Perilous
Times and Lying Signs and Wonders
Thousands of Superstitious 'Virgin Mary' Worshipers flock to
worship shrine in Champion, Wisconsin
By Alex Morrell, Green Bay Press-Gazette
Editor:
"For there is only one God, and only one mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus;" [
1Timothy 2:5]
SCOTT, Wis. -- The Catholic Diocese of Green Bay expected the
small shrine in Champion to generate interest after it was
officially recognized as a site where the Virgin Mary had appeared
-- the first and only such site in the United States.
Visitors worship in the crypt at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good
Help on June 30 in Champion, Wis.
Diocesan officials just weren't prepared for the intense response
and flood of visitors to the Our Lady of Good Help shrine.
"The immediate aftermath was the phone was ringing off the hook,"
said Karen Tipps, a caretaker of the shrine in northeastern Brown
County. "Right from Dec. 8 on, we never had a slow time this
winter."
People began flocking from across the country in the middle of a
harsh Wisconsin winter, coming from as far away as Texas, New
Orleans and even the south Pacific island of Tahiti -- to worship
the Virgin Mary .
According to Catholic Online, the shrine is one of only 12
recognized sites around the world, joining the ranks of shrines in
Lourdes, France; Guadalupe, Mexico; and Fatima, Portugal.
The website reports that following a two-year formal inquiry,
Bishop David Rickin of the Green Bay diocese issued a decree with
"moral certainty" that the events, apparition and locutions given
to a young Belgian immigrant woman who claimed to have received
three visits from the Virgin Mary at the Champion site in October
of 1859.
Tipps estimates visits have grown tenfold, growing from an average
75 to 100 visitors a day to between 500 to 800, including daily
bus tours. Similar in traffic, she said, to what used to be one of
the busiest days of the year, the Catholic Feast of the Assumption
on Aug. 15.
"It was kind of an eye-opener. It was like Aug. 15, every day for
seven days straight," Tipps said. "Our whole classification of
what normal is has changed."
'We are making a fortune in fees, souvenirs and donations', says a
shrine official - 'so we want to keep the action going and all
that money rolling in'
The shrine will even be featured in a July 13 prime-time ABC
"Nightline" documentary that examines the Virgin Mary as a
religious icon and visits apparition sites around the world.
The sudden and dramatic intrigue has forced the diocese to play
catch-up, adding staff, volunteers and amenities to the small but
swamped chapel and beginning to plan for future growth and
possible expansion to the site.
"The turnout has been incredible," said Ricken . "It's been a
wonderful gift to the diocese. So many people are coming, and
there are all kinds of reports of answered prayers and healings
continuing."
A pleasant problem
Ricken admits the diocese wasn't prepared initially for the
onslaught of visitors to the 5.5-acre site, but he's responded to
what he called "a good problem" by adding two staff members to the
chapel, recruiting two priests to serve in permanent posts,
constructing additional restrooms that open this week and training
a corps of about 100 volunteers.
"It's kind of overwhelming for the people we have now. —1/8 I
didn't think it would take off this fast," Ricken said. "I think
the biggest challenge is going to be keeping up with whatever the
Blessed Mother does. However she chooses to use this place, we are
going to be running to catch up most of the time. But what a
pleasant problem to have."
Although 150 years old, the Our Lady of Good Help shrine had been
relatively unknown outside of Northeastern Wisconsin before
December.
Continued growth presents a separate challenge of maintaining the
shrine's integrity and preventing overcommercialization while
still serving the masses that make the pilgrimage.
"We don't want to become a kind of a circus or something, so we
have to guard against that —1/8 we're going to do the best we can
to make sure we preserve the beauty and simplicity of that
shrine," Ricken said.
"On the other hand, we don't want to keep people away, because
there are crowds coming."
The Rev. Tim O'Malley, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in
Round Lake, Ill., organized a group of about seven people to visit
the shrine in Champion.
They didn't travel the furthest distance, but their trip may have
taken the longest: They walked the 168-mile trek from the Chicago
area to the shrine over six days.
Ricken credits the shrine for rejuvenating and refreshing the
spirits of many believers. He hopes all who hear about the shrine
come away recognizing God's love.
"God loves us, and he's almost desperate to communicate his love
for us. And he does it through the Blessed Mother and through many
other means," Ricken said.