Worshippers gather outside the Basilica and National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Hubertus, Wis., near Milwaukee following Mass in this file photo. Locally known as “Holy Hill,” the shrine is one of three Marian shrines in Wisconsin.
By Anne Marie Amacher
The Catholic Messenger
DAVENPORT — A pilgrimage to two prominent Catholic sites in Wisconsin will be led by Bishop Dennis Walsh Oct. 7-9. Catholic Radio station KTJT-LP will host the trip to Our Lady of Champion and Holy Hill.
Bishop Walsh said he was curious about both sites and noted that the only Church-approved Marian apparition in the United States is at Champion. He has been to the third Marian shrine in Wisconsin, Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, with his seminarians last year.
“The apparitions in Wisconsin are not well known,” Bishop Walsh said. He looks forward to learning more during the trip.
According to OSV News, the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians was first called “Holy Hill” or “St. Mary Hill” in the mid-1800s. In the 1860s, Francois Soubrio of Canada arrived to live as a hermit at Holy Hill. The first shrine church was dedicated in 1863. The present church was consecrated in 1931. Carmelites serve the shrine.
The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion came about after Belgian immigrant Adele Brice experienced three visions of Mary in October 1859. The first chapel was built by her father. The present chapel was built in 1940. It was designated a national shrine in 2016 and is served by the Fathers of Mercy. A cause for sainthood for Adele Brice was opened by the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, earlier this year.
KTJT committee member Jeri Vondera of Our Lady of Victory Parish in Davenport offered to ask the bishop to be their spiritual director. “We thought it would be a longshot,” said Ginger Leigh Arnold, production manager of KTJT. “It blew us away when he accepted! We couldn’t be more delighted.”
Arnold noted that Brice, who became a Franciscan nun, walked many miles each day to homes doing work in exchange for teaching children.”
“One day shy of 12 years after Mary’s appearance, the Peshtigo fire swept through,” Arnold said. That 1871 fire burned more than 1.2 million acres and is considered the deadliest wildfire on record still today. That fire did not touch the grounds of what is now the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, Arnold noted.
On this pilgrimage, Arnold said, the group will depart Davenport for Wisconsin on Wednesday. On Thursday the group will eat lunch at Holy Hill before heading to Green Bay. That day is the anniversary of the fire. “There will be a reading of the fire where those in attendance will hear an account of the Great Peshtigo Fire.” She noted that fire was the same day as the Great Chicago Fire.
Participants have the option to go on a rosary walk around the edge of the convent’s property. The flames of the Peshtigo Fire stopped at the fence line to the convent there.
Oct. 9 is the anniversary of Mary’s second and third appearances to Brice. “We will take part in a solemnity Mass with Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay presiding. The group’s final dinner will be at the historic and scenic Julien Dubuque hotel.”
“It’s going to be an amazing trip. Our guests will have the chance to immerse themselves in this amazing place, and learn about the miracles that define it,” Arnold said.
For more information, visit the KTJT Facebook page and St. CarlosCloudQC. Tickets may be purchased at https://shorturl.at/ZDOI7 or send an email to ktjt.fm@gmail.com with a phone number for a callback. Cost of the trip is $450 and includes motor coach transportation, hotel (double occupancy), eight meals (Thursday lunch is not covered), gratuities and snacks.
