Wisconsin Apparitions Okay: Champion, Wisconsin: Not Necedah

It's in the news:

"Green Bay Catholic Diocese News Release on Shrine Apparitions"
WBAY-TV, Green Bay, Wisconsin (December 8, 2010)

"Bishop Ricken approves Marian apparitions at Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help at Champion

"Bishop David Ricken announced today that he officially approves the Marian apparitions at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help at Champion.

"The announcement was made during a special Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help at Champion.

"Reading from his decree, the Bishop stated, 'I declare with moral certainty and in accord with the norms of the Church that the events, apparitions and locutions given to Adele Brise in October of 1859 do exhibit the substance of supernatural character, and I do hereby approve these apparitions as worthy of belief (although not obligatory) by the Christian faithful.'

"Today's declaration makes Our Lady of Good Help at Champion the first and only site in the United States of an approved apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary...."

---

"Bishop Approves Apparition of Virgin Mary at Brown County Shrine"
WBAY-TV, Green Bay, Wisconsin (December 8, 2010)

"The Catholic Diocese of Green Bay formally declared a shrine in Brown County as the site of an apparition of the Virgin Mary.

"Bishop David Ricken approved the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help at Champion, near New Franken, during a special mass Wednesday morning.

"The declaration marks the shrine as the first and only in the United States as a site of an approved apparition of the Virgin Mary...."

That's interesting - and WBAY-TV seemed to have done a more-than-usually-adequate job of paying attention to what a bishop actually said.

Still, American news isn't renown for getting the facts straight, when it comes to Catholic events. My opinion.

So, I checked out what the the Diocese of Green Bay thought the bishop had said.

Turns out, WBAY-TV got it right.

"Worthy of belief"
Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin

"Bishop Ricken approves Marian apparitions at Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help

"GREEN BAY, Wis. (December 8, 2010) -- Bishop David Ricken announced today that he officially approves the Marian apparitions at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help at Champion.

"The announcement was made during a special Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help at Champion.

"Declared with moral certainty

"Reading from his decree, the Bishop stated, 'I declare with moral certainty and in accord with the norms of the Church that the events, apparitions and locutions given to Adele Brise in October of 1859 do exhibit the substance of supernatural character, and I do hereby approve these apparitions as worthy of belief (although not obligatory) by the Christian faithful.'

"Today's declaration makes Our Lady of Good Help at Champion the first and only site in the United States of an approved apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary...."

There's quite a bit more on that page at the Diocese of Green Bay website. Including 'backgrounders' that I took the liberty of mirroring here:

• "Brief history of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion"
  Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin
• "Basic information on apparitions at Champion"
  Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin

This is a big deal, for several reasons - including the "events, apparitions and locutions given to Adele Brise in October of 1859" being the first Marian apparitions in America to get an official 'okay.'

We've had our share of ersatz and unconfirmed sightings - including one associated with Necedah. The Necedah thing isn't approved. Wisconsin, yes: approved, no. Not my opinion: It's in the "Basic information on apparitions at Champion" document from the Diocese of Green Bay.

Let's see. I've written about shrines before. (June 18, 2009)

Feast of the Immaculate Conception? That's today - and I wrote about that before, too. (December 6, 2010)

One thing that stood out for me, on that page at the Diocese of Green Bay's website, was what happened in 1871.

That's when the Peshtigo fire of 1871 laid waste to the area that the shrine is in. Except for the five acres that were dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe it had something to do with the prayer vigil that Adele Brise organized.

I'm inclined to think that the five acres being unscathed is the same sort of "coincidence" that kept happening to the people Moses led for forty years. I've discussed that sort of thing before. (August 2, 2010, June 7, 2010)

Related posts:

• "Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Mary, and Who's In Charge?"
  (December 6, 2010)
• "Mary, Mother of Jesus: Reading Glasses for Catholics"
  (August 15, 2010)
• "Feast of the Assumption: It's Not About Making Assumptions"
  (August 14, 2010)
• "Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Church: Yeah, She's Pretty Important"
  (August 11, 2009)
• "The Cathedral of Saint Paul: Minnesota's First National Shrine"
  (June 18, 2009)

News:

• "Green Bay Catholic Diocese News Release on Shrine Apparitions"
  WBAY-TV, Green Bay, Wisconsin (December 8, 2010)
• "Bishop Approves Apparition of Virgin Mary at Brown County Shrine"
  WBAY-TV, Green Bay, Wisconsin (December 8, 2010)

More:

• "Worthy of belief"
  Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin
  • "Brief history of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion" (.pdf)
  • "Basic information on apparitions at Champion" (.pdf)
• Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help
  Serving the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin
  Champion, Wisconsin

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