MADISON — St. Ambrose Academy, which this year celebrates the 20th anniversary of its founding, cherishes a deep devotion to Our Lady of Champion, who on October 9, 1859, appeared to a young Belgian immigrant, Adele Brise, right here in Wisconsin.
Through the efforts of Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay, Rome approved October 9 as a high holy day of solemnity celebrating the apparition under the title of “Our Lady of Champion” (formerly Our Lady of Good Help).
It was with great joy that the student body, teachers, alumni, parents, and benefactors gathered at Holy Name Heights in Madison on October 9 this year to celebrate this first Solemnity of Our Lady of Champion with the holy sacrifice of the Mass.
Fr. Jared Holzhuter, the Academy’s chaplain, encouraged those gathered always to remember that Our Lady points us to Jesus, who is our joy.
When we find ourselves without clarity, or we struggle to find joy in our lives, Our Lady will always help us and point us toward Jesus to restore us. Jesus is the center of the Academy’s apostolate.
Indeed, our motto is Omnia Christus est nobis: Christ is everything for us.
Message and mission
Our affection for Our Lady of Champion arises from her call to Adele Brise in the wilderness of Wisconsin: “Go into the wilderness, gather the children, and teach them what they need to know for their salvation.”
This is exactly what we have striven to do for the last 20 years.
Many are familiar with the story: A young Belgian immigrant with a desire to enter Religious Life and work in foreign missions instead finds herself in the wilderness of the Bay Settlement region in Door County in the mid-1800s with her family.
Despite the influence of the area’s Holy Cross mission, life was difficult in the territory.
One early missionary priest in Bay Settlement wrote, “There is much to lose for the Catholic emigrant . . . how many are there through poverty and often through indifference settle far from church. They end up by neglecting their duties of religion and live as unbelievers. The children are not instructed and grow up without knowing God.”
The physical wilderness and hardships that Adele and her contemporaries endured — such as her 11-mile one-way walk to Mass rain or shine – are not the experience of the average Catholic today.
Yet, those who follow Catholic news, the pulse of the Church in the modern world, and even our diocese’s own Into the Deep initiative, are well aware of the need for greater interior conversion to Christ, formation of Christian disciples, and a renewal of the Christian witness in the world.
During one of Our Lady’s visits, Adele responded to her, weeping, “What more can I do, dear Lady?”
Her response mirrors the call felt by the founding families of St. Ambrose Academy and the impetus still driving the school today.
Answering at home
Joan Carey, executive director and one of the founders of the Academy, has a longstanding and deep devotion to Our Lady in the apparitions at Champion.
Growing up in northern Wisconsin, she heard stories from older family members about the devastating Peshtigo Fire and the miraculous intercession of Our Lady.
The stories of Adele inspired Carey and others. Adele, having traveled up to 50 miles going from house to house and offering unsolicited help in the household, only asked in return that she be permitted to give instruction to the children.
She gave all she had, eventually building a school and a convent with the help of others, where students could receive a Catholic education.
The founders of St. Ambrose Academy likewise began instructing merely a dozen students in 2003, a mission that has expanded to nearly 200 students today, steadily growing each year.
Families come from near and far, with some traveling up to 50 miles to seek this education.
Adele’s boldness and perseverance to ensure that children would be taught what they needed to know for their salvation is a daily inspiration to the school community.
“Our Lady was our Savior Jesus Christ’s first teacher,” Carey said.
“Who could know more than she about the importance of forming children in the Faith? In appearing to Adele on Wisconsin soil, it’s as if Our Lady drew back a bow and shot an arrow through time to pierce our hearts here in the Diocese of Madison as well 150 years later. Our Lady knows the challenges we face, and in her daughter Adele we see a model of perseverance and fortitude in carrying out our crucial task of Catholic education,” Carey added.
It is through the grace of God and the support of committed families, alumni, and benefactors that this mission of Catholic classical education can assist parents with the noble task of raising up young men and women to be disciples of Jesus, pointing those they encounter in the wilderness of the modern era to Christ.
Thank you to all who generously financially support and pray for the mission of St. Ambrose Academy, true partners in answering Our Lady’s call these last 20 years.
The grave need for religious education in the American wilderness was sufficient cause then for the bestowal of divine favor, and the message is just as relevant today.
May the intercession of Our Lady of Champion continue to guide St. Ambrose Academy, the Diocese of Madison, and Christian communities across the state of Wisconsin more powerfully each day. Our Lady of Champion, pray for us!
For more information about St. Ambrose Academy, visit ambroseacademy.org