CHAMPION, Wis. — The Sisters at Valley of Our Lady Monastery invite you to participate in a pilgrimage to the first and only Marian apparition site with ecclesiastical approval in the United States: The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wis.
It is here that the Mother of Our Lord appeared and spoke to a young immigrant girl with the words, “Go and fear nothing. I will help you.”
Taking these words to heart, pilgrims will join together in asking Our Blessed Mother to intercede on behalf of the Sisters in order to help them reach their campaign goal and complete their new monastery as quickly as possible, according to God’s plan.
The pilgrimage is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 21.
Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison will accompany a group of Sisters and pilgrims and celebrate Mass at the shrine at 11 a.m.
The Sisters’ progress on their campaign so far could be considered nothing short of miraculous.
Despite their relative obscurity, and amid an unprecedented global pandemic, the Sisters have courageously persevered and have raised over $15 million towards their goal of $18.5 million for a much-needed new home.
While the end of the campaign is in sight, the project still faces many challenges, including that of COVID-driven inflation.
Meanwhile, the urgency surrounding the Sisters’ need to move has not diminished.
Never intended to be a permanent monastery and showing the inevitable effects of time and the elements, the Sisters’ current facilities are not just worn out and ill-suited to their monastic life – they are increasingly unsafe and unhealthy.
“Gather the children in this wild country . . .”
Young Adele Brise and her family immigrated to Wisconsin from Belgium in 1855 and settled just northeast of Green Bay.
Times were hard, and like other immigrant families seeking greater freedom and a better life in this land of opportunity, Adele’s family did what it needed to do to survive.
One of Adele’s chores was carrying grain to a local grist mill. In October of 1859, the path to the mill provided the backdrop for a series of apparitions of Mary, culminating in a special mission for young Adele delivered by Our Blessed Mother on October 9.
“I am the Queen of Heaven,” she began. “Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation . . . Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing. I will help you.”
Despite many trials and tribulations, Adele did as Our Lady of Good Help instructed her to do until the end of her life. To commemorate the apparition events, a small chapel was constructed near the site and, not long after, a school.
The current chapel is the fourth apparition chapel built there; it is believed that Mary appeared somewhere near the chapel sanctuary and a downstairs oratory.
Miracles and an affirming decree
Many miraculous events have been associated with the chapel and grounds over the years. Perhaps the most widely known involves the horrific Peshtigo Fire of October 1871.
It was then, on the night of October 8, that local residents fled the growing inferno to the protection of the chapel and prayed with Sister Adele and her community to Our Lady of Good Help that they be spared from the flames.
Their prayers were answered the morning of October 9 — the anniversary of Mother Mary’s message — in the form of a downpour that extinguished the fire and preserved the chapel and grounds while all the surrounding buildings and forests were reduced to ashes.
It was this extraordinary event, among others, that helped lead Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay, to open a formal investigation which resulted in his 2010 declaration that the Marian apparitions had been given official Church approval.
For more information on the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, visit www.championshrine.org
Limited coach transportation from the Madison area for the pilgrimage is being planned. Pilgrims are also welcome to use their own transportation.
To sign up for the coach or for pilgrimage itinerary information, contact Sister Bede at [email protected] or 608-643-3520, ext. 7.
RSVP by Friday, July 30.
We look forward to welcoming many pilgrims on this special journey.