2024 Order of Malta, United States Associations 11th Annual
Pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion
An Approved Marian Pilgrimage
Thursday, August 8th – Saturday, August 10th
Champion, Wisconsin
The American, Federal, and Western Associations invite you to participate in the 11th Annual Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin from Thursday, August 8th until Saturday evening, August 10th, 2024. All Knights, Dames, Chaplains, Auxiliary Members, Associate Members, Year of Formation Candidates, and their families are encouraged to join us this summer.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Champion is the site of the only Marian apparition in the United States approved by the Catholic Church. In 2010, Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay, declared the Apparition as worthy of belief. In 2016, the USCCB designated the grounds as a National Shrine. Bishop Ricken is a Conventual Chaplain in the Order and serves as Chaplain for the Northeast Wisconsin Area.
If you have never been to Lourdes, this is a unique opportunity to share in the experience of a Marian Shrine pilgrimage and to encounter the love of the Blessed Mother and her Son, Jesus. If you have been to Lourdes, you will find the experience in Wisconsin to be a uniquely distinct encounter with Our Blessed Mother and Her Son, Jesus.
This beautiful, peaceful, and holy place provides every pilgrim the opportunity for spiritual renewal and healing. It is ideal for families and multi-generational groups, and for people who, because of age or physical conditions, may be unable to endure a more strenuous pilgrimage like Lourdes. The travel is shorter, the transportation from place to place is by bus, and it is in the summer when many schools are not in session.
Members of the Order may sponsor a sick or handicapped person to be considered as a potential Special Pilgrim. Members should not invite anyone; each candidate will be evaluated by the Special Pilgrim Selection Committee. All proposed candidates must be ambulatory. If you sponsor a Special Pilgrim, you are expected to attend the Pilgrimage. Unlike the Lourdes Pilgrimage, there is no dedicated medical team on this Pilgrimage.
There will be no special program for young pilgrims – they will accompany their family throughout the Pilgrimage.
Information regarding how to register, propose a Special Pilgrim, hotel reservations, travel arrangements, and uniform requirements is available on our website when you log into the Members Only section of our website.
