About Schoenstatt Communicators and Digital Missionaries – EN
About Schoenstatt Communicators and Digital Missionaries July 8, 2025 This text can only be accessed through the corresponding link.ES – PT – DE Dear Fr. Alexandre,President of the General Presidium of Schoenstatt, Dear Sr. M. Cacilda and Fr. Arkadiusz,International Coordinators of the Movement, Dear Sr. M. Kathia and Fr. Felipe,Continental Coordinators for the Americas, I would like to briefly share with you the progress that Schoenstatt Communicators have made recently, as well as our perspective on how this small free community within the Movement can both receive from and contribute to the broader Family. We are well aware of the importance of staying connected — this significantly amplifies our strength. Therefore, I’ll keep this message as concise and clear as possible. A Brief History We have records of sporadic gatherings of communicators since 1994, organized by both official and free communities. Here we list those we are aware of:👉 https://www.schcom.org/meetings-encuentros-encontros-treffen/ In the 10 meetings we organized in Argentina, about 80% of the participants came from broader Church communication backgrounds, with 20% being Schoenstatt members. In November 2012, Schoenstatt Communicators hosted an international congress in Nuevo Schoenstatt, Florencio Varela, with around 120 participants from 15 countries, including the 2014 International Communication Team. In that instance, most participants were Schoenstatt members:👉https://www.schcom.org/congress1-details/ Attentive to God’s Signs We have always tried to discern God’s signs. While occasional meetings have continued, we had not seen a clear sign to organize another international gathering — until recently. We believe that doing something good is not enough; we must be convinced that it is God’s will. In 2024, unexpected, simple signs came together, suggesting—upon deeper discernment—that God was inviting us to “do something.” Brief Background Dicastery: Monsignor Lucio Ruiz From the Dicastery for Communication, Msgr. Lucio Ruiz — its secretary — has transformed Church communication, emphasizing the mission of the digital evangelizer. He gathered thousands of digital missionaries at WYD in Lisbon and is responsible for a Dicastery document on the digital mission:👉 https://www.schcom.org/towards-full-presence/ …which he also introduced in the Synod on Synodality. Please don’t miss this song, which conveys more than words can explain: 🎵 Important distinction between digitization of evangelization vs. digital evangelization Digitization of Evangelization refers to transferring traditional methods of evangelization into digital formats, without truly changing the underlying logic. It’s about digitizing what was already being done — but without necessarily adapting the approach to the digital world. Digital Evangelization means using digital media as natural spaces to proclaim the Gospel. It involves entering the digital world — social media, podcasts, YouTube, blogs, apps, etc. — with a missionary mindset, adapting the message without losing its essence. Example: A Catholic influencer sharing their testimony on Instagram, or a priest answering questions about the faith on TikTok, using the visual and emotional language native to those platforms. In summary: Digital Evangelization is not just about “being on social media” — it’s about living as digital disciples, listening, speaking the digital language, and building authentic bridges to announce the Good News. Rome, Lisbon, Argentina, Germany This vision deeply resonated with many digital missionaries of the Church in Argentina, including Francisco Sosa, a member of our community of Schoenstatt Communicators. Developments from the Dicastery, the global response, and the interest of Agathe Hug and Sr. Francine-Marie from Germany, moved us to reflect on how we — as communicators — could respond. What could we do? A national meeting in Argentina? An international gathering? Moved by these signs, we envisioned a national meeting for communicators and digital missionaries at Nuevo Schoenstatt, Argentina, open to the whole country, and possibly, an international gathering in 2026 for Schoenstatt communicators/digital missionaries, somewhere in Latin America. Steps Taken Briefly: – We updated our website: schcom.org, which is dedicated (with few exceptions) to topics surrounding communication and the communicator’s mission in both the Church and Schoenstatt. – I participated in a Diploma Program for Digital Missionaries organized by the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), which received strong support from Fr. Lucio. This experience greatly deepened my interest in the digital mission. It marked a turning point for me. – Martín (my son), Sr. Francine-Marie, and I participated in the 2025 Jubilee of the World of Communication in Rome. – The three of us met with Fr. Lucio for 45 minutes in his office, where he showed great interest in our progress. Upon learning that Sr. Francine-Marie lives in Germany, he expressed a desire to ‘venture into’ the mission in that country, hoping that Schoenstatt could collaborate in this effort. – Martín and I met in Rome with Fr. Alexandre, who showed great interest in and support for this mission. – We then flew to Schoenstatt. There, on January 28, 2025, Martín met with Sr. M. Joanna and Sr. Andra-Maria to share about this current and mission, as we are always interested in working together with moderators — in this case, with the Sisters of Mary — and being integrated with the official community. In this one-hour meeting, they shared about the importance of the digital mission for both the Church and for Schoenstatt. Both sisters also expressed great interest. – After Martín returned to the university, I met on February 1st with Sr. M. Cacilda and Fr. Arkadiusz and presented the idea we had of organizing a gathering of communicators in Argentina, for Argentina, and an international gathering of Schoenstatt communicators in 2026. Conclusions regarding a potential international gathering in relation to the official community At the mentioned meeting, Fr. Arkadiusz suggested that instead of holding an international meeting as early as 2026, it would be better to first move forward with virtual forums, in order to foster a spirit that could eventually lead to an international gathering — with the idea of progressing organically. Sr. M. Cacilda and I both agreed that this was a good idea. The international coordinators suggested that the national directors take up this topic in their meetings in Santa Maria in September 2025, within the context of the international gathering for the 75th