On October 9, we celebrated the feast day of Our Lady of Champion, a Marian apparition that occurred in Wisconsin in 1859. While we know about many other apparitions, most of us are likely unfamiliar with this one—in our own “backyard.”
In 1855, the Brise family immigrated from Belgium to a farm in Wisconsin. While walking in the woods, a young Adele Brise saw a yellow-sashed woman in a bright light. She saw her again a few days later while walking to church, and her pastor advised Adele to ask, “In God’s name, who are you and what do you want of me?” When Mary appeared to her again that day, Adele asked the question. The woman responded, “I am the Queen of Heaven,” and she asked Adele to pray for sinners, then added, “Gather the children and teach them what they should know for salvation. Fear nothing, I will help you.”
By 1867, a chapel, convent, and school were built near the site. On the 12th anniversary of Mary’s appearance, a wildfire broke out, becoming a firestorm with hurricane-force winds and fiery tornadoes. Fearing for their lives, people gathered at the chapel and prayed. Rain finally put out the fire, and when they went outside, everything surrounding them was destroyed; however, the fire stopped at the white fence around the five-acre site they were on, which had been consecrated to Mary.
This was the Peshtigo Fire of October 8, 1871, one of the most devastating wildfires in history. It engulfed 11 towns on 1,200,000 acres of land, claiming the lives of over 2000 people, and it extended into the Upper Peninsula. The area is open to pilgrims, and you don’t even need a passport to visit this amazing Marian site!
