Bishop Thomas John Paprocki | Diocese of Springfield

Amidst the countryside and quiet farmland of Champion, Wisconsin, lies a unique and spiritually significant place in American Catholic history: the site of the only approved Marian apparition in the United States. The story of Our Lady of Champion begins with Adele Brise, a humble Belgian immigrant born in 1831 in Dion-le-Val, Belgium. Adele emigrated with her family to the United States in the early 1850s, settling in Wisconsin's largest Belgian settlement.

Despite being scarred and blind in one eye due to a childhood accident and receiving poor education, Adele maintained deep faith and a close relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Before moving to the United States, she promised to serve Mary and her Son alongside religious sisters near her hometown. This hope seemed lost when her family relocated to Wisconsin.

Life was challenging for Adele and her family during their initial years in Wisconsin. They struggled with food scarcity and harsh winters but persevered through these hardships. Adele contributed by performing household tasks such as carrying wheat to local grist mills.

In fall 1859, while walking along a wooded path, Adele saw the Blessed Virgin Mary for the first time. She described seeing a woman clothed in dazzling white between two trees, surrounded by brilliant light with twelve stars around her head. The woman said nothing during this encounter.

On October 9, 1859, while walking to Mass with companions, Adele saw the mysterious woman again at the same spot but remained silent about it until after Mass when she consulted her priest. He advised her to ask specific questions if she saw the woman again.

Later that day on her way home from church, Adele encountered the Virgin Mary for the third time. Falling to her knees, she asked: “In God’s name, who are you, and what do you want of me?” The woman introduced herself as the “Queen of Heaven” and delivered a message that shaped Adele’s mission for life: catechesis.

The Virgin Mary's directive led Adele to devote herself to religious education, prayer, and establishing a school for children locally. Her messages emphasized faith's importance, prayer's significance, and soul salvation—values still relevant today.

In 2010, the Catholic Church approved these apparitions as worthy of belief but not obligatory.

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion preserves this sacred ground where Our Lady appeared. It continues promoting Mary's message given to Adele while welcoming pilgrims seeking peaceful encounters with Jesus through Mary. A brick chapel stands on where Adele met Mary; tens of thousands visit annually seeking intercession from Our Lady or experiencing spiritual renewal at this site where miracles like surviving fires have occurred historically.

Father Joseph Aytona CPM states: “Pilgrimages...are testament[s] [to] enduring impact[s] [of] Mary’s invitation into deeper intimacy [with] Jesus Christ...True devotion [to] Mary always leads us closer [to] Jesus.”

Each year thousands visit seeking spiritual renewal via Mass attendance or personal reflection/prayer experiences often leaving profoundly transformed feeling peace/clarity/renewed faith exemplified by visitors like Andrea who shared: "A sense [of] peace fills me every time I come here."

The story stands uniquely sacred among U.S faithful showing how Our Lady appeared here delivering messages not just meant solely for individuals like Adelle but universally applicable reminding all they too can experience heavenly peace visiting such sites praying together saying “Our Lady Of Champion pray For Us”.

Chelsey Hare is director communications National Shrine Of Our Lady Of Champion

Open daily year-round (7 AM–7 PM), located at 4047 Chapel Drive New Franken WI offering sacraments/prayer opportunities including annual Solemnity Mass held October ninth weekend events deepening devotion available leading up October seventh/eighth further information online