Althouse: The first official holy site in the United States is in Wisconsin.

February 14, 2011

The first official holy site in the United States is in Wisconsin.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, near Green Bay.

36 comments:

Biff Styles said...: Damn!; 2/14/11, 8:20 PM
Big Mike said...: Hmm. I would have guessed that the first official holy site in the US would have been in Hawaii and associated with St. Damien of Molokai, the "leper priest," or in Maryland and associated with St. Elizabeth Seton.; 2/14/11, 8:23 PM
bagoh20 said...: And I thought us Steeler fans were over-enthusiastic.; 2/14/11, 8:27 PM
ricpic said...: Secularists, who feel so superior to Christians and especially Catholics, don't believe, not really, in the reality of evil. A Catholic battles evil, in the world and in himself, every day of his life. So who's superior to whom? A genuine Catholic doesn't even think in such categories. But I do and I know the answer.; 2/14/11, 8:31 PM
chickelit said...: Time dig out my trusty copy of Old World Wisconsin (1944) which nicely chronicles the whole story before religious cynicism took hold.

I think people can buy the book via Althouse's Amazon link: link.; 2/14/11, 8:32 PM
Revenant said...: A Catholic battles evil, in the world and in himself, every day of his life. So who's superior to whom?

The person who battles evil without the expectation of eternal bliss as a reward for doing so. :); 2/14/11, 8:36 PM
YoungHegelian said...: It's interesting that what these apparitions of the BVM share is Her entreaties to the participants to pray for this or that cause.

Our Lady seems to be big on prayer, which is a very good thing. Think of the mischief that would ensue if She ever said it's time for another crusade against X (Protestants, Jews, Muslims, etc.).

I think the heavenly powers know us all too well, and mum's the world on too detailed a program for us in the vale of tears.; 2/14/11, 8:38 PM
m stone said...: Actually, battling evil does not produce a reward in the heavenlies for believers. It is a part of the journey and far more real than anything experienced by others who have no stake in the game.; 2/14/11, 8:57 PM
bgates said...: I would have guessed that the first official holy site in the US would have been in Hawaii

Me, too.

Who's St. Damien?

Who's superior? The person who battles evil without the expectation of eternal bliss as a reward for doing so.

So, the Christian, then.; 2/14/11, 9:11 PM
Unknown said...: Given the number of Catholics in this country, although they've had their rough moments, one would have expected something like this would have happened at some point between Antietam and the Zimmermann telegram.

Very surprised it took the Vatican this long.; 2/14/11, 9:11 PM
Bender said...: I've been following this for the last couple of months and have seen nothing about "the Vatican" declaring this to be "the first official holy site" in the United States.

First of all, whatever is meant in that British paper by "the Vatican," there was a declaration by the Bishop of Green Bay that the claimed apparitions are "worthy of belief," but such a declaration by a bishop is not "the Vatican," much less "the Church" (again, whatever that vague term means). In that announcement, the bishop also gave his approval for the site as a Marian shrine.

That this is determined to be "worthy of belief" is NOT a declaration by "the Church" that this is doctrine to be held as true by all the faithful. In fact, NONE of the Marian apparitions are obligatory to believe, not even Lourdes or Fatima or Guadalupe. One can in good conscience disbelieve that these apparitions happened. Hence, there is nothing "official" about this particular site.

As for Marian shrines, there are many approved Marian shrines in the United States (over 30). For example, a few miles from here, there is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. And, as Mike notes, there have been plenty of other sites associated with various saints, including not only St. Damien and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, but Blessed Marianne Cope of Molokai, the Jesuit missionary martyrs killed in New York, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, Mother Cabrini, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, and many others.

The places of martyrdom, as in the case of the Jesuit missionaries, are by that very nature, "holy sites."; 2/14/11, 9:12 PM
traditionalguy said...: This site must have beat out San Carlos Borromeo Del Rio Carmelo were the beatified body of Father Juniperro Serra is buried under the sanctuary floor. He was one of the great Spanish Catholic Priests who built so much here from the legacy of the exploration voyages of Colombus long before the Scots-Irish Gringos took it all.; 2/14/11, 9:18 PM
Phil 314 said...: You mean Lambeau field isn't a holy shrine yet? Well you better get on that!; 2/14/11, 9:19 PM
Bender said...: Who's St. Damien?

Father Damien de Veuster of Molokai, the site of the famous leper colony.

Born Joseph de Veuster in Belgium, Father Damien "left his home in Flanders to proclaim the Gospel on the other side of the world, the Hawaiian Islands. His missionary activity, which gave him so much joy, reaches its summit in charity. Not without fear and repugnance, he chose to go to the Island of Molokai to serve the lepers who were there, abandoned by all; thus he exposed himself to the disease they suffered from. He felt at home with them. The Servant of the Word thus became a suffering servant, a leper with lepers, during the last four years of his life." -- Pope Benedict, Canonization Mass

Father Damien arrived at the settlement on May 10, 1873, as its resident priest. There were then more than 600 inhabitants. He was presented by the bishop as "one who will be a father to you, and who loves you so much that he does not hesitate to become one of you; to live and die with you." A few months after he arrived, Damien wrote to his brother, "I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ."

