Cornfields and towering grain silos line the Minnesota Catholics' approach to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help. The smell of manure wafts from nearby dairy farms.continue at Star Tribune
But the parking lot where the motor coach stops is newly graveled, and plans to expand beyond the shrine's small brick church and gift shop are in progress. Because like this group from Hastings, pilgrims are coming.
It's here at this modest shrine in the heart of Wisconsin farm country, where Catholics believe the Virgin Mary appeared more than 150 years ago. Eight months ago, the bishop in nearby Green Bay officially validated the apparitions, making the shrine the first such holy site in the country and one of only a dozen or so in the world.
Since then, regular visitors to the site have grown from a few hundred a year to a few thousand a week. The Hastings group numbers 19.
For the Minnesota pilgrims, a miracle isn't the goal of their two-day trip, though they would welcome one. It's mostly about seeking a closer connection to the Almighty through the mother of Christ.
"It's like heaven touching earth," said Joanne Knoll, "It is very moving, to know she was there."
Wow, the Shrine is really picking up some press!
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