This article explores the prophetic and priestly, or sacramental, authority of visionary Adele Br... more This article explores the prophetic and priestly, or sacramental, authority of visionary Adele Brise, a Belgian immigrant to Wisconsin who in 1859 received a vision of the Virgin Mary that became known as the apparition of Our Lady of Good Help. In this article, I show that when the prophetic dimension of Mary’s locution to Brise was fulfilled, Brise’s authority increased dramatically; moreover, when Brise subsequently was excommunicated for refusing to remain silent about the apparition, she preached to and said Mass for her followers. When, 150 years later, Church authorities approved the apparition as “worthy of belief,” they created an official interpretation of Brise’s obedience to Church authorities, but such obedience is not supported by archival or other contemporary accounts. The story of Adele Brise and the apparition of Our Lady of Good Help provides an important context for understanding the tension between clergy and laity within the context of Marian apparitions, and i...
The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin is a new American religious site, ded... more The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin is a new American religious site, dedicated in 2008, which though designed and promoted as a pilgrimage site, does not successfully function as a place of pilgrimage. The shrine did not develop organically, but was imagined and promoted by Raymond Burke, then bishop of La Crosse, and later elevated to cardinal after serving as archbishop of St. Louis. The costly structure, designed by the world's leading sacred architects and filled with original art pieces in classical representative style, succeeds in conveying a clear and forceful aesthetic, moral, and devotional vision. This shrine is a place where particular aspects of Catholic identity are broadcast through a bold and impressive visual landscape, but it is not a place where the beliefs and needs of visitors have been allowed—at least as of yet—to shape that landscape or its meanings.
This article explores the prophetic and priestly, or sacramental, authority of visionary Adele Br... more This article explores the prophetic and priestly, or sacramental, authority of visionary Adele Brise, a Belgian immigrant to Wisconsin who in 1859 received a vision of the Virgin Mary that became known as the apparition of Our Lady of Good Help. In this article, I show that when the prophetic dimension of Mary’s locution to Brise was fulfilled, Brise’s authority increased dramatically; moreover, when Brise subsequently was excommunicated for refusing to remain silent about the apparition, she preached to and said Mass for her followers. When, 150 years later, Church authorities approved the apparition as “worthy of belief,” they created an official interpretation of Brise’s obedience to Church authorities, but such obedience is not supported by archival or other contemporary accounts. The story of Adele Brise and the apparition of Our Lady of Good Help provides an important context for understanding the tension between clergy and laity within the context of Marian apparitions, and i...
The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin is a new American religious site, ded... more The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin is a new American religious site, dedicated in 2008, which though designed and promoted as a pilgrimage site, does not successfully function as a place of pilgrimage. The shrine did not develop organically, but was imagined and promoted by Raymond Burke, then bishop of La Crosse, and later elevated to cardinal after serving as archbishop of St. Louis. The costly structure, designed by the world's leading sacred architects and filled with original art pieces in classical representative style, succeeds in conveying a clear and forceful aesthetic, moral, and devotional vision. This shrine is a place where particular aspects of Catholic identity are broadcast through a bold and impressive visual landscape, but it is not a place where the beliefs and needs of visitors have been allowed—at least as of yet—to shape that landscape or its meanings.
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