The great state of Wisconsin is well known for its dairy farms (and especially its cheese!). Less well known is that the Badger State also makes for a fantastic pilgrimage destination, anchored around three unique Marian shrines spread across the state, as well as some intriguing Catholic destinations in the heart of Milwaukee.
“Cream City,” also known as Milwaukee, is a classic Mid-Western city. Set on the tranquil shores of Lake Michigan, this is one of the most fun cities to explore in America. It has a rich old world heritage, shaped by the waves of Italian, Irish and especially German immigrants who settled it in the nineteenth century.
Milwaukee has a lovely riverfront and lake front with a mix of old heritage and futuristic buildings. The city is best known for its ties to the beer industry, as this is where the two German brewmasters of the nineteenth century – the Miller and Pabst families – chose to set up their operations. Indeed, one of the most popular attractions visiting the city remains taking one of several brewery tours and exploring the old Pabst Mansion.
Milwaukee is also renowned for its festivals and Old World traditions. In fact, almost every week in the summer is dedicated to a different cultural festival, from Mexican Fest to ItalaFest and north America’s largest German festival annually at the end of July. Milwaukee’s SummerFest is the largest outdoor annual music festival in the country. The city’s food scene is also impressive, from the local treats like Frozen Custard and German style sausages and pretzels, to regular Friday fish fries, drawing on that oft forgotten Catholic tradition.
Downtown Milwaukee – St. Joan of Arc Chapel
In the heart of downtown Milwaukee is the campus of Marquette University. The Jesuit-run University is named after the famous Pere Marquette, the Catholic priest and explorer credited with discovering Chicago and the neighboring regions in Wisconsin. At the heart of the campus is a fifteenth century chapel: the St. Joan of Arc chapel. It is one of the oldest structures in the western hemisphere still being used for its original purpose and is open to the public for daily noon Mass.
The chapel was built around 1450 in the Rhone Valley of France and eventually fell into disrepair. The daughter of an American railroad magnate came across the chapel in the 1920s and had it dismantled and shipped to Long Island from France, where it was faithfully reconstructed. Inside the chapel is the stone upon which it is believed that St. Joan of Arc prayed (and kissed the stone) before leading her troops into battle in the Hundred Years War. According to tradition, the stone cooled significantly after St. Joan of Arc kissed it and to this day, the stone feels a few degrees cooler compared to the other stones that surround it. The chapel was moved in the 1960s from Long Island to the Marquette campus, where it has stood ever since.
In downtown Milwaukee, the main attractions are the lakefront Discovery World and Milwaukee Art Museum, as well as the lakefront festival park where most of the cultural events over the summer months occur. Discovery World is a combination interactive science center and aquarium. The Museum is a brand new futuristic building right on the lakefront, designed to resemble a bird taking flight from the water. Its roof actually contracts daily to resemble a bird’s wings taking flight. The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, the historic seat of the Archbishop of Milwaukee is located nearby, with its shrines dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. John XXIII. In the immediate vicinity is the Betty Brin Children’s Museum and the world’s only Harley Davidson museum, with its extensive collection of this iconic American motorcycle.
The Riverwalk along the Milwaukee River is always lively and a great spot along that walk is the historic Third Ward, an old warehouse district transformed into trendy shops and restaurants. At the heart of the Third Ward is the Milwaukee Public Market, lined with craft coffee shops, fresh fish, and any food stall you can imagine. Just beyond the Milwaukee River is the Pabst Mansion, the historic home of the Pabst brewing family and the Milwaukee Public Museum, a fascinating natural history museum that also includes some re-creations of old Milwaukee in the nineteenth century.
Basilica of St. Josephat
Off of the Interstate in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee stands the Basilica of St. Josephat, named after an eighteenth century Polish archbishop. Built by the Polish immigrant community in the last decade of the nineteenth century, the church was one of the first basilicas so-designated in the United States. Interestingly, it was built out of the remains of an old U.S. Post Office and Customs House that had been dismantled in Chicago and transported north. Its rich and gilded interior contains a number of awe-inspiring paintings of the lives of various saints – from St. Francis of Assisi to St. Mary Margaret Alacoque – and its massive dome was once the second largest in the country, after that of the US Capitol.