In 1885, after twelve years of service to the afflicted, Father Damien discovered symptoms of having contracted the disease himself when he lost sensation in one of his feet. However, he did not despair; rather, now he was able to identify completely with the people of Molokai. "We lepers," he said to them with love.

More here (including a documentary).

Father Damien is the spiritual patron of people with leprosy, outcasts, and those with HIV/AIDS, and of the State of Hawaii.; 2/14/11, 9:23 PM
Paddy O said...: Finally!

...and well put, Bender and m stone...

Though, Bender, the article does seem to suggest that the bishop did a lot of research and presented it for more official recognition. I don't know the process for that, but it sounds a little like what would happen for someone being declared a saint.

Personally, I think there are many, and many, and many holy sites in the United States, most of which will never be recognized as official. But, if we believe in the third person of the Trinity, wherever the Spirit works, in whoever, is a holy site.

Going beyond the general, there's also the rather major spiritual events that have happened in this country, for instance Azusa Street. Though I wouldn't expect the Vatican to officially recognize it as a holy site, certainly a great many other Christians around the world recognize it as such.; 2/14/11, 9:44 PM
Revenant said...: It is a part of the journey and far more real than anything experienced by others who have no stake in the game.

Sounds like my ex-roommate describing his drug experiences. I like my reality unfiltered. :); 2/14/11, 9:45 PM
Triangle Man said...: Phil, you beat me to it!

Where else but the home of the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers?; 2/14/11, 9:57 PM
Bender said...: In nearly every case, it is the bishop of a given locality that is THE final authority on whether or not an apparition is "worthy of belief."

Personally, I'm not sold. Largely because the great distance of time between these events (over 150 years), which obviously makes it quite difficult for even a bishop to judge their authenticity. Typically, it would be a contemporary bishop making the determination, not one several generations later. If the bishop of the time did not see fit to approve these apparitions, and since the current bishop cannot question Adele Brise herself, there would seem to be a bit of wishful desire that it be true, as opposed to prudential judgment which is necessary in these cases (necessary because of the many fraudulent claims that have been made over the centuries).

By comparison, for example, the bishop's inquiry into whether 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous actually saw the Blessed Virgin at the Massabielle grotto at Lourdes, France, on February 11, 1858, and several times after, was begun only a few weeks after the apparitions ended. And the decree of authenticity came from the bishop only four years later, in 1862.

In another case, the alleged modern-day apparitions of Medjugorje (Bosnia-Herzegovina) was rejected by the local bishop, as well as by his successor. However, given the controversies due to many supporters, the bishop has accepted an inquiry by a Vatican commission into the question.

More info here -- Church Teaching on Marian Apparitions and Other Private Revelations; 2/14/11, 10:10 PM
Kev said...: (the other kev)

And I thought us Steeler fans were over-enthusiastic.

To be fair, Pittsburgh's had claim to the fifth, seventh and eighth circles of Hell for quite some time now.; 2/14/11, 10:17 PM
Fred4Pres said...: I don't know about the United States, but think Lambeau Field holds the honor for first holy site in Wisconsin. Phil is right!; 2/14/11, 10:48 PM
Anonymous said...: Considering all the praying I've seen in the casinos of Las Vegas, I kinda figured we'd be first.

Come on Jesus - gimme a 6!!!; 2/14/11, 11:10 PM
former law student said...: Fatima
Lourdes
Tepeyac
Champion; 2/14/11, 11:38 PM
jimspice said...: "Personally, I'm not sold. Largely because the great distance of time between these events (over 150 years)..."

As compared to what, two-thousand and eleven years?; 2/15/11, 8:28 AM
888 said...: jimspice,

excellent counterexample, the gospels and epistles were written by contemporaries of the events related therein.; 2/15/11, 9:37 AM
former law student said...: the gospels and epistles were written by contemporaries of the events related therein.

The authorship of the Gospels is in dispute. One theory is that the first Christians thought Christ would come back in their lifetime. When he did not, they felt a collective, "We got to jot these stories down, before we forget."

Right now, only Matthew (the tax collector/Apostle) is thought likely to have been written by a contemporary of Jesus.; 2/15/11, 11:15 AM
Banshee said...: First off, Marian apparitions happen all the time. The bishop of Lourdes had to go big with his investigation because the times were so hostile to religion and Catholicism in France. In Wisconsin out in the boonies, not so much.

Second, it's a perfectly valid argument to look at the history, the stuff that happened afterward that was good fruit, and say, "Yeah, this is fine to believe." Again, investigations as detailed as Lourdes aren't required if pretty much everybody is okay with it already. Which people in Wisconsin were.

Third, if everybody else is too lazy or cheap to do the paperwork on their apparitions, that's not the current Green Bay bishop's fault. Hufflepuff power! It gets you Superbowls too!

