Dear Knights and Dames, Chaplains, and Provisional Members of the Western Association:

All three US Associations will sponsor the 13th Annual Pilgrimage to Champion, Wisconsin to the Shrine of Our Lady of Champion from August 6-8, 2026. The Shrine of Our Lady of Champion is the site of the only Marian apparition in the United States approved by the Catholic Church. This beautiful, peaceful, and holy place provides every pilgrim with the opportunity for spiritual renewal and healing.  It is ideal for families and multi-generational groups and people 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.

If you have never been to Lourdes, this is a unique opportunity to share in the experience of a Marian Shrine pilgrimage. If you have been to Lourdes, this Pilgrimage will provide you with a very different setting in which to encounter the Love of the Blessed Mother and her Son, Jesus.

We invite everyone to join us this summer.

Grand Master Invitation to Our Lady of Champion

Explore with the Miracle Hunter: Our Lady of Champion

National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion 

Registration

Registration is now open. The registration fee will be $550 per adult to cover the costs of breakfast/lunch/dinner and bus transportation to the Shrine and back each day. There is a reduced registration fee of $200 for children under eighteen. Children under 2 are free.

Registration fee includes: breakfast and lunch on Friday/Saturday, dinner on Thursday/Friday/Saturday at the hotel, round-trip transportation from the hotel to Our Lady of Champion Pilgrimage; Medals, ballcaps/visors, and other materials you will receive when you check in on site.

2026 Our Lady of Champion Registration Link

2026 Our Lady of Champion Save the Date Flyer

Tentative Schedule

Thursday, August 6: Registration; Opening Speaker at the Hyatt; Pilgrimage Opening Mass at 5:00 p.m. at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, dinner at the Hyatt, Night Prayer.

Friday, August 7: Tri-Association Buffet Breakfast at the hotel, board buses to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion; Mass in the Apparition Chapel; Confessions; tours; lunch in the Mother of Mercy Hall; board buses to the National Shrine of St. Joseph at St. Norbert’s College; Eucharistic Procession; Healing service; Reception with Ministry Fair; dinner at the Hyatt, Night Prayer.

Saturday, August 8: Tri-Association Buffet Breakfast at the hotel, board buses to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion; Rosary Procession; Mass and Anointing of the Sick; lunch; Adoration; Reflection; Vigil Mass; closing dinner at the Hyatt; medal distribution.

Accommodations

Hotel rates are $110 for single/double occupancy plus tax,  $135 for triple occupancy plus tax, or $160 for quad occupancy plus tax. The pilgrimage registration fee includes a buffet breakfast per person on Friday and Saturday. Parking is $5 per day (50% off current rate). The Order of Malta special rate is available Tuesday, August 4 through Saturday, August 8, 2026. Please register EARLY to ensure availability of room preference. Double Queen Suites are the standard and room sharing is a viable option with adequate room for families. The rooms are quite large, with a sitting room, pull out sofa bed, wet bar, coffee bar, microwave, and mini- fridge.

Once registration is complete and payment is received, you will be sent the passkey to make online hotel reservations at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Green Bay.

Ministry Fair

During a reception at the hotel on Friday evening before dinner, the 3 U.S. Associations will be hosting a Ministry Fair. This Fair will feature a number of informational tables from ministries of each Association. This will enable members of each of the respective Associations to learn more about the ministries being offered by the Order of Malta in the United States and to share ideas. The reception will feature a hosted bar of beer and wine along with hors d'oeuvres consisting of a Wisconsin favorite, cheese curds.

Travel Arrangements

All pilgrims are responsible for making their own travel arrangements to and from Green Bay, Wisconsin and for making their own hotel reservations at the Hyatt Hotel on Main Street at 333 Main Street, Green Bay, at negotiated rates (including parking.) All pilgrims should make hotel reservations as soon as possible after being notified of the acceptance of your registration.  Hotel space often fills up quickly.

All cancellations must be received in writing by July 1, 2026 to receive a refund of the registration fee. If you cancel your registration, you are responsible for canceling your own travel arrangements, including your hotel reservation and your transportation.

Adele Brice- Servant of God

Most Reverend David L. Ricken, Bishop of Green Bay, will formally promulgate the Decree opening the Cause of Canonization of Adele Brice, thereby declaring her a Servant of God. Adele Brice, the seer of Our Lady of Champion, was laid to rest next to The Chapel on the Shrine grounds since her death in 1896. For generations, countless pilgrims have come to her grave to pray for her intercession, hoping that one day she would be honored on earth as a saint. This sacred act marks the official beginning of a long and prayerful journey toward sainthood, a journey rarely undertaken in the United States and unprecedented in the history of the Diocese of Green Bay.

Bishop Ricken Announces Formal Inquiry Into Life of Servant of God Adel Brice

Decree for the Cause of Canonization of Adele Brice

Learn More About Adele Brice

Please join us in beautiful Wisconsin for an opportunity to grow in faith and fellowship. All three of the United States Associations will come together for this special pilgrimage.

Our Lady of Champion, pray for us.

Ann Sanders
Western Association Co-Director
Mary Jo McCarthy
Western Association Co-Director
626-824-9748 650-400-6364
sanders.ann.m@gmail.com mjmccarthy101@gmail.com