Day trips from Milwaukee
Wisconsin is rich in Catholic heritage and there are three particularly important Marian shrines within an easy day trip from Milwaukee.
Hubertis – Basilica and National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians
The Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians is located a short 30 minute drive north of Milwaukee, off of Interstate 41, situated on 435 acres atop a beautiful hill known as “Holy Hill.” The shrine attracts over half a million pilgrims annually and evokes memories of the hilltop churches that dot much of Italy. Perhaps it is no coincide that Pope Leo XIII granted “Portiuncula” privilege in 1903 to pilgrims visiting Holy Hill; the same privilege afforded to those who visit the home of St. Francis in Assisi. Since 1906, the Shrine has been staffed by Carmelites from Bavaria, who continue to call it home.
The neo-Romanesque basilica is a lovely spot to attend Mass. To the right of the sanctuary is the Shrine Chapel – the principal destination for pilgrims to the shrine. It is here that the gold leaf statue of Our Lady of Holy Hill is enshrined. The entrance to the chapel is lined with ex votives – crutches and other mementos – of pilgrims healed through the intercession of Our Lady. The statue itself is a unique depiction of a youthful Mary offering the Child Jesus to those kneeling before her. It was displayed at the World Fair in Philadelphia in 1876 and two years later, was carried in procession by eighteen young barefoot women and men on horseback to the top of Holy Hill.
National Shrine of St. Joseph – de Pere
The National Shrine of St. Joseph is located next door to Old St. Joseph Church on the campus of St. Norbert College. The shrine is operated by the medieval white-clad Norbertine Order which first came to America from Europe and settled in De Pere in the late nineteenth century to minister to Belgian immigrants.
French Canadians who arrived in this region to work in its lumber mills in the nineteenth century brought with them a strong devotion to St. Joseph, the patron saint of Canada. In 1870, a parish dedicated to St. Joseph was established on this site, and it was decreed a shrine in 1892 by Pope St. Leo XIII. In 1888, the parish priest initiated a novena to St. Joseph that has occurred weekly without interruption ever since. The shrine is centered around a historic statue of St. Joseph that was solemnly crowned by the Bishop of Green Bay in 1892, as well as a piece cloak believed to be that of Joseph.
De Pere is minutes away from Green Bay, the home of one of the most storied teams in football history: the Green Bay Packers. The team is forever associated with its legendary coach, Vince Lombardi, who was a very devout Catholic, and would often slip into daily mass at St. Willebrord Church (which happens to be on the Green Bay Packers Heritage trail). The Packers also had a special connection with St. Norbert College, which has hosted the Packers’ training camp for more than sixty years.
Aside from taking time to tour the Packers’ museum and hall of fame and taking in a game at Lambeau Field, be sure to visit the St. Francis Xavier Cathedral. The Cathedral, modelled in the Bavarian style, was built in the late nineteenth century and was financed, in part by the King of Bavaria. The Cathedral’s altar contains a special relic of Francis Xavier, and the Diocese of Green Bay Museum, which has exhibits on every bishop of Green Bay. One other unique attraction is the National Railroad Museum, one of the largest rail museums in America.
National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel – Champion
About two hours north of Milwaukee, and sixteen miles northwest from Green Bay, is the rural town of Champion where a first in American history occurred: Our Lady appeared to Sister Adele Brise in 1859. The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help is now built over that site.
Our Lady’s timing seemed impeccable. Just as when she revealed herself as Our Lady of Guadalupe to the newly arrived Spaniards and inspired a wave of conversions across the New World, so too, in this remote corner of Wisconsin, did she appear at a time of mass European migration into America at the height of westward expansion. Our Lady brought a message focused on properly forming the children in the faith and praying for the conversion of sinners. In fact, this was a natural extension of the message she revealed to St. Bernadette one year earlier at Lourdes, with the same burning emphasis placed on the need to convert sinners and make penance.
The visionary who received the apparitions was Sister Adele Brise. She grew up in Belgium and was planning to join a religious community there, before her parents decided to uproot the family to move to the plains of Wisconsin.
