Procession at Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Robinsonville, WI

TOWN OF GREEN BAY — Area Catholics celebrated a tradition that dates back more than a century Sunday, gathering for an annual pilgrimage at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Robinsonville.

More than 1,000 Catholics attended an outdoor Mass and rosary procession to mark the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The event celebrates the belief that upon the end of her earthly life, Mary was assumed, body and soul, into heaven, said the Rev. John Doerfler, rector of the Shrine.

"This stands as a sign of hope for us," Doerfler said, "because we have that hope that what God has already done for Mary, he will do for us at the end of time."

The feast is one of the oldest and most solemn Marian feasts, dating back at least to the seventh century when its celebration already was established in Jerusalem and Rome, according to the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay. Catholicism reveres Mary because she was the mother of Jesus Christ.

The pilgrimage tradition at the shrine also is steeped in history, dating back to the 1870s following the infamous Peshtigo fire. The story goes that the 1871 fire spread to the Robinsonville area, and people took refuge in the shrine to pray. After the fire left the shrine unscathed, shrine founder Adele Brise — to whom the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared at the site in 1859 — began the pilgrimages to commemorate the assumption, Doerfler said.

Sunday's celebration began with a Mass, followed by a procession around the grounds of the shrine during which the rosary was prayed and a statue of the Virgin Mary carried. A special benediction followed to conclude the morning event.

Other major annual celebrations at the shrine commemorate the Peshtigo fire with an all-night prayer vigil each year on Oct. 8, as well as the 1859 Marian apparition with a Mass each year on Oct. 9. The assumption pilgrimage is the shrine's longest-running celebration.

"There are many people who come every year," Doerfler said. "It's an opportunity for us to really profess our belief and celebrate our hope in the redemption that Jesus Christ has won for us."

GBPressGazette

I found this interesting tidbit from the Shrine's website:

Father John Harden, S.J. (sic) once called the gathering of Mary and the Apostles in the upper room on Pentecost, "the first retreat." Under this light, we can see Our Lady as the first retreat director and a great guide in helping us to spend quality time with her Divine Son.

Coming this October, Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner, F.I., Rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, WI, will give a one day Marian retreat entitled “Mary’s Maternal Mediation, the Spiritual Crisis of our time and the Month of the Holy Rosary." Click the following link for full program information.

Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help

I have never heard of this Shrine before but obviously it sounds solid.

To the right, a photo from the interior of the church.

The Compass has another really nice set on Flickr. Check out the young men dressed in some kind of Marian honor guard.

Running this blog has given me a chance to find the treasures of the state!  I know there's many more that I can hopefully visit and bring to you.

They have a great website(except for one of the images of our lady which apparently had a woman posing as her), and the history page is fascinating.