National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion inspires young adults ‘to go and fear nothing’

“Go and fear nothing. I will help you.” It is a message that has stayed with Chiara Schwartz and Gabriela Perez since they visited The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Wisconsin in July. The young adults learned of the words spoken by the Blessed Mother to seer Adele Brise in 1859 while on a pilgrimage to Champion, the only approved apparition site in the U.S.

Schwartz, a graduate nursing student, and Perez, who recently earned her bachelor’s in psychology and criminal justice, joined 125 men and women, members of the Neocatechumenal Way from the parishes of Holy Redeemer in West New York, St. John the Apostle in Linden, and Saint Theresa in Kenilworth, for the trip to the Marian shrine.  

Perez and Schwartz were delighted to learn the story of Brise, a Belgium immigrant who, while walking on a trail in the Wisconsin woods, saw Mary, who appeared in dazzling white. According to the story, Mary told Brise to “Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they need to know for their salvation.”

“Our Lady’s message to Brise of ‘fear nothing’ was very encouraging,’” said Perez, who teaches CCD at Holy Redeemer.

The story of how Brise devoted her life to Our Lady’s instructions, doing what she needed to reach the children with the Word of God, including walking many miles, has helped Perez see her role as a catechist as “more of a vocation.”   

The pilgrims learned how the Blessed Mother appeared to Brise three times and said: “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.” Schwartz was moved by Brise’s willingness to devote the rest of her life to doing the will of God for the children. “To say ‘yes’ can be very difficult,” yet “God somehow gave her the desire to give them a valuable gift.” 

Chelsey Hare, director of communications at the Shrine, said the apparition strikes a chord with young people as many can relate to Brise.

“She was a young adult, too, when she saw the three apparitions of Our Lady,” Hare said. “There is a beautiful connection that comes with knowing Our Lady of Champion came for young adults of the Church, represented by her appearances to Adele.” 

The Blessed Mother said Hare “came to bring everyone, particularly young people, a message of hope, encouraging them to live out their vocations where their feet are and to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those who are unfamiliar, especially with children.

“In a world that sometimes feels scary or full of uncertainties — in our families, our vocations, or culture — we can recall her words and dispel the fear that feels so overwhelming at times. She is always there to help us and come to our aid.”  

In 2009, Bishop David L. Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay, Wis. approved the apparition site. This past June, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops affirmed advancing Brise’s cause for beatification and canonization on the local level. Located 16 miles from Green Bay, Wis., thousands visit the Shrine annually for refuge and spiritual healing. Confession, Mass, and Adoration are available regularly, and special events are held at the Shrine for Holy Days. Hare said that, like every pilgrimage, a visit to the shrine “models our earthly pilgrimage to our heavenly home and is a place to find profound healing, especially in the sacraments of Confession and the Holy Eucharist.”

When young people visit the Shrine, said Hare, “they encounter a refuge of peace, a place where they can pause from the day-to-day activities or stresses of life and find solace and comfort in Our Lady’s loving arms, having faith that an encounter with her always leads to a more profound encounter with her Son, Jesus Christ, the ultimate goal of our pilgrimage.”

The stop at the national shrine was one of several on the Neocatechumenal Way vocational call, a 10-day journey to a celebration at Barclays in Brooklyn beginning July 7 for the 50th anniversary of the start of the post-baptismal catechumenate in the United States. Carmen, a catechist at Holy Redeemer and one of the trip’s leaders explained that the youth were asking the Virgin for graces “to discover their vocations and the courage to say ‘yes’ to whatever mission the Lord has prepared for each of them.” The pilgrims were accompanied by Archdiocese of Newark priests Father Anthony Palombo, secretary to Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R, Archbishop of Newark, and Father Drazen Hosi. Father Carlo B.M. Fortunio, V.F. pastor of Holy Redeemer, joined the pilgrims in Champion. 

The story behind the Shrine, said Perez, is something “you don’t hear in a history textbook.” She believes more people should know about the “miracle with the fire.” On Oct. 8, 1871, the Great Peshtigo Fire broke out, killing 1,200 – 2,400 people and damaging 1.2 million acres in what is considered the most devasting fire in U.S. history. During the blaze, Brise lifted the statue of Mary while her companions and the local people seeking safety on the grounds prayed the rosary and sang hymns to Jesus and Mary. The following day, the flames were extinguished by rain. There was destruction for miles, and houses in the neighborhood were decimated, but the chapel, school, and grounds consecrated to Our Lady were spared from damage.  

The New Jersey group made stops at other sites, including The National Centre for Padre Pio in Barto, Pa., and the Cross in the Woods Catholic Shrine of Indian River in Michigan, which has the largest crucifix in the world. In Detroit, they did mission work in a drug-ridden neighborhood, going door-to-door, “announcing the love of God,” singing psalms in the street, and “being a light,” Perez said. Suazo said the mission experience was very good for the young people since many could share how the Lord has saved them from drugs and alcohol in their own homes. They could relate to how “the love of Jesus gave them hope in the midst of suffering,” Suazo said.   

It was beautiful to see how the youth had “so much joy” at the end of the pilgrimage, Suazo said. “We begin with fear and discouragement, and end with graces given from the Lord like He did for Adele—’do not fear, I’m with you.’” 

Perez agreed. “The pilgrimage is summed up in Champion. The Virgin told her to fear nothing. It is something I can look back on in my life.”

Featured image: The Apparition Oratory, a sacred space set aside to pray where Our Lady appeared.