Annual pilgrimage uplifts three friends from De Pere
By Suzanne Weiss | For On Mission
DE PERE — The annual Walk to Mary is a pilgrimage this trio of friends have never missed.
Lisa Wiercinski, Dinah Grassel and Kathy Kocken, members of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in De Pere, have been completing the 20-plus-mile walk since it began in 2013. This year’s walk, which took place May 3, is no exception.
Prayer, they say, is their focus.
One year, Lisa said she prayed for her twin grandchildren, born a month early, and they’re now happy and healthy.
In another instance, a volunteer medic asked them to add a prayer for his daughter who went into early labor, Dinah said.
“His grandchild and daughter are doing great,” Lisa added.
The three women agree they got to know each other better through the pilgrimage and began walking the event together five years ago.
Each carries a list of petitions that she prays for; they stop at every mile marker and tell each other who they are praying for during that particular mile.
“Three years ago … one of my petitions for one of the miles was for all the priests from the church,” Kathy said, including one priest who had been called to another parish.
In a surprising twist, two women walking in front of them heard her, and they turned out to be from his new parish.
In addition to prayer, the walk is also about “camaraderie and friendships and our shared spiritual beliefs,” Lisa said. “My favorite part is meeting the other pilgrims and hearing their stories. They come from all over. I think nearly every state in the union has been here, and foreign countries. There’s a big contingency that comes from Poland every year. Mexico is represented and so is Canada.”
The event has grown over the years from about 300 participants to thousands, Lisa said.
The 22-mile route starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph at Old St. Joseph Church on the campus of St. Norbert College in De Pere.
The three women start the walk by attending the 7 a.m. prayer service in De Pere and said they typically complete the Walk to Mary at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, America’s only Church-approved Marian apparition site, at about 3:30 p.m, after which two Masses are offered.
The three friends walk along the banks of the Fox River and later through the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. They stop for lunch at Holy Cross Parish in Bay Settlement.
“St. Joseph pushes us and Mary pulls us,” Dinah said.
Pilgrims take turns carrying a statue of the Virgin Mary throughout the walk, she said.
“I have always had the Blessed Virgin Mary as an advocate,” Lisa said. “During Lent, every Friday, my parents took me to do the Stations of the Cross. I was so moved that a mother had to watch her only son suffer like that.”
That first walk in 2013 was a physical challenge for the women.
“The original reason I wanted to do it: I was intrigued by 21 miles (the original length of the walk),” Kathy said. “I’m always up for a challenge. Could I do 21 miles?”
“I was nervous and scared and wasn’t prepared at first,” said Dinah, who converted to Catholicism in adulthood and walks in support of Catholic schools.
The first year I got sunburned really bad,” Kathy said, who was raised Catholic. “And blistered feet. We’re not as fast as we were the first year, but it’s a pilgrimage not a race.”
She said she has since gained friends, met other pilgrims, and enjoyed the outdoors, marveling at “how God works in nature.” She has also hands out figurines of Jesus along the way.
“It’s spiritual, but then, selfishly, it’s a way to stay connected with my friends and get away from the busyness of our lives,” Kathy said.
“I was very sore afterward,” Lisa said. “I remember coming home having leg cramps. After that first one, I learned a lesson. I started walking throughout the year. It’s gotten to be more about the spirituality than the physical walking.”
What’s nice about the walk is that you can stop or start at any “join-in point,” said Kathy, who has encountered people of all ages on the pilgrimage.
There’s even a three-mile walk especially for adults with children, she said.
“I think that it would be sad for me if I couldn’t do it.” Dinah said. “It’s one of those things I would miss too much.”
“It’s by far my favorite day of the year,” Lisa said.
For more information about the Walk to Mary, visit https://walktomary.com.