Holy Hill Basilica and National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

in the north central

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, dedicated to the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...

. The centerpiece of the shrine is a

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

. It is located in the town of

Erin Erin is a Hiberno-English word for Ireland originating from the Irish word ''"Éirinn"''. "Éirinn" is the dative case of the Irish word for Ireland, "Éire", genitive "Éireann", the dative being used in prepositional phrases such as ''"go h ...

, near

Hubertus, Wisconsin Hubertus is a former unincorporated community and now neighborhood in the village of Richfield in Washington County, Wisconsin, United States. The community was named after the previous parish St. Hubert's (now joined with St. Gabriel). Educati ...

, in the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee The Archdiocese of Milwaukee ( la, Archidiœcesis Milvauchiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the United States. It encompasses the City of Milwaukee, ...

. The shrine has approximately 300,000 visitors per year.

Location

The shrine is located atop a high

kame A kame, or ''knob'', is a glacial landform, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the ...

in of woods. Visitors can climb a 178-step observation tower to view the

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

skyline, about southeast. At approximately above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

, it is one of the highest points in southeastern

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Near Wisconsin's

Ice Age Trail The Ice Age Trail is a National Scenic Trail stretching in the state of Wisconsin in the United States. The trail is administered by the National Park Service, and is constructed and maintained by private and public agencies including the Ice ...

, it is about east of

Erin Hills Erin Hills is a golf course in the north central United States, located in Erin, Wisconsin, in Washington County, northwest of Milwaukee. The course officially opened in 2006. It hosted the 117th U.S. Open in 2017. The announcement was made ...

, a championship

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

which hosted the U.S. Open in

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History

Tradition says that the hill was first discovered by Europeans in 1673 by Father Jacques Marquette with

Louis Jolliet Louis Jolliet (September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore and ...

. However, modern historians view this tradition as untrue, though

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

were likely the first Catholic priests to set foot on the hill. The U.S. government owned the land until 1855, and the hill was known as "Government Hill" because

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ...

work was done there. Forty acres were purchased by Fr. Paulhuber of

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The first white resident of the hill was a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite ( adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a C ...

named François Soubrio."History of the Basilica", Holy Hill
/ref> Around 1862, an area farmer found him living on the hill. Soubrio had heard about the hill when he was working as an assistant to a retired professor in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, Canada. He had found an old French diary and map dated 1676 showing a cone-shaped mountain in Wisconsin. The diary described how the author placed a stone

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...

, raised a

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...

, and dedicated the hill to

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

's mother

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

. The diary account corresponds with Jesuit missionary work in the area between 1673 and 1679. The name "Holy Hill" was first given to the place by

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

settlers in the area. Father George Strickner dedicated a log chapel as the first Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians on May 24, 1863. A set of wooden crosses were placed for the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

in 1875. In the winter of 1879, Fr. Raess sent a proposal to

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

John Henni John Martin Henni (June 15, 1805 – September 7, 1881) was a Swiss-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1843 until his death in 1881. Biography Early life a ...

to construct a new shrine to Mary. Construction began that spring. Pilgrims began flocking to the shrine, and it was decided that a religious order should administer the shrine. A group of

Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

came from

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

at the invitation of Archbishop

Sebastian Messmer Sebastian Gebhard Messmer (August 29, 1847 – August 4, 1930) was a Swiss-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay (1892–1903) and Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee (1903–1930). Bi ...

, and the Shrine of Mary was put under their care on June 26, 1906. The building now known as the Old Monastery Inn and Retreat Center was completed in 1920. The second shrine was removed in 1925 so that a third shrine could be built. The cornerstone of the third and present shrine was placed by Archbishop Messmer on August 22, 1926. The present church was completed and

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different gro ...

in 1931. Another tradition describes a German priest who was recreant to his vows and came to America for

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a part ...

. He found a reference to the hill in Marquette's diary and decided to take a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

. He became ill in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and was

paralyzed Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 5 ...

. He reportedly found the hill, crawled to the summit on his hands, and was cured of his paralysis.

Worship site

The basilica hosts weekend

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

es. There are also daily religious services and Marian devotions. The main church was built in 1930. At its entrance, It has two eight-foot-tall statues which were placed there in 1958. The statue on the left depicts St. Mary, Help of Christians; and the one on the right depicts

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

, protector of the Carmelites. The inside of the church features

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

s of Discalced Carmelite founders St. Teresa of Jesus and

St. John of the Cross John of the Cross, OCD ( es, link=no, Juan de la Cruz; la, Ioannes a Cruce; born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez; 24 June 1542 – 14 December 1591) was a Spanish Catholic priest, mystic, and a Carmelite friar of converso origin. He is a major figu ...

Repairs

The church underwent a $6.1-million renovation between 2002 and 2006. The renovations included extensive interior decorative painting, faux stone & mosaic by Conrad Schmitt Studios and exterior repairs, including a new slate roof for the monastery, main church and bell tower. On June 6, 2006 (06/06/06), vandals spray-painted the church and several shrines with expletives and references to

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...

and the

Number of the Beast The number of the beast ( grc-koi, Ἀριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου, ) is associated with the Beast of Revelation in chapter 13, verse 18 of the Book of Revelation. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of t ...

. It was later discovered the vandals were two teenage boys. The cost of removing the graffiti was in excess of $33,000. On May 26, 2013, four new cast-bronze entry doors were dedicated by His Excellency, Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki. The doors were designed by architect Duncan G. Stroik and contain scenes sculpted by artist Cody Swanson. The scenes depict Saint Theresa of Ávila, The Annunciation with Gabriel the Archangel and Our Lady, and Saint John of the Cross. Holy Hill National Shrine of Mary Bronze Entry Doors

Holy Hill National Shrine of Mary Bronze Entry Doors

Image:Holyhillchapel.jpg, Interior prior to the restoration Image:HolyHillRestored.jpg, Restored Interior Image:HolyHillsanc2.jpg, Restored Sanctuary

Milestones

The shrine is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. On July 16, 2006, a Mass was held celebrating 100 years of Carmelite stewardship at the site. During that Mass it was announced that

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

(the reigning pope at the time) had named Holy Hill a

. Holy Hill was dedicated as a minor basilica by Archbishop Timothy Dolan on November 19, 2006. There are about 85 minor basilicas in the United States. New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan drew a large crowd of Catholics and well-wishers to Holy Hill on April 28, 2012, for a special Mass of Thanksgiving, some arriving as early as 4:30 a.m. to ensure a spot in the historic Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians.

Climate

References

External links

Holy HillFrank E Larscheid's ecclesiastical works2003 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Article
{{Authority control Shrines to the Virgin Mary Roman Catholic national shrines in the United States Basilica churches in Wisconsin Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee Landmarks in Wisconsin Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Churches in Washington County, Wisconsin Tourist attractions in Washington County, Wisconsin Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin 1862 establishments in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Wisconsin