Catholic Church Affirms Sighting of Virgin Mary
By: Newsroom Solutions
Updated: December 15, 2010
The Roman Catholic Church is affirming an apparition of the Virgin Mary in Wisconsin.
The Church has issued a decree declaring the 150-year-old sighting by a Belgian immigrant to be authentic.
The 28-year-old Adele Brise reported seeing the Virgin Mary three times over the course of a month in 1859 in what is now the small town of Champion, Wisconsin.
Brise said the apparition commanded her to help spread Catholicism and strengthen the faith of believers.
As a result of her vision, Brise became a nun and built a church in the spot where the Virgin Mary appeared to her.
Christian pilgrims have since traveled to the spot in large groups, and many report that the church has profound healing powers.
For years, believers arriving at the church have left behind crutches, canes and wheelchairs, claiming they have been healed.
The Catholic Church began investigating the story in 2009, reading through Brise's journals and evaluating her character and psychological health.
Upon final evaluation, the Church is now officially validating the sighting as, quote, "worthy of belief." Church declarations of Virgin Mary apparitions are rare, with only about a dozen Church-affirmed sightings across the world.
Hundreds of unofficial sightings have been reported around the world in the last century alone.
The Church has issued a decree declaring the 150-year-old sighting by a Belgian immigrant to be authentic.
The 28-year-old Adele Brise reported seeing the Virgin Mary three times over the course of a month in 1859 in what is now the small town of Champion, Wisconsin.
Brise said the apparition commanded her to help spread Catholicism and strengthen the faith of believers.
As a result of her vision, Brise became a nun and built a church in the spot where the Virgin Mary appeared to her.
Christian pilgrims have since traveled to the spot in large groups, and many report that the church has profound healing powers.
For years, believers arriving at the church have left behind crutches, canes and wheelchairs, claiming they have been healed.
The Catholic Church began investigating the story in 2009, reading through Brise's journals and evaluating her character and psychological health.
Upon final evaluation, the Church is now officially validating the sighting as, quote, "worthy of belief." Church declarations of Virgin Mary apparitions are rare, with only about a dozen Church-affirmed sightings across the world.
Hundreds of unofficial sightings have been reported around the world in the last century alone.
