Many Catholics are not aware of the fact that there has been only one approved apparition of our Blessed Mother here in the United States since our country was founded in 1776. That apparition (actually three of them) took place in Champion, Wisconsin in 1859, to a Belgian immigrant named Adele Brise. In 2010, Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay declared the apparitions to Adele “worthy of belief.” When the seer questioned Our Lady during one of her appearances as to her identity and the purpose of her visit, Mary reportedly said, “I am the Queen of Heaven. … Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation. … Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the Cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing. I will help you.”