Carved, wooden statue of Mary dates back to mid-1800s

CHAMPION — When you visit the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, you’ll notice many statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Many have historical significance to the shrine.

• The statue of the Apparition Chapel with Mary holding the Child Jesus is first seen when you enter the chapel. It dates to 1942 when the present chapel was built. Set in the chapel sanctuary, it was by donated by local people under the direction of Fr. Rudolph Hodik, then pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Casco.
• The official statue of Our Lady of Good Help was dedicated on April 12, 2013, by Bishop David Ricken. Bishop Ricken commissioned Gianfanco Tassara of Milwaukee to design a statue of the “Queen of Heaven,” following the description of Adele Brise’s vision. This is the only church-approved apparition of Mary in the United States. The statue is located at the back of the Apparition Chapel
• The statue in the Apparition Oratory is often photographed at the shrine. Depicting Mary as Our Lady of Grace, the statue came from France in August of 1907. It was donated by Fr. Philip Crud, pastor at St. Joseph Church in Champion, who had been appointed to serve the local Belgian community in 1865. Fr. Crud had directed Adele Brise to gather women to assist her in her teaching mission. This statue is directly under the statue of Mary in the Apparition Chapel. This statue stands over the reported site where Mary appeared to Adele Brise in October of 1859.
• The processional statue of Mary is on display in the Welcome Center. This three-foot statue of Mary is clothed in white, wearing a crown and holding a scepter. Her white gown is stitched with silver and metal beads forming a heart in the gown’s center. There is also a rosary in her left hand.
  

  The wooden processional statue of Mary is a familiar site to visitors at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help. It is carried in procession during special events such as the feast of the Assumption of Mary. (Sam Lucero | The Compass)

Carved from wood, the statue is fitted to a wooden frame that can be placed on a bier for processions. Today it is carried on the Solemnity of the Assumption (Aug. 15), the Oct. 8 anniversary of the Peshtigo Fire in 1871, and in the May Celebration. For other Marian celebrations during the year, the statue may be used in procession.

Visitors share memories

Sr. Mardelle Meinholz, a Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity from Manitowoc and the Shrine catechesis coordinator, enjoys researching the shrine’s history. As part of her work at the Welcome Center, she finds that discussions with visitors often yield new information. She said that many pilgrims recall processions of the past and even identify friends or family members in the large, black and white photos on display.

Lyn Zahork, pastoral associate at Most Blessed Sacrament Parish in Oshkosh, spent her high school years at the shrine in the 1960s, when the Sisters of St. Francis of the

Holy Cross ran a pre-noviate school there. She remembers that the processional statue was kept in storage and brought out for procession days, including May crowning.

“A rosary was placed in her hand,” Zahorik recalled. “Metal pieces, like hearts and birds and crosses, were attached to the sides of the bier and made clinking sounds as she was carried. After the procession, the statue remained in the upper church until the last of May and then all was packed away again.”

While the current statue is over a century old, it is not the original processional statue used by Adele Brise. It does, however, have an interesting history. And it was well-known to Adele.

Processions at the shrine

Young girls carry the processional statue of Mary during a rosary procession that followed Mass on the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 2016 at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help. (Sam Lucero | The Compass)

Processions at the shrine started under Adele’s direction, most likely because they were common in her native Belgium for religious rituals.

Sr. M. Dominica Shallow, of the Sisters of St, Francis of the Holy Cross, Bay Settlement, wrote the history of the shrine in the early 1900s. In it, she noted that the first processional statue arrived in Dyckesville on one of the steamers owned by Captain John Denessen of Little Chute, not long after 1859. In describing its arrival, Sr. Dominica wrote that the statue was “carried in triumphal procession to the chapel with hymns and prayers. The procession ended by encircling the chapel grounds; then the statue was placed on the altar in the chapel.”

