A connection between the continent’s only Church-approved Marian apparitions will be formed next month when a life-sized Pilgrim Mother Statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe takes up residence at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, located near the Brown-Kewaunee county line.
The statue is on a world tour ahead of the 500th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico. It will stop in Milwaukee and Fond du Lac before spending a week at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion beginning March 6.
From March 6-11, the shrine will offer several opportunities to attend Mass or participate in a “pilgrim experience,” which includes a presentation and personal veneration of the Pilgrim Mother Statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The tour started in Chicago last August, drawing thousands of people throughout the archdiocese to pray before the statue.
Bishop David Ricken will open the statue’s visit with Mass at 11:30 a.m. March 6.
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, an estimated 105,000 Catholics live in Brown, Door and Kewaunee counties.
