Our Lady of Good Help

Of the many supposed Marian apparitions over the centuries, only 16 have been approved by the Vatican. Among these are the most recognizable Marian apparitions, including Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Lourdes, and Our Lady of Fatima. However, the first line of authorization for an apparition to be deemed authentic is the local bishop; getting the Vatican to also approve an apparition is just icing on the cake. In addition to the 16 Vatican-approved apparitions, there have been 9 more bishop-approved ones. While these are not as well known, they are no less authentic and are worthy of belief.

One of these Marian apparition sites is right here in the United States, in Champion, Wisconsin. Under the title Our Lady of Good Help, Mary appeared to a young Belgian immigrant woman named Adele Brise in 1859 (just one year after Our Lady of Lourdes appeared to St. Bernadette). As a young girl, Adele had planned to join a religious order, but her family's emigration to Wisconsin, at that time just a new state on the edge of the settled U.S., disrupted those plans. 

One day, while walking in the woods, Adele saw a lady dressed in white; she said nothing. The next Sunday while walking to Mass with friends (a ten-mile walk, which she did every week), Adele once again saw the lady. Her friends did not. On the walk home, she once more saw the lady, and this time asked her, "In God’s name, who are you and what do you want of me?” The lady responded, "I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same. You received Holy Communion this morning and that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners. If they do not convert and do penance, my Son will be obliged to punish them.” Adele asked Our Lady what else she was to do; Our Lady responded, “Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation.” She then slowly vanished as Adele and her friends were kneeling before her.

Our Lady's last directive set Adele on the path to her lifelong vocation, teaching as a Third Order Franciscan. A chapel was built on the apparition site, as well as a convent and school. When a devastating fire broke out in 1871, up to 2,400 people died and 1.2 million acres in the area burned. Many locals took refuge on the chapel grounds and prayed to Our Lady of Good Help for her protection. After the rains came and quelled the fire, it became apparent the none of the chapel grounds or buildings were harmed, though all of the surrounding area had been destroyed.

Adele died in 1896 and is buried on the chapel grounds. Pilgrims have long travelled to the apparition site, but it wasn't until 2009 that the local bishop finally opened an investigation into the apparitions. After a thorough investigation, it was decided that apparitions were indeed authentic, and Our Lady of Good Help joined the short list of Marian apparitions deemed 'worthy of belief'. In 2016, the USCCB declared the grounds a national shrine and just last year, they voted to support the opening of a cause for Adele Brise's canonization.

Let us pray to both Our Lady of Good Help and Adele Brise for our needs; perhaps yours will be the miracle that decides her canonization!

By Anna Neal