Order of Malta, United States Associations

Join Us on a Spiritual Journey to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion

August 7-9, 2026

Take Heart

The American, Federal, and Western Associations invite all Knights, Dames, Chaplains, Auxiliary and Associate Members, Year of Formation Candidates, and families to join us for the 2026 Pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion Wisconsin, taking place August 7-9, 2026.

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion is the sacred site of the only Marian apparition in the United States formally approved by the Catholic Church. In 2010, Most Rev. David Ricken, ChC, Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay and Conventual Chaplain of our Northeast Wisconsin Area, declared the 1859 apparition to Adele Brise “worthy of belief,” firmly establishing its significance in American Catholic history. In 2016, the U.S. bishops designated the grounds as a National Shrine, recognizing its growing importance as a place of prayer, healing, and pilgrimage for the faithful across the country.

On January 30, 2026, Bishop Ricken officially initiated Adele Brise’s sainthood cause, marking a new chapter in honoring the visionary of the 1859 apparitions. EWTN published an excellent article about this milestone. Please click here to read.

We chose Take Heart as our pilgrimage theme because on November 11, 2025, the U.S. bishops voted to consecrate the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 2026, aligning this act with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a “new declaration of love” that invites us to take heart, renew our hope, and refocus our lives on Christ’s love in an ever-changing world.

Official invite will be sent out in April. We hope you will join us!