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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Smashed Statues: An Opportunity for Prayer and Charity

This could have been a lot worse.

Nobody was hurt, that we know of; nobody was killed; a regional television station posted a 'donate' link; and the county sheriff is treating vandalism at the Mother Cabrini shrine in Golden, Colorado, as a crime.

It could be better, too. As of November 22, 2010, Jefferson County law enforcement says there are no clues and no leads.

And, of course, it'd be nice if somebody hadn't smashed those statues.

"Vandalization at Mother Cabrini shrine in Colorado causes frustration, grief"
Marianne Medlin, EWTN News (November 23, 2010)

"A spokesperson from the Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden, Colo. said the local community is frustrated and grief-stricken over the shrine being vandalized the night of Nov. 14.

"Jeff Lewis, administrator at the Mother Cabrini Shrine, reported that four statues were damaged Nov. 14 in an attack that has offered no possible suspects or motivations.

" 'Our maintenance guys found the broken statues on Monday morning, Nov. 15,' he told EWTN News via e-mail. 'I closed the gate the night before, making sure everyone was off the property before the gate closed, and everything looked fine.'

"It was discovered the next morning that a three-foot tall statue of St. Bernadette was knocked off its pedestal and broken in half, a three-foot statue of Our Lady of Grace was found toppled over with its head broken off, and a five-foot statue of Mother Cabrini had its 'face smashed in,' Lewis recounted on Nov. 22.

"He also said a large crucifix at the bottom of the Shrine's Stairway of Prayer was damaged, with a broken face and toes. Someone 'must have beaten' it 'with force,' he said...."

Note about the language: In American English, "guy" doesn't have the connotations it does in England, after the 'Guy Fawkes' thing. I'll be getting back to that.

There's more about the statue-smashing, from a secular American point of view, at a Denver ABC station's website:

• "Mother Cabrini Shrine Vandalism Outrages Community"
  AnaCabrera, TheDenverChannel.com (November 22, 2010)

They're the ones with a link to the Mother Cabrini shrine's website: www.mothercabrinishrine.org.

Guy Fawkes, Oliver Cromwell, and Smashing Statues

I mentioned Guy Fawkes a little earlier. He achieved lasting fame for not quite succeeding in blowing up the British Parliament. He and the other conspirators were Catholic, the Parliament was largely Protestant, and this is not the way to leave a good impression.

The BBC had a pretty good backgrounder on the matter, earlier this month:

• "The Gunpowder Plot"
  Bruce Robinson, BBC (November 4, 2010)

Before reading that, I suggest recalling that Thomas Percy, Guy Fawkes, and the rest of that lot were not the only Catholics left in England in 1604. Also, that there's little reason to assume that Catholics in England were all involved in the effort to whack Parliament.

There's another discussion of the Gunpowder Plot in a Catholic Encyclopedia article at New Advent. It's not exactly complimentary, in reference to Fawkes and company.

Then there's Oliver Cromwell. I've discussed the Lord Protector before.

My take on killing people you don't agree with, smashing statues, burning books, and claiming divine authority for doing so? The 'kill a commie for Christ' attitude isn't new, isn't limited to American Protestantism, and isn't a good idea. At all.

Moving on.

What are Those Cabrini People Up To?

Skipping lightly over 'Cabrini' not being a 'regular American' name - I think most folks in this country have come to terms with the idea that America isn't predominantly Anglo-Saxon anymore - the Mother Cabrini shrine's website has a mission statement on the home page:

"At Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden, Colorado, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and their lay collaborators strive to bring the love of Christ to pilgrims, visitors and friends through a hospitable and prayerful presence. The Sisters, founded by St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, direct all programs and ministries at Mother Cabrini Shrine. The staff, religious and lay, seek to bring God to people and people to God."
(www.mothercabrinishrine.org)

There's a description of the 'Stairway of Prayer,' too:

"Activities at Mother Cabrini Shrine"
Mother Cabrini Shrine, Golden, Colorado

"...Stairway of Prayer

"In 1954 a twenty-two foot statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, carved by an Italian artist was mounted on an eleven foot base and erected above the Heart of Stones. ... The stairway follows the path Mother Cabrini, the sisters and the children took to the top of the mountain. This stairway following the Saint's footsteps is also symbolic of the pathway Christ took on His sorrowful way to His crucifixion and death, through the stations of the Cross...."

