Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffery Grob was the main celebrant for the Mass
Story and photography by Michael Cooney | For On Mission
CHAMPION — More than 3,000 faithful gathered at The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion to celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Friday, August 15, 2025. The Mass, held at Mother of Mercy Hall, was followed by a rosary procession and picnic lunch on the shrine grounds.
The shrine is the site of the only approved Marian apparition in the United States, approved locally by Bishop Ricken in 2009. In 1859, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Belgian immigrant Adele Brice, instructing her to “teach the children what they need to know for salvation.” Brice carried out this mission for the rest of her life, catechizing young people throughout northeast Wisconsin. The shrine continues that mission today, drawing pilgrims from across the country.
Bishop David Ricken, bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay welcomed Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee, who was the main celebrant for the Mass. It was the archbishop’s first visit to the shrine since being appointed to lead the Archdiocese of Milwaukee last November.
“He is the head of our province, overseeing all the dioceses in Wisconsin,” Bishop Ricken said. “This is his first visit, as you already heard. I would also like to say to the archbishop, since I know him so well, that it’s truly great he is here — and not only that, his mother is here with him.”
Archbishop Grob, ordained in 1992, grew up in Wisconsin on a farm in Cross Plains. In his homily, he expressed gratitude for the invitation and reflected on the beauty of the shrine and its mission.
“A word of thanks to Bishop Ricken for the opportunity to be here,” he said. “It’s my privilege. It gets me out of the big city, and it’s nice to be among open lands and open fields. The corn crops look good; this is the kind of weather corn loves. You can almost watch it grow with the rain, humidity, and all those practical things. May we grow as well, as successfully as the corn in the fields.”
He spoke of the images of Mary seen in sacred art and apparitions worldwide, including Lourdes, Fatima, Guadalupe — and in Champion, Wisconsin.
“She is almost always depicted beautifully and wholly,” Archbishop Grob said. “But there’s a danger in portraying her as somehow remote. My first opportunity today to visit the Chapel of the Apparition confirmed that this is not a place of remoteness. It is a place of close proximity. You walk into this space, sit before the image of Our Lady, and allow her to envelop you, place her mantle around you, and embrace you in love.”
Reflecting on the Assumption of Mary, Grob reminded the faithful that Mary remains a model of discipleship.
“This ‘sleeping with Mary,’ this Dormition — what we call the Assumption, reminds us that she is our model for living out the Gospel call,” he said. “She gives us a pattern to guide our daily lives: ask and act. Isn’t that what we are called to do?”
Pilgrims said they were deeply moved by the gathering.
“Just being here with thousands of people filled with the Holy Spirit, you can feel the joy and the peace,” one visiting priest said. “To be in this place that Our Lady appeared — the only approved apparition site in the United States, it’s just amazing.”
Bishop Ricken called the liturgy “one of the most well-attended Masses in our history,” and said the shrine remains “a little oasis of deep peace here in Door County, where Mary continues to lead God’s children to her son Jesus.”
See more photos here: https://onmiss.io/assumptionphotos