Our Lady of Champion to Host Catholic Saints of America Exhibit July 1-9Read Time 7 min

(Submitted Photo)

From July 1-9, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion will host the “Saints of America” event, featuring a special novena, an exhibit honoring Americans who are saints or on the path to sainthood, and an opportunity to venerate their relics. Among the relics on display will be those of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Blessed James Miller, and Blessed Stanley Rother.

The Shrine is also encouraging the faithful to join together and pray a special Novena for Our Nation, written by the Rector, Fr. Anthony Stephens, CPM, dedicated to praying for the United States, seeking Our Lady’s intercession for unity, holiness, and renewal across our land. Visit championshrine.org/AmericanSaints to sign up for the Novena to our Nation and to learn more about the exhibit.

According to John Paul Brissette, Director of Communications at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, the first and only approved Marian Apparition site in the United States, the shrine expects at least 15,000 visitors over the nine-day event.

The event was created to honor the Nation’s 250th birthday and the saints who helped shape America, explained Brissette. This first-of-its-kind exhibit will honor the holy men and women who helped shape America’s faith and history. In collaboration with more than 70 causes, shrines, and guilds, the exhibit will share inspiring stories of sanctity across the nation.

Americans who have been canonized include Saints Elizabeth Ann Seton, John Neumann, Marianne Cope, Katharine Drexel, Damien de Veuster of Molokai, Junípero Serra, Kateri Tekakwitha, Théodore Guérin, Frances Xavier Cabrini, and Rose Philippine Duchesne. St. Teresa of Kolkata was granted honorary American citizenship in 1996, the year before she died.

Beatified Americans include Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, Blessed Stanley Rother, Blessed James Alfred Miller, Blessed Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, and Blessed Carlos Manuel Cecilio Rodríguez Santiago of Puerto Rico. Five Franciscan friars known as the Georgia martyrs will join them Oct. 31, and the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen is also expected soon.

“We are focusing on saints, servants of God, and venerables,” Brissette said. “On January 30, Bishop David L. Ricken, the 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, promulgated a decree officially opening the cause for the canonization of Adele Brice and naming her a Servant of God—she was the seer of Our Lady of Champion in 1859. As a result of learning more about Adele Brice, we have learned about so many servants of God and causes for canonization.”

The exhibit will recognize Brice, a Belgian immigrant who reported seeing the Blessed Virgin Mary three times in 1859. She is buried at the shrine marking the site where they met.

Additionally, the event will include a large display featuring stories of the American saints, Blesseds, Venerables, and Servants of God, including Blessed Solanus Casey.

Bernard Francis Casey was born in 1870 to an Irish immigrant family in Oak Grove, Wisconsin. He was 21 when he entered St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee to study for the diocesan priesthood.

Unfortunately, the German language in his lessons was difficult to comprehend. Finally, his superiors advised that he was unlikely to succeed and suggested he join a religious order. After a period of discernment, Casey traveled to Detroit and entered the Capuchin Order.

On July 24, 1904, after serving as a brother and a deacon, his superiors decided that Casey would be ordained a “simplex priest” without the ability to hear confessions or preach doctrinal sermons. On July 31 of that year, Fr. Solanus Casey celebrated his first Solemn Mass at St. Joseph Parish in Appleton, Wisconsin.

“Those promoting his canonization from Detroit will be here July 3-5 and will have one of his relics here,” said Brissette.

This American Saints exhibit, inspired by a traveling exhibit on Eucharistic miracles based on a website created by St. Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager canonized last year, will feature large boards highlighting the lives of all the open causes in the United States. There will be a 20-foot map showing where they were born and a timeline showing how their lives intertwine with American history.

“We will have pop culture, games, scavenger hunts, and talks about those on their path to sainthood all nine days,” said Brissette. “The main three days are July 3-5, and we have invited the groups and guilds representing the various causes on site. We will also have relics, as many shrines have donated relics for the American Saint exhibit. Visitors will be able to speak with those groups promoting the saints. There will be speeches as well.”

A special Mass will be celebrated on Sunday, July 5, at 11:30 a.m., on the anniversary of Adele Brice’s death. This marks the first anniversary of her official declaration as a Servant of God. Following Mass, a special blessing will be offered at her gravesite.

Following Mass, the Knights of Columbus and the Blessed Michael McGivney Guild will host an All-American picnic for a small fee, where guests can enjoy food, visit the exhibit, hear speakers, and take part in the celebration.