MkeCH: Pilgrims ‘pray with Mary, walk with Jesus from Good Help to Holy Hill

For centuries, Christian pilgrims have trod the Way of St. James, carrying their lives on their backs as they travel by foot along one of a dozen paths that bear the faithful through the corners of Europe to Santiago de Compostela, where tradition holds that the remains of St. James are buried.

This rigorous physical and spiritual undertaking is mimicked by Fr. Andrew Kurz’s “Wisconsin Way” pilgrimage, a 120-mile expedition from the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, in the Green Bay Diocese to Holy Hill in Hubertus. Fr. Kurz, a priest of the Diocese of Green Bay, first completed the pilgrimage by himself in October 2013, and this past May he embarked on a second pilgrimage with a group of seminarians.

When Abbey Gagne heard about the Wisconsin Way, she was disappointed there wasn’t an option for girls. The 17-year-old confirmand from St. Peter Parish, Slinger, had just seen “The Way,” the 2011 film starring Martin Sheen, and was inspired by the tenacious devotion of the historical pilgrim.

“My mom and I listen to Relevant Radio, and we heard about Fr. Kurz and how he was planning a men’s pilgrimage,” she said. “And I thought, ‘I wish there was one for girls!’”

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There's a website and a Facebook page

If only I had a Green Bay contributor to reach out to interview Fr. Kurz...

Priest takes steps to promote ‘Wisconsin Way’ walking pilgrimages

GREEN BAY — After watching “The Way,” a 2011 movie that chronicles a father’s journey by foot along Spain’s 500-mile-long El Camino de Santiago, Fr. Andrew Kurz had an idea. Why not offer a walking pilgrimage here in Wisconsin?

After months of prayer, consultation and planning, Fr. Kurz, administrator of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Humboldt and St. Joseph Parish in Champion, decided to map out and create his own walking pilgrimage from one Marian shrine (the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion) to another (the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Hubertus). It’s his hope that he can ignite a walking pilgrimage movement in this country.

Fr. Andrew Kurz, administrator of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Humboldt and St. Joseph Parish in Champion, is pictured at Bruemmerville County Park near Algoma. The priest will begin a walking pilgrimage from Champion to Hubertus this Sunday.

Fr. Kurz will begin his walking pilgrimage this Sunday, Oct. 13, following a blessing by the Fathers of Mercy at the Champion shrine at 1 p.m. He will stop at churches and a monastery along the way to celebrate daily Mass and plans to arrive at Holy Hill at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25.

The 42-year-old priest — who grew up in Wauwatosa, was ordained for the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., and transferred to the Diocese of Green Bay in July 2012 — has been preparing for the 120-mile walk for months. He’s walked parts of the pilgrimage path, including from Pike Lake State Park to Holy Hill, a distance of eight and one-half miles, he said, and several jaunts from his parish in Humboldt to the shrine in Champion.

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