Champion, Wisconsin is now the location of the first Marian Shrine approved by the Church as a site on Earth where the Blessed Virgin Mary has appeared. This places the Wisconsin Shrine in the same category as other Marian Shrines such as Lourdes, France; Guadalupe, Mexico; and Fatima, Portugal which are well known around the world.

According to diocese, The Virgin Mary appeared to Belgian immigrant Adele Brise three times in 1959. Brise's account states that Mary appeared to her in dazzling white claiming to be the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners and asked Brise to also pray for sinners and to teach children about salvation. Brise's family built a chappel at the site of the apparitions and Brise dedicated her life to what the Virgin Mary had asked of her.

Over the past 151 years thousands of pilgrims have visited the site and there are accounts of many answered prayers including physical healings and conversions. Perhaps the greatest miracle is that in in 1871 a great fire engulfed the area sparing only the five acres in which the Virgin Mary appeared. It is believed that the area weas spared thanks to a prayer vigil organized by Adele Brise.

More info on the Shrine of Good Help:
www.shrineofourladyofgoodhelp.com

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Pilgrims from all over Europe, The USA and the rest of the world will gather in Rome on May 1st, 2011 for the beatification of the body of Pope John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI responded quickly to the crowds at the late pope's funeral in 2005 who chanted "Santo Sabito!" asking that this important Catholic figure be sainted. Pope Benedict XVI waived the traditional five year waiting period after a candidate's death which makes this the fastest beatification in history beating the record set by Mother Teresa's beatification in 2003 by just a few days.

John Paul was the youngest pope in 125 years and the first non-Italian in 455 years when he was elected pontif in 1978. He brought a new vitality to the Vatican and became the most accessible modern pope, sitting down for meals with factory workers, skiing and wading into crowds to embrace the faithfull. He survived an assasination attempt in 1981, promptly forgiving his would-be assasin, and suffered from parkinson's disease until his death in his Vatican apartment on April 2nd, 2005 at the age of 84.

Pilgrims are expected in droves however Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno assured Pope Benedict that the city was up to the task of handling the masses of people. May 1st is also significant because it is the first Sunday after Easter and is the Feast of the Divine Mercy, which John Paul himself inaugurated in 2000 after canonizing Sister Faustina Kowalska, a 20th Century Polish Mystic to whom the pope was particularly devoted.

More info on Pope John Paul:
Vatican Biography
popejohnpaul.com

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