CHAMPION, Wis. (OSV News) — A small churchyard amid Wisconsin farmland became the site of a big holiday celebration over the Fourth of July weekend. There were no carnival rides, parades, apple pie or fireworks. Not even a brass band. It was, however, a gathering of families in faith. The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion hosted a celebration of Catholic Saints of America July 1-9. With relics of 14 saints and blesseds, along with tents of displays from shrines and sainthood guilds around the country, the shrine celebrated what it means to be Catholic Americans. “Yes, we are faithful citizens of the United States of America, but we are first of all, by baptism, Catholics,” Father of Mercy Nathanael Mudd, shrine chaplain, told OSV News. “And that identity, as sons and daughters of God
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America’s 250-year history is momentous and profound, yet chaotic and imperfect, marked by the women and men who labored to create a land of liberty. The Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, the only Church-approved Marian apparition in the United States, has created an opportunity for America’s Catholics to see the faces of the holy women and men who have been a light in America’s darkest hours. Here are four of America’s holiest women and men all U.S. Catholics should know about: 1) Saint Junípero Serra Meet Saint Junípero Serra, O.F.M., who, during the era of Spanish colonization in the western United States, witnessed the mistreatment of Native peoples and recognized the dignity and beauty of Indigenous cultures. Empowered by the missionary outreach of the Gospel, Saint Junípero moved from Spain to America, founding nine missions
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE America’s 250th Anniversary Celebrated Through Catholic Saints Exhibit and National Novena July 1-9 event includes displays and presentations representing the 76 Shrines and Guilds for the U.S. Saints, Blesseds, Venerables, and Servants of God, honoring our nation’s birth in 1776 CHAMPION, WISCONSIN (June 1, 2026) – The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion – the first and only approved Marian apparition site in the U.S. – is hosting the Catholic Saints of America exhibit July 1-9, 2026, to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary. This first-of-its-kind Carlo Acutis-inspired exhibit will honor the holy men and women of America, Saints, Blesseds, Venerables, and Servants of God, who have shaped the nation’s faith and offer inspiring models of Christian virtue. Rector, Fr. Anthony Stephens, CPM, wrote the Novena for Our Nation which starts
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