Fourth, there's a lot of difference between a shrine and an approved apparition. A shrine is just a kind of church. All you have to do to set up a shrine is to ask and do the paperwork, but most people don't go to the trouble if they don't have some kind of big devotion to a saint going already (and usually it's not a US saint, since we don't have that many). There are a lot of shrines and "national shrines" for this and that in the US, just like in other countries. You can look them up on the Internet. For example, Philadelphia has the National Shrine of St. John Neumann. Columbus has a plain old Shrine of Blessed Margaret of Castello. And so on.; 2/15/11, 11:41 AM
Banshee said...: Amendments:

A shrine is either a kind of church, or something set up inside an existing church. Usually the latter, in the US.

The history of what happened, and the history of what happened afterward. That's what I meant. If the apparition had led to the visionary starting a medicine show and badger game operation, or if the devotees had slaughtered forty innocent people and used them to decorate Christmas trees, or if Harry Houdini had gotten a recording of the visionary chuckling over what rubes those cheeseheads were, those would be strong indications that it hadn't been a genuine apparition.

Since the visionary was known to be truthful and not given to delusions, since she decided it all meant that she should give her life to teaching kids for free and getting others to do the same, and since other good things continued to happen there and people continued to believe it, that indicates that Mary probably did come to call. You don't have to believe it, but it's "worthy of belief".; 2/15/11, 11:51 AM
Paddy O said...: "only Matthew"

John is getting a resurgence of support as well. A lot of the supposedly later gnostic and such theology in it that made a lot of folks push it to a later date was given a bit of new analysis with the Dead Sea Scrolls, which support the fact John was dealing with highly contemporary issues.

The main point being, however, that with the story of Jesus there are first generation men and women testifying to a high understanding of his role. That's not definitive, but it is very early testimony, and the very earliest testimonies we have written down (which are in the letters of Paul, not the Gospels) show that the testimony of Jesus as being something way more than a good teacher go back to the earliest days of the church.

Also, since the issue here is Vatican approval, Peter gave his official stamp on the Jesus story, so it got official sanction by the Vatican fairly quickly. :-D; 2/15/11, 12:00 PM
Trooper York said...: I have often visited the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton which is connected to Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Lower Manhatten just steps away from Ground Zero.

I have spent a lot of time there in prayer and contemlation of the error of my ways.

It combines both American History and the Catholic faith in an unusal and compelling way.

Very much worth a visit if you come to New York City.; 2/15/11, 1:08 PM
Trooper York said...: When I was a kid in the 1060's I went to Catholic school staffed by nuns from the order established by Mother Cabrini. They all had a devotion to St. Damien and often cited him as someone to look to for inspiration as someone who took Jesus's words seriously by having compassion and love for those who are suffering and were abandoned by everyone else. St. Damien went to live among the lepers but did not treat them like statues or "things" to be pitied. He lived among them through God's grace and found a way to be with and of them. They used his life as a way for us knucklehead juvinele delquients to learn to have some compassion for those so much less fortunate like Louie Nerve the kid with Tourettes who cursed in class or the retarded girl who lived with her Mom on Tompkins place.

That was why it was so distrubing when Hollywood assholes used his name for the Devil's son in "The Omen" or as the name of the priest who is destroyed by the Devil in "The Exorcist." Of course it was meant as a direct slap in the face and mocking of a great man, a man who gave his life helping those who needed compassion and love in all the world.
This is not a case where a law professor would lose tenure. It is a case where these Hollywood scumbags should be beaten until blood runs out of their ears.; 2/15/11, 1:19 PM
Trooper York said...: Wait. It was the 1960's. I am not quite that old.

Carry on.; 2/15/11, 1:21 PM
former law student said...: troop: Sure these NYC shrines are all well and good, but there's nothing like the National Shrine of St. Jude on the East side of Chicago. (Patron, as you know, of impossible causes.)

Apparently, the parents of a friend of mine had been married for years without the blessing of offspring. Their pastor suggested a pilgramage to the NSSJ, which they made, and my friend entered the world nine months later.; 2/15/11, 1:36 PM
Trooper York said...: You are entirely correct fls and I have long wanted to go to Chicago just to visit that shrine.

I pray to St Jude every Sunday and light candles at his statue. I know he has interceeded with the Blessed Mother to get her to have her son help me out time and again. I would be lost with out his help and mercy.; 2/15/11, 2:19 PM
Trooper York said...: Prayer to St Jude....

Most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. Make use I implore you, of that particular privilege given to you, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly - (here make your request) that I may praise God with you and all the elect forever.
I promise, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you.

Amen; 2/15/11, 2:21 PM
Trooper York said...: I am ever mindful of his help and compassion and most of all of his mercy.; 2/15/11, 2:23 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm sorry... the 1st official holy site in the United States is the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in Canton Ohio.

You're welcome.; 2/16/11, 7:06 AM