The annual Walk to Mary pilgrimage in Wisconsin, established in 2013, is experiencing remarkable growth, expecting a record 10,000 participants this year. The 22-mile route allows pilgrims to walk from the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, connecting the Holy Family. Shorter walking options are available, including 14-mile, 7-mile, and a 1.7-mile Walk with the Children for those with mobility challenges. Increased interest is partly attributed to Bishop David L. Ricken declaring Servant of God Adele Brice, the visionary of Our Lady of Champion, as being on the path to sainthood.
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The Walk to Mary is an annual pilgrimage in Wisconsin, dubbed "America’s mini-Camino," established in 2013.1
It runs from the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, the only approved Marian apparition site in the U.S.1
The full route spans 22 miles along the Fox River and Niagara Escarpment.1
Shorter options include 14-mile, 7-mile segments, and a 1.7-mile family-friendly walk for elderly or disabled pilgrims.1
This year's event anticipates at least 10,000 pilgrims, with registrations up 80% from last year.1
Boosted by Green Bay Bishop David L. Ricken advancing Servant of God Adele Brise toward sainthood.1
Events include a Relevant Radio spaghetti dinner, Broken Mary presentation by Kevin Matthews, and a sacred music concert "Sing to Mary."1
Sunday features a May Crowning and Rosary Procession at the shrine.1
Pilgrims walk "from Joseph to Mary," mirroring Jesus' path and fostering devotion to the Holy Family.1
Rev. Francis Joseph Hoffman notes it draws participants closer to Christ's heart through Mary.1
Investigate the Catholic Church’s promotion of pilgrimages as a tool for evangelization
The Catholic Church has consistently promoted pilgrimages to holy sites, shrines, and biblical places as powerful instruments of evangelization, fostering conversion, discipleship, and encounter with God while integrating popular piety into the Church's missionary mission.
Pilgrimages trace their roots to the Old Testament, where journeys to Jerusalem's holy places exemplified piety, a practice continued in the early Church and endorsed by popes across centuries. Emperors, kings, and the faithful visited sacred sites like the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul, demonstrating pilgrimage's enduring appeal. The Church has defended this tradition against heretics, with writers and councils ensuring pilgrimages are conducted orderly to unite piety and religion without scandal. For instance, ninth-century Bishop Jonas of Orleans and later councils like Cabilone (813) and Bourges (1584) refuted objections, emphasizing pilgrimage's legitimacy.
"This continuous custom has brought even emperors and kings to visit the sacred monuments of this fair City, especially the blessed tomb of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. Although heretics despise pilgrimages, Our writers have defended them convincingly."
Early Christianity viewed pilgrimage as an "earthly pilgrimage" toward heaven, harmonizing with the Church's teaching after Christ's fulfillment of the Temple mystery. Pope Paul VI highlighted pilgrimage's religious impulse, distinguishing it from mere tourism by infusing moral and spiritual value through faith, prayer, penance, and fervor.
Pilgrimages are penitential journeys expressing thirst for God, recovering primordial insights for modern times as paths of sequela Christi (discipleship of Christ). They offer visual experiences of salvation history, complemented by visits to martyrs' shrines. Shrines serve as "milestones that guide the journey of the children of God on earth," awakening nostalgia for God amid hectic lives.
Pope John Paul II described pilgrims echoing the Psalmist:
"God you are my God, I am seeking you, my soul is thirsting for you, my flesh is longing for you, a land parched, weary and waterless; I long to gaze on you in the Sanctuary… Your love is better than life itself" (Ps 63:1-3).
This encounter quenches spiritual hunger, supporting parish life and evangelization through testimony.
Shrines and pilgrimages proclaim the "Gospel of God," outlining Christ's program: Sermon on the Mount, God's fatherhood, love, the Cross, and eternal destiny. They evangelize through Word, Sacraments (especially Reconciliation and Eucharist), and charity, acting as "lighthouses of charity" for the needy. The Eucharist is the pilgrimage's culmination, the "Sacrament of the God who does not leave us alone on the journey."
"By its very nature, then, the Shrine is a holy place where the proclamation of the Word of God, the celebration of the Sacraments... express the Church’s great commitment to evangelization."
Pilgrimages attract those distant from faith, including youth via popular piety, seen as "spontaneous missionary activity of the People of God." They guide complicated souls toward Christ, fostering conversion, perseverance, justice, consolation, and mission support.
For enduring impact, pilgrimages require preparation and follow-up by bishops and priests to engrave Mary's call to conversion. Proper organization—devotion, prayer spaces, reconciliation, and solidarity—ensures evangelistic fruit. Pope Francis transferred shrine oversight to the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, underscoring their role in catechesis, formation, and mercy.
In today's faith crisis, shrines remain sacred refuges for rest, contemplation, and strength for conversion, osmosis between pilgrimage and daily life rekindling evangelization. Pope Benedict XVI urged highlighting pilgrimages' summons of pilgrims, even "religious tourists," proclaiming Christ's death and Resurrection. They draw youth distrustful of structures, legitimizing popular faith expressions.
The Church promotes pilgrimages as evangelization tools through historical defense, spiritual depth, Gospel proclamation, and pastoral care, adapting to modern needs like new evangelization and youth outreach. This tradition, rooted in Scripture and papal magisterium, transforms journeys into encounters with Christ, yielding lasting conversion and missionary zeal.