The Story of Our Lady of Champion
Our Lady of Champion, also known as Our Lady of Good Help, is the only approved Marian apparition site in the United States. The name “Champion” refers to the location of the apparition: Champion, Wis.
The shring to Our Lady of Champion is now a popular pilgrimage site hosting around 200,000 visitors every year.
Our Lady of Champion’s Feast Day is October 9 and her story can inspire your prayer life.
Our Lady of Champion Apparition and Adele Brise
In October 1859, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared several times to a young Belgian immigrant named Adele Brise. While walking through the woods to a mill, Adele saw a lady dressed in dazzling white standing between two trees.
After seeking guidance from her parish priest, Adele returned to the spot where Mary appeared to her again, introducing herself saying “I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same.”
Mary gave Adele a mission: “Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation.”
This simple request to catechize the local children became Adele’s lifelong mission. She “began a door-to-door ministry, eventually founding a community of laywomen known as the Sisters of Good Help.” She traveled up to 25 miles a day and eventually led the construction of a school house for children.
In 1871, a Peshtigo Fire, the most devastating forest fire in American history, raged throughout Wisconsin and threatened the chapel that marked the spot of Mary’s apparition. Adele stayed in the chapel praying the rosary throught the night with some of the locals. The next morning, on Oct. 9, the anniversary of Mary’s apparition, the fire was extinguished.
Adele, who wore a habit and lived as a nun but never formally professed vows, continued her mission until her death in 1896. In 2024, the U.S. Bishops advanced the cause of her beatification and canonization at the diocesan level.
Our Lady of Champion – an Inspiration
Our Lady of Champion reminds us of an essential element of our faith: she continues to intercede for us and guide us toward her Son.
The simplicity of her message to Adele–to teach children about Jesus–resonates today and reminds us of our call to be catechists and to model to, and share our faith with, children.
When we feel overwhelmed by life’s challenges, we can find comfort in knowing that the same Blessed Mother who appeared in those Wisconsin woods continues to walk with us today.
She remains an intercessor particularly close to those battling wildfires that have all too commonly raged in the United States.
Our Lady of Champion was the official patroness of one pilgrimage route heading to the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress, meaning that many Americans learned more about the Marian apparition that, while not as famous as Guadalupe or Fatima, took place in their own backyard.
The first major painting was commissioned for the occasion, and its beauty will no doubt inspire the prayer lives of many othere:
Is it done? Can't seem to stop tweaking little details of Our Lady of Champion. pic.twitter.com/KSy3btjDsx
— Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs (@GTBsacredart) May 2, 2024
Prayer to Our Lady of Champion
The Most Reverend David L. Ricken, Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, has offered this prayer to our Lady of Champion:
O Dear Lady of Champion, you revealed yourself as the Queen of Heaven to your servant Adele. You gave her a mission to pray for the conversion of sinners, to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to others and to prepare the children for the reception of the sacraments.
I trust that as you called Adele to holiness, you are calling me, in my station in life, to live a holy life, devoted to Jesus Christ with the help of your maternal love.
I bring before you now my worries and anxieties. I abandon my attachments to them and place them at your feet. I ask you to hear the deepest longings of my heart as I pray most earnestly for: (your intention).
Dear Lady, you told Adele and you say to all of us “Do not be afraid; I will help you.” Help me now as I place this intention with complete confidence and trust.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
Our Lady of Champion, pray for us.
Our Lady of Champion Feast Day
The feast of Our Lady of Champion is celebrated on October 9, two days after the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
In the Diocese of Green Bay, where Our Lady of Champion is located, elevated the day to a solemnity for the National Shrine.
At the shrine on the feast day, Masses are celebrated, rosaries are prayed, confession, benediction and adoration throughout the day.
Our Lady of Champion in Your Daily Life
You don’t need to make a pilgrimage to Wisconsin to develop a meaningful connection to Our Lady of Champion. Here are some simple ways to incorporate this beautiful devotion into your daily prayer life:
- Daily Consecration: Begin each day by entrusting yourself to Mary’s maternal protection, just as those who sought refuge at the shrine during the fire.
- Pray the Rosary: The rosary is a powerful way to meditate on the life of Christ with Mary as our guide. Even a decade a day can transform your prayer life.
- Learn and Teach: Consider volunteering as a catechist at your church, or simply commit to learning more about your faith in order to share with others.
- Adele Brice: Learn more about Adele Brice and her cause for sainthood.
Common Questions About Our Lady of Champion
Yes! Our Lady of Champion is less commonly known as Our Lady of Good Help.
Yes. In 2010, Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay declared the apparitions “worth of belief.” “The apparitions and message here in Champion were very easy to evaluate,” he later said. “It was not difficult to ascertain the soundness of doctrine of Mary’s apparition here.”
The miracle of of the chapel being perserved during the Great Peshtigo Fire is most commonly associated with Our Lady of Champion.
The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion is located in Champion, Wisconsin, outside of the city of Green Bay.