When Adele was out in the field on this tract of land in Champion, she saw a woman in dazzling white with a gold sash around her waist and a crown of stars around her head. Over the course of three apparitions, Our Lady spoke only once. It was during the last apparition on October 9, 1859 that she identified herself to Sister Adele as “the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners.” She stressed the importance of praying for sinners. When Sister Adele asked what more she could do beyond receiving the sacraments of confession and the Eucharistic, Our Lady responded, “Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation.” “But how shall I teach them who know so little myself?” Adele asked. Mary replied, “Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the Cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing. I will help you.”
Adele went on to travel the surrounding countryside on foot with her small community of sisters going directly to the Catholic families that settled the area to provide that instruction. Eventually a school house and convent was built on the grounds where the apparition occurred so that the children could come to her.
Adele’s father built the first shrine to Our Lady on this site. By 1861, pilgrimages to the site began. In 1871, another miraculous event occurred at the site. The great Peshtigo fire (the worst fire in U.S. history, destroying hundreds of thousands of acres, devastating Chicago, and killing an estimated 2000 people) devastated the entire region surrounding the shrine. Sister Adele, a group of sisters, and local villagers gathered in prayer on their knees praying the rosary as the roaring fire approached the shrine. Miraculously, the rains came down and the devastating fire ceased right at the gates to the shrine, protecting it from destruction.
Today, pilgrims flock to the shrine annually and countless healings have occurred through the intercession of Our Lady of Good Help, as witnessed by the crutches and other votive offerings lining the shrine. Following the formal decree from the Bishop of Green Bay in 2012 approving the apparition, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops officially designated the site a national shrine in 2015. It is a simple shrine with a modest chapel, where daily mass is celebrated. Underneath the chapel is the shrine oratory, built directly over the site of the apparition, where pilgrims can pray before a statue of Our Lady of Good Help.
There is a new Mother of Mercy Hall, which contains a full size Vatican authorized replica of Michelangelo’s Pieta as well as a life size reproduction of the image of Divine Mercy that hangs at the tomb of Sister Faustina in Krakow. The Shrine’s welcome center is also worth visiting, as it tells the story of the apparitions and the life of Sister Adele through exhibits and a video offering.
The grounds outside the church are lined with some statues and afford sweeping views of the rolling countryside and neighbouring farms, along with a rosary walk, which mirrors the route that the pilgrims processed in 1871 seeking Mary’s protection from the Peshitgo Fire. Also on the grounds is the original school house dating from 1885, where Sister Adele and her sisters taught. Finally, there is also a small cemetery, where pilgrims can pray at the grave of Sister Adele.
While in Champion, keep in mind that it is also close to some spectacular fishing opportunities in Kewaunee County, and to the “cape cod of the Mid West,” in Door County along the shores of Lake Michigan.
Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe – Lacrosse
About three and a half hours west of Milwaukee is the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Lacrosse.
LaCrosse is home to one of the most important Marian shrines in the United States: the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Set high atop a mountain in the Bluff Country of Wisconsin, this shrine to the Patroness of the Americas was the dream of Cardinal Raymond Burke, who served as Bishop of LaCrosse in the 1990s. The shrine officially opened in 2008 and its construction was made possibly entirely through private donations of the faithful.
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The scenic grounds include a rosary walk, outdoor stations of the cross, a votive chapel, a memorial to the unborn with an incredible statue of the Mother of the Unborn (a statue cast in Mexico of Our Lady of Guadalupe cradling three unborn babies in her arms), and devotional areas to saints ranging from St. Joseph to St. Kateri Tekakwitha. The bronze devotional of St. Joseph the Worker is particularly powerful, as it depicts St. Joseph teaching the young Christ about wood work, with the wood in his hands taking the shape of a cross.
Continuing through the grounds, what draws the pilgrim most is the Italianate church and campanile. Approaching the beautiful church from a distance, it looks very much like the sort of hilltop church one would find passing through the small towns and villages of Italy. Inside, it is a work of art devoted to Our Lady. The altar is covered by a 27 foot baldacchino and framed by a magnificent mosaic of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The pillars rising up around the sanctuary are inscribed with all the titles of Mary contained in the Litany of Loretto. The side walls are framed with original paintings of six treasured saints, like Maria Goretti to Gianna Molla; the paintings were commissioned specifically for the shrine and many of the paintings have relics of the depicted saint beneath them for veneration by pilgrims.
CATHOLIC CONCIERGE 
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