The Catholic Defender: Our Lady of Champion, Our Lady's apparition in the United States

The only apparition approved by the Church in the United States took place in Wisconsin in the 19th century. Since then, many faithful come to the Champion area to receive the graces of the Virgin Mary. In the middle of the 19th century, the Virgin Mary appeared to a Belgian immigrant named Adele Brise.

In the middle of the 19th century, the Virgin Mary appeared to a Belgian immigrant named Adele Brise. At that time, the story of Our Lady of Champion began to unfold. Adele had moved to United States with her parents and had wanted to dedicate herself to the education of children for years.

One day while walking she met a woman dressed in white. During this encounter no words were exchanged, but Adele was frightened. After talking to her parents, she came to the conclusion that a soul in pain had appeared to her.

A few days later, on her way to Mass with her sister and a friend, she saw the apparition again. Her companions did not perceive anything and Adele consulted with a priest, trying to understand what was happening. The priest suggested that she try to talk to the woman if she saw her again.

After the celebration of Mass, Adele met the apparition again. Following the priest's advice, Adele asked, "In the name of God, who are you and what do you desire of me?" The woman dressed in white replied, "I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I desire that you do the same." In addition, she gave the visionary another mission: "Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they must know to be saved".

Adele Brise obeyed the Virgin Mary and fulfilled her commission. She dedicated the rest of her life to the education of the little ones. At first, she traveled on foot through the villages and offered to educate the children of the people who lived in the territory. Later, together with other women, she opened a school. She also formed a community of the Third Order of St. Francis, although she never took vows as a nun.

Adele died on July 5, 1986. Devotion to the Virgin Mary spread and the visionary's father built the first shrine. The current building was erected in 1942 and the U.S. bishops' conference named it a national shrine on August 15, 2016.

Mass is celebrated by the Bishop of the Green Bay Diocese - where the Shrine is located. The current Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, Bishop David L. Ricken, is the one who approved the Apparitions as “Worthy of Belief” by the authority of the Catholic Church.