Statues, Prayer, Stations of the Cross, and Hate

With my background, I can see how that Stairway of Prayer would infuriate some folks. Between what some academics feel is the "self-satisfied ignorance" of religious belief (Another War-on-Terror Blog (August 5, 2008)), and what Catholic-haters may think is idol worship - well, there's a lot of hate in this world.

There are a lot of good folks, too - and it seems that a fair number are helping the Mother Cabrini Shrine clean up the damage. As I've said before, money isn't everything: but it sure helps get things done.

Just a thought.

Prayer's a good idea, too. For the folks running the shrine. And, perhaps more importantly, for whoever smashed those statues. With that much anger leaking out, I think it's likely that someone could use help.

So could we all, for that matter. And that's a whole bunch of other topics.

Related posts:

• "Florida Book-Burning, Tolerance, and 'The Good Old Days' "
  (September 9, 2010)
• "Belgian Police: Tomb Raider and the Cardinals"
  (June 25, 2010)
• "St. Rose of Lima, Decisions, and Being Catholic"
  (May 29, 2010)
• "Oddly, Not Everybody Reviles and Despises the Pope"
  (April 13, 2010)
• "Tolerance: Yes, it's a Good Idea"
  (August 3, 2009)

More:

• Mother Cabrini Shrine Colorado

The Cathedral of Saint Paul: Minnesota's First National Shrine

Archbishop John C. Nienstedt of St. Paul and Minneapolis asked that the Cathedral of St. Paul be designated as a national shrine in honor of the Apostle Paul.

This month, the Holy See gave the okay.

The Cathedral of Saint Paul, Minnesota, is now a national shrine: the first one in Minnesota. The building is already a tourist stop. This designation makes it a destination for pilgrimages, too.

"...According to canon (church) law, 'The term shrine signifies a church or other sacred place to which the faithful make pilgrimages for a particular pious reason with the approval of the local ordinary (bishop).'..."

"...Over the decades, the Cathedral developed as a catechism in stone and glass by evangelizing through its grandeur and beauty...." (Cathedral of Saint Paul)

There is a 'tourism' aspect to pilgrimages. I find it hard to imagine someone not experiencing the world around them as they travel to and from a shrine or other holy place.

A pilgrimage is a "pilgrim's journey:" "a journey to a sacred place." WordNet) But pilgrimages are not simply sightseeing trips with a spiritual spin.

For starters, pilgrimage may be a sign of penance (1438), or the fulfilment of a promise (2101). Which is fine, but they supplement the liturgical life of the church. They're not a substitute. (Catechism of the Catholic Church (1674, 1675)

"...Pilgrimages evoke our earthly journey toward heaven and are traditionally very special occasions for renewal in prayer. For pilgrims seeking living water, shrines are special places for living the forms of Christian prayer 'in Church.' " (2691)

In a sense, all of life is a pilgrimage in which each of us decides on our final destiny. (1013)

A National Shrine: Just Down the Road!

It's just over a hundred miles to Minnesota's Twin Cities, which is not all that far away. I don't know when it will be possible to go to the Cathedral of Saint Paul again, but I'm looking forward to it.

My guess is that quite a few more people will get there first. At this point, according to the Catholic News Service, over 200,000 people go to the Cathedral of Saint Paul each year for one reason or another. Now, "...the cathedral staff expects that number to increase as a result of the designation." (Catholic News Agency)

When I do go, it will most likely be with part of my family: and it most likely won't be a formal pilgrimage. I recognize that pilgrimages are important for some people, but I feel like I've got my hands full with the pilgrimage of my life, without adding 'side trips.'

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Going on Vacation? Take God Along"
  (June 6, 2009)
• "Not All Catholics are Like Me - Thank God"
  (March 18, 2009)
• "Happy Lent?! What Kind of a Nut am I?"
  (March 3, 2009)

In the news:

• "Minnesota’s Cathedral of St. Paul designated national shrine by the Vatican"
  Catholic News Agency (June 16, 2009)

Background and more information:

• "Vatican Designates Cathedral of Saint Paul as National Shrine"
  The Cathedral of Saint Paul
• "Archconfraternity of the Apostle Paul"
  The Cathedral of Saint Paul