Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay answers reporters' questions following Mass Dec. 8 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wis. At Mass Bishop Ricken announced that he approved Marian apparitions seen by Adele Brise. The shrine sta nds on the site where Mary appeared to her in 1859. They are the first apparitions of Mary in the U.S. to receive approval of a diocesan bishop. (CNS photo/Sam Lucero, The Compass)CHAMPION – Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay has approved the Marian apparitions seen by Adele Brise in 1859, making the apparitions of Mary that occurred some 18 miles northeast of Green Bay the first in the United States to receive approval of a diocesan bishop.

Bishop Ricken made the announcement in Champion during Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. More than 250 invited guests filled the shrine chapel to hear Bishop Ricken read the official decree on the authenticity of the apparitions. He also issued a second decree, formally approving the shrine as a diocesan shrine.