Bishop David L. Ricken of Green
Bay has approved the Marian apparitions seen by Adele Brise in 1859,
making the apparitions of Mary that occurred some 18 miles northeast of
Green Bay the first in the United States to receive approval of a
diocesan bishop.
Bishop Ricken made the announcement during Mass at the Shrine of Our
Lady of Good Help Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
More
than 250 invited guests filled the shrine chapel to hear Bishop Ricken
read the official decree on the authenticity of the apparitions. He also
issued a second decree, formally approving the shrine as a diocesan
shrine.
The decree on the apparitions' authenticity comes nearly two years after
Bishop Ricken opened a formal investigation. On Jan. 9, 2009, he
appointed three theologians to study the history of them.
"They are all theologians with a particular concentration and expertise
in the theology of the Blessed Virgin Mary," said Father John Doerfler,
vicar general and chancellor of the diocese.
Although the three
theologians were not named by the diocese, Father Doerfler said two of
the three are internationally recognized and they have "general
experience in examining apparitions."
Brise, a Belgian immigrant, was 28 when Mary appeared to her three times
in October 1859.
The first appearance took place while Brise was
carrying a sack of wheat to a grist mill about four miles from
Robinsonville, now known as Champion.
A few days later, on Oct. 9, as Brise walked to Sunday Mass in Bay
Settlement, about 11 miles from her home, Mary appeared to her again.
After Mass, Brise told the pastor what she had seen. He told her to "ask
in God's name who it was and what it desired of her," according to a
historical account found on the shrine's website.
On the way home from Bay Settlement, Mary again appeared to Brise. When
Brise asked who the woman was, Mary responded, "I am the Queen of
Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners and I wish you to do the
same."
She told Brise to "gather the children in this wild country and teach
them what they should know for salvation. Teach them their catechism,
how to sign themselves with the sign of the cross and how to approach
the sacraments."
Brise devoted the rest of her life to teaching children. She began a
community of Third Order Franciscan sisters and built a school next to
the shrine. Brise's father, Lambert, built a small chapel near the spot
of the apparitions. When a brick chapel was built in 1880, the trees
where Mary appeared were cut down and the chapel's altar was placed over
the spot.
A school and convent were also built next to the chapel. The current
chapel was dedicated in 1942 under the title of Our Lady of Good Help.
Today the shrine, which sits on six acres of farmland, receives
thousands of visitors each year.
Brise died on July 5, 1896, and was buried in a small cemetery just east of the chapel.
Father Doerfler, who serves as the shrine's rector, said official
recognition of the apparitions affirms "the mystery of God's
providence."
"He has had the Blessed Virgin Mary appear here. I do not know the
reasons why," he told The Compass, Green Bay diocesan newspaper. "All of
this ... has to do with God's plan to bring people to salvation through
his son Jesus Christ."
Apparitions have taken place throughout history "as a sign of God's
providence, to remind us of what God has already revealed," said Father
Doerfler. "As a loving mother would remind her children about things
that are important, so our Blessed Mother Mary has appeared throughout
history to remind us of things that are important for our salvation and
to draw us closer to her Son."
Marian apparitions date back to the fourth century and have been
reported around the world, according to the University of Dayton's
Marian Library, which holds one of the world's largest collections of
research on Mary. The Marian Library lists 11 Marian apparitions that
have received official approval by diocesan bishops worldwide since
1900.
Karen Tipps, who has been a volunteer and caretaker of the shrine with
her husband Steve for 18 years, said Bishop Ricken's decree "is the
fulfillment of everything we've worked for: to make the shrine a
beautiful place of pilgrimage; to try and promote the message of what
happened here."
While the declaration will not change the way longtime pilgrims view the
shrine, it will change the way the rest of the world sees it, she said.
"The shrine has had pilgrims for more than 150 years ... but in the
church view and the world view, having the bishop gone to this length to
get the commission going, it's what others need for affirmation of what
happened here," said Tipps.
She believes that the timing of the apparitions' approval was part of a divine plan.
"It's now because this message is meant for this time in history," Tipps
told The Compass. "If you look at the state of our children right now,
there's no hope. There's no faith. There's nothing to live for."
She said a "crisis in catechesis" exists today, much like it did when Brise was told to teach children their catechism.
"The message (given to Adele Brise) is, 'Gather the children. Teach them
their catechism. Teach them their faith," she said. "We need to do
that. ... We're not giving them the substance of their faith. So I think
that's why it is happening at this time in history. That's why Bishop
Ricken was brought here. I think it's a divine plan that this needed to
come to fulfillment now for the world to get this message."
Tipps said it will be a big adjustment having more people visiting the
shrine. "It's been such a quiet place. But now it's for the world to be
able to share ... what we've had here and what we've experienced for the
last 150 years."
SIC: CNS/INT'L