Father Mark Niehaus’ devotion to the Blessed Mother began in his childhood home in Ivanhoe, in southwestern Minnesota.
“A corner of our home was blessed as a Schoenstatt shrine — that’s the place where our family did morning prayer together, where we had our Advent wreath, and where we went to pray when we faced issues and challenges,” said Father Niehaus, 51.
Schoenstatt shrines to Mary are part of a Catholic Marian movement founded in Germany in 1914 by Father Joseph Kentenich. Fast forward to 2008, when Father Niehaus, now a young priest of the Schoenstatt Fathers, was sent to Santiago, Chile.
“I went to a parish of 40,000 Catholics in a lower middle-class neighborhood; hardly any of those went to church regularly,” he said. “I was fluent in Spanish but had a terrible accent, and it took a while before they got used to the tall blond guy walking through their neighborhood.”
“I learned a lot during my time in Chile, particularly that Latin Americans love the Blessed Mother so easily,” said Father Niehaus. “Especially in celebration of the Eucharist — they just bring her in.”
The United States delegation of the Schoenstatt Fathers was established in 1965 in Milwaukee, where Father Neihaus currently works with fathers and sons, married couples and high school students at Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha. His exposure to the order started early: he was born at Schoenstatt Sisters Hospital in Ivanhoe and his mother was part of a Schoenstatt mothers’ group.
“It became a little more intense as the family business, with my oldest brother studying to become a Schoenstatt father and my sister becoming a Schoenstatt sister,” he said. (Father Niehaus also has a brother serving in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis: Father Tom Niehaus, pastor of Most Holy Redeemer in Montgomery.)
After high school, Father Niehaus spent two years at Mankato State University in Mankato, followed by two years at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as he was discerning whether to join the Schoenstatt Fathers community.
“We work on deepening people’s experience of the Catholic faith, using Mary and shrines to learn how close God can be in our everyday lives,” Father Niehaus said. “That strong devotion to the Blessed Mother was attractive to me, and I also value that it’s such an international community; it’s been a real gift to know men from India, Africa, Europe and Latin America.”
During his three years in Santiago, Father Niehaus worked with youth in a three-year confirmation program that included a number of retreats and mission work throughout Chile.
“It was a beautiful program — we had close to 80 boys and girls participating,” he said. “I tried to help them think for themselves and decide for themselves to be confirmed.”
Father Niehaus recalled a unique experience surrounding the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a religious and national holiday celebrated in Chile on July 16.
“I had a large group of college men who wanted to get together on that day, but only three showed up,” he said. “July in Chile is cold and rainy … yet that faith experience with the three participants was so beautiful as we allowed the Lord to work through us. You never know — numbers aren’t always important.”
Father Niehaus also remembered a powerful moment in 2010, when he felt an 8.8 earthquake for three and a half minutes.
“Our belfry was heavily damaged, and I became much more aware of the possibility of tremors, feeling nervous every time a bus drove by and shook the ground,” he said. “It made me appreciate blizzards.”
After the international experience in Chile, going back to the United States gave Father Niehaus a unique perspective on things. “For example, the challenges we can have with liturgy . . . people thinking we should do it this way or that way … I’m just glad the lights work and there’s not a stray animal wandering around,” he said.
“I also liked that three-year dynamic of working with youth, giving more time to observe God — that was good, so we’re doing a six- to nine-month project here with our youth,” Father Niehaus said. “Having worked in a parish there helps me work better in one here.”
“Also, understanding my own faith life helps me share it with others, and that all came out of my experience at my childhood home, as the Blessed Mother helped me to be ready to go out the door and try to help others,” he said.
