At the end of the month of May – the month of Mary – some of our sisters set out on an apostolic adventure!
Every year, a group of sisters makes a foot pilgrimage from the Schoenstatt Shrine in Waukesha, WI to the one in Milwaukee, WI. The 20-mile walk usually takes them about 8 hours.
The main intention of the pilgrimage is: Vocations!
As they walk, they pray the rosary, greet those whom they encounter, and offer the sacrifices that come with such a long walk so that many young hearts may be open to God’s plan for their lives. They pray especially for those being called to our Sisters’ Family – that our Mother Thrice Admirable may help them in their discernment and give them the graces they need to answer God’s call.
The tradition of making this “Walk for Vocations” was started by one of our German missionary sisters, who in 1982 set out to walk from the shrine in Milwaukee to the shrine in Waukesha, all by herself. She wasn’t sure how long it would take, or what she would encounter throughout her journey. In fact, she wasn’t even sure she would make it. But her mission zeal urged her to keep going and offer the pilgrimage for many and good vocations. She made it! And since then, the pilgrimage has taken place almost every year.
Only from heaven will we see how many of us owe the grace of our vocation to the prayers and sacrifices offered by our sisters throughout the years for this intention – especially during the “Walk for Vocations”.
