families
Building the foundations of covenant family life: strengthening the marital bond, dialogue and harmony in marriage, encounter with Mary as Mother and Educator, and a first introduction to covenant spirituality.
School-age Families
Deepening covenant culture in the active years of raising children: the Home Shrine as center of family life, education through love and witness, family prayer, and the family as domestic church.
Empty-nesters
Renewing marriage and vocation in a new stage of life: discovering the God of Life in everyday history, rereading family history in the light of faith, mature love, and accompaniment of younger generations.
Apostolic Families
Transmitting the Covenant and the charism of Father Kentenich: Marian instrumentality, mission consciousness, spiritual fatherhood and motherhood, and the family as a missionary domestic church at the service of the Church and society.
Each stage combines prayer, brief input, couples dialogue, group sharing, and concrete application in daily family life. The formation process is guided by Family Branch leaders, who accompany each group according to its stage of family life and concrete needs.
Through this journey, families are invited to grow in holiness, in covenant awareness, in Marian mission, and in the joyful vocation of becoming living domestic churches — a family of families capable of renewing the Church and society from within the home.
The first-year formation manuals for families, in the series Become What You Are. Choose the manual that fits your family and download the PDF.
Request Materials
Receive the Pilgrim Mother image, booklets, prayer cards, and formation material for your family circle
Request Now
Request a Training Session
Schedule a session for your circle of families with one of our guides at Schoenstatt Families USA
Contact Us
Schoenstatt Families USA
Pilgrim Mother Apostolate
W284 N698 Cherry Lane, Waukesha WI 53188
(262) 522-4326 ~ (262) 522-4352
schoenstatt-pilgrimmother.us
pilgrim.mta.usa@gmail.com
International Schoenstatt Center
W284 N698 Cherry Lane, Waukesha WI 53188
(262) 522-4300
internationalschoenstattcenter.us
international.schoenstattcenter@gmail.com
