"Personally, I have made it a custom to use the 18th of each month to formally renew the covenant of love with the entire family...whether I think of this world or the other world; of the militant, the suffering, or the triumphant Church. By Church, I mean the Church on a small scale, Schoenstatt. On the 18th of each month, I try to deepen within myself the communion of love with the entire Schoenstatt world and with that, the responsibility for each and everyone."

        ~Father Joseph Kentenich

• Joseph Engling
• Emilie Engel
• Gertraud von Bullion
• Franz Reinisch
• Karl Leisner
• Mario Hiriart
• John Pozzobon
• Barbara Kast
• Gilbert Schimmel

Who is Father Joseph Kentenich? Our Schoenstatt Founder, Father Kentenich, was a man deeply devoted to Mary and the Church. Love of Mary, our Mother Thrice Admirable was the core of Father Kentenich's being. Both he and our Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt were focused on the salvation of souls by guiding them to the cross and to our heavenly Father.

He was optimistic, spirit led, and a servant to all. Always searching for God's will, he understood that God's will be revealed to us throughout our lives whether that be through events, people, or even our own conscience.

He believed that doors were opened by God and we must courageously walk through those doors. His courageous spirit and his love for the Church remained strong despite having experienced two world wars, three years in the Dachau concentration camp in Germany, and exile for fourteen years by Church authorities. Through all of these adversities,  he remained steadfast in his covenant of love with the Blessed Mother. In 1965, Father Kentenich was called to Rome and his exile was ended. He returned to Schoenstatt and once again assumed direction of his movement.

This picture sums up who Father Kentenich was. He was simple, prayerful , down-to-earth and contemplative. He was outwardly a servant to all and a quiet ponderer who waited for others to choose their own path.

Father Kentenich believed in a covenant of love with Mary that was mutually binding and relished in the community that Schoenstatt offered. All people were accepted, no one way seemed to be completely Schoenstatt in nature. Father would often close talks by saying, "Whether they fit or not, they always fit." Father Kentenich waited for others to discover their own God-willed identity and destiny. He encouraged other by standing by them in their struggles, encouraging the development of their own God-given gifts and above all praying for and blessing them. 


Want to learn more about Father Kentenich? Click below: 
https://www.theschoenstattcloud.com/kentenich/father-joseph-kentenich