CHAMPION, Wisconsin (CNS) – Bishop David L Ricken of Green Bay has approved the Marian apparitions seen by Adele Brise in 1859, making the apparitions of Mary that occurred some 18 miles northeast of Green Bay the first in the United States to receive approval of a diocesan Bishop.
Bishop Ricken made the announcement during Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help on 8 December, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. More than 250 invited guests filled the shrine chapel to hear Bishop Ricken read the official decree on the authenticity of the apparitions. He also issued a second decree, formally approving the shrine as a diocesan shrine.
On 9 January 2009, Bishop Ricken appointed three theologians to study the history of the apparitions.
“They are all theologians with a particular concentration and expertise in the theology of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” said Fr John Doerfler, vicar general and chancellor of the diocese. Fr Doerfler said two of the three are internationally recognised and they have “general experience in examining apparitions.”
Brise, a Belgian immigrant, was 28 when Mary appeared to her three times in October 1859. The first appearance took place while Brise was carrying a sack of wheat to a grist mill about four miles from Robinsonville, now known as Champion.
A few days later, on 9 October, as Brise walked to Sunday Mass in Bay Settlement, about 11 miles from her home, Mary appeared to her again. On the way home from Mass, Mary appeared to her a third time. When Brise asked who the woman was, Mary responded, “I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners and I wish you to do the same.”
She told Brise to “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. Go, and fear nothing. I will help you.”
Brise devoted the rest of her life to teaching children, travelling all over the frontier State, mainly on foot.
She began a community of Third Order Franciscan Sisters and built a chapel and school. The current chapel was dedicated in 1942 under the title of Our Lady of Good Help. Today, the shrine, which sits on six acres of farmland, receives thousands of visitors each year.
Brise died on 5 July 1896 and was buried in a small cemetery just east of the chapel.
Bishop Ricken said that Adele Brise’s own life was among the most convincing testimony to validity of the apparitions. Rather than calling attention to herself or the apparitions, she had humbly devoted the rest of her life to fulfilling the instructions she had received.
“She went all over this area and visited the homes that were scattered far and wide. She walked most of time, and she’d spend several days with the children teaching them the catechism and talking with the parents about their faith.
“She really had an evangelistic spirit and lived that out, not just immediately after the message, but her whole life long.”
Bishop Ricken said he had heard “story after story” about cures and conversions, and understands the events of 9 October 1859 were still having life-changing effects among the faithful. Like the famous French apparition site at Lourdes, the shrine at Champion has a collection of crutches that pilgrims have discarded as unnecessary after receiving healing there.
For Doerfler, rector of the shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, said there could be an even more profound connection with Lourdes.
“In Lourdes, Mary identifies herself as the Immaculate Conception, here she identifies herself as the Queen of Heaven. These two encompass all the Marian mysteries, from the beginning of her life to its culmination.
Fr Doerfler said official recognition of the apparitions affirms “the mystery of God’s providence.”
“He has had the Blessed Virgin Mary appear here. I do not know the reasons why,” he told The Compass, Green Bay diocesan newspaper. “All of this … has to do with God’s plan to bring people to salvation through His son Jesus Christ.”
Apparitions have taken place throughout history “as a sign of God’s providence, to remind us of what God has already revealed,” Fr Doerfler said.
– Additional reporting by CNA