Many subsequent processions were quite elaborate. The Feb. 22, 1878 Kewaunee Enterprise recorded the Aug. 15, 1877 celebration as numbering in the thousands, with four processions coming from local parishes in Luxemburg, Holland and Dyckesville converging on the shrine grounds to join the main procession. Riders on horseback led the procession, with prayers and hymns offered in several languages, and girls in white dresses carrying Mary’s statue.

Original statue damaged by fire

While the current statue is more than a century old, it is not the original processional statue used by Adele Brise. Sr. Dominica noted that this statue was irreparably damaged by fire started by the wind blowing a candle awry in a procession.

The second Marian processional statue has been permanently at the shrine since 1908, long after Adele Brise’s death on July 5, 1896.

Nonetheless, Adele had been familiar with the statue, which also came from Belgium. Fr. Edward Daems, founding pastor of Holy Cross, Bay Settlement, brought the current processional statue with him when he arrived in 1853. Adele attended the Bay Settlement church, before St. Joseph’s in Champion was founded. Later, she was known to bring children from her school (St. Mary’s Academy) located at the shrine to pray and sing hymns before this statue of Mary at Holy Cross.

Somewhere between 1864 and 1870, Fr. Daems gave the statue to Fr. Crud, who was stationed at St. Joseph in Champion from 1867 to 1870.

The statue remained at the Champion church until 1908, when Norbertine Fr. Milo Smits became pastor and donated the statue to the shrine. Although the current processional statue has been at the shrine since 1908, it may not have been used until later. The date that the first statue was destroyed by fire is not known.

Whose hair was used?

Sr. Regina LeMere, of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross, donated her hair for the wig on the processional statue at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, pictured at right. This is her photo on Reception Day, Aug. 12, 1943. (Photo courtesy of Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross)

Today, the processional statue wears a wig of human hair, which diocesan archival records show was made in 1953. The hair came from Sr. Regina LaMere, a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross.

Sr. Regina entered the community at age 15, because of Sr. Alphonsus Jacobe, who had been her teacher in fourth through sixth grades. Sr. Alphonsus asked the girl to grow her hair until she became a postulant. On Aug. 12, 1943, Sr. Regina’s hair was cut and set aside for the statue. Sr. Regina told Sr. Mardelle that “it was a great honor to offer her hair to the Blessed Mother.”

Sr. Regina also told The Compass that her parents had been proud of her contribution and that, today, she is happy that “part of me is with (Mary).”

Preparing for procession

When Zahorik was in her senior year, she was allowed to handle that same wig. It was during May 1968 when she was chosen to serve in the chapel’s sacristy for the month. Part of that job in May included preparing the statue for the procession and May crowning. Both the statue and the trunk that held its clothes and wig were brought out of storage.

“The statue itself was completely finished and painted, so the wig and clothing were all embellishment,” Zahorik recalled.

She described the clothing as “like delicate doll clothing, all hand stitched. There was a slip and then a white overdress of very thin fabric, like silk. A blue sash was tied around her waist.  The wig was made from human hair; it was brown and hung in long spirals that had to be brushed into place. The veil was bobby pinned to the wig and then a round crown of flowers, lace and pearls held it all in place.”

Zahorik often visits the shrine now and said that, “the last time I was at the chapel, the statue was not wearing the clothes I remember. The fabric was so fragile in 1968 that I can’t imagine it still holding up until today.”

Statue can be seen all year

Today, the processional statue can be seen all year. Sr. Mardelle points out that it has articulated arms, making it easier to change its gowns. However, the modern gown is stitched tightly and is not changed during the year. Sr. Mardelle also noted that the veil — while having a finger loop to hold it steady in a wind — is stitched to the gown to keep it in place.

Jeff Koss, operations manager at the shrine, said that, during the May processions today, children who have made their first Communions that year are asked to bring flowers from their gardens. The petals are strewn before the statue during the processions that link this shrine to the 19th century Belgium Adele Brise knew so well.

Sr. Mardelle Meinholz of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, Kris Matthies of the Green Bay Diocese Archives and Renae Bauer of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross contributed to this story.

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