On October 18, 2017, the Mater Ter Admirabilis School of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary in Buenos Aires celebrated its 40th jubilee. The whole school year was already marked by a festive atmosphere. But the highpoints were the festive celebrations in October: On October 18, a festive holy Mass of gratitude took place, and on October 21, students, parents, teachers, alumni, and friends of the school met as “Familia Mater” (Family of the MTA) for a celebration with cultural contributions and a common evening meal.
Preparing Hearts
In the months before the great celebration, an art project called “Los Rincones del Mater” (MTA School Corners) took place in the school. All the classes, from the two-year-olds up to the oldest high school students, created artistic works about a typical “corner” of our school, for example, the wayside shrine in the school courtyard, the playing fields, the chapel, or the dining hall. So each corner of the school got an artistic garment in preparation for the solemn festivities, and in this way not only were the actual places ready for October 18, but the school and its students had also grown more closely together.
The first-year high school students presented a project about the history of the school that they had prepared through month-long studies and research with their teacher. Through this look into the past, one could clearly discover the guidance of God, who through valuable instruments has allowed our ideal to become reality: “As ‘Family of the MTA,’ strengthening source of new personalities for the world, homewards to God the Father.” Gratefully we can say that the school is the fruit of what many of these personalities have sown in silence, with strength and a spirit of sacrifice, in all these 40 years.
The “Family of the MTA” celebrates …
On October 18, after holy Mass, the fifth-year students of the high school left behind in a time capsule a message for the second-grade students. These students will graduate in 2027, the year of the golden jubilee of the school. With this they expressed their sense of responsibility and their duty for the future generations.
On Saturday, October 21, a music piece was offered that had been composed for the occasion of the 100th birthday of our father and founder. More than 1,000 spectators attended the three performances that day. It became clear how much the life of Father Kentenich is connected to the history of the school. He was the one, in the years between 1948-1952, who made the sisters in Argentina aware of the need to have a school in this big city: The school grew out of his longing.
New School Motto: To Be Seed for the Future
All the preparations and also the celebration itself were marked by a good cooperation between teachers, sisters, students, parents, and alumni. It is a great joy to see how the pedagogy of Father Kentenich marks the life of the school and that the seed of the many Sisters of Mary who have worked in the school administration or as teachers has borne fruit. This is also the meaning of this year’s school motto: “In your footsteps, we decide today to be seed for the future.