The Wisconsin Way pilgrimage for the Franciscan Jubilee Year 2026, marking 800 years since the passing of St. Francis.
Sunday, September 6, 2026
through Friday, September 18, 2026
With Wisconsin Way Pilgrim Tours
June 8-20, 2025
The Wisconsin Way is an approximately 150-mile walk from the Shrine of Our Lady of Champion to Holy Hill Basilica. It is a pilgrimage based loosely on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. There are several shrines and chapels along the way, referred as spiritual “Hot Spots”.
It is divided into a “Farm Section” which is mainly road walking, and “Forest Section” much of which follows the Ice Age Trail.
“Pray with Mary, walk with Jesus”
Map courtesy of the Spiritual and Walking Guide: The Wisconsin Way by Stacy Wittig
Our Lady of Champion is the only Marian apparition site in the United States approved by the Catholic Church.
In 1859, Mary appeared to Adele Brise, a Belgian peasant girl, with the message to teach the children.
The Belgian immigrants who settled in the area built small shrines along the road on their farms which the public are invited to stop and pray.
Farms along the Way.
The Way follows the Ahnapee State Bicycle Trail for a short while before arriving at…
…the Wisconsin Way Albergue, currently the only albergue on the Wisconsin Way. Started by Fr. Andrew Kurz who is the founder the Wisconsin Way. In 2013 he felt the Lord calling him to establish the pilgrim route.
The albergue contains a furnished kitchen, showers, chapel and living room.
Stops include Krohn Cheese store, a fun, full-service shop serving dairy products for over 125 years…
…and a Rogation Shrine. Such shrines were visited on Rogation Days, 3 days prior to Ascension Thursday. Rogation means “to ask”. After Mass, the priest would lead parishioners to a Rogation Shrine. Along the way, prayers are said asking God to bless the fields and provide a bountiful harvest.
St. Lawrence Catholic Church, Stangelville, WI.
Built by Czech immigrants, Czech influence can be seen by the sanctuary created by Bohemian-born woodcarver Joseph Swoboda, painted murals and symbols and baptismal font with scripture verse in Czech. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
A popular Wisconsin Way stop: the award-winning Parallel 44 Vineyard and Winery, Kewaunee, WI.
Second night, camping at St. Isadore the Farmer Parish, Tisch Mills, WI.
A stop at the Curran Spiritual Center, Curran, WI
Completed in 2015, this charming Devotional Chapel and Rosary Prayer Garden is open year-round and free to all religions. It was built by retired Catholic Priest Father Bill O'Brien on the farm property of his great grandparents. The cross inside the stone chapel was carved from their old homestead.
Another stop at the Carmelite Monastery of the Holy Name of Jesus, before spending the night at an Airbnb in Denmark, WI.
Brief walk on Devil’s River State Trail. Mainly rural road walking today.
Spending the fourth evening at Lumen Christi Farm, a Catholic family farm retreat center in Reedsville, WI. Lodging includes a yurt or a shepherd's wagon.
More scenes from Lumen Christi Farm.
We walk past the monument in Clarks Mill, WI memorializing the founding site of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, then were treated to a tour of their current motherhouse, Holy Family Convent in Manitowoc, WI.
Spent a luxurious night at the Holiday Inn in Manitowoc, WI managed by a devout Catholic. It’s the only Holiday Inn with a Divine Mercy Chapel, The Last Supper Picture in the dining room and an angel greeting you at the hotel’s entrance.
A beautiful facility with all the amenities!
Gary Malchow, General Manager, is in the middle with Brian Burnett, Wisconsin Way proprietor, on the left and Brian’s wife, Maggie, on the right.
Walked to our destination at St. Nazianz, WI, a quaint historic town settled by Germans immigrants hoping to established a utopian Catholic community under the leadership of Fr. Ambrose Oschwald. The colony built a church, a convent and a Franciscan monastery. The town is named after one of the great Eastern saints: St. Gregory Nazianzen.
The night was spent at Holy Resurrection Monastery, an Eastern Catholic monastic community dedicated to prayer, hospitality and work.
The utopian Catholic community disintegrated after Fr. Oschwald’s death in 1873. A Salvatorian seminary was established at the community which constructed a church, dormitories, and other buildings. A Catholic high school used the site from 1968 until 1982. It is now privately owned.
Pictures are of Fr. Oschwald’s mausoleum at Our Lady of Loretto Chapel. It is reported that when he was exhumed, his remains were found to be incorrupt.
Stopped by the Lax Chapel, Keil, WI. There is Our Lady of Loučim statue with a sword through her head. She became a symbol of devotion when, during the Hussite wars of the 1400’s, a zealot attacked the village’s statue, plunging his sword into her head. It bled, even when thrown into a pond thereby converting him.
Next stop was Our Lady Queen of Hearts Chapel in Steinthal, built in 2008 by Mary Ann Ristow to honor Our Lady’s healing of her brother and herself.
Up to this point, the walking has been mainly on roads. This day we did have a brief walk on the Ice Age Trail, making this the start of the Forest Section. Spent the night at Christie’s Inn, Elkhart Lake, WI.
Leaving Elkhart Lake, home of Road America. Saw many signs along the road highlighting Road America 1950’s racing route when it took place along country roads. Now racing is done on a 4-mile course.
More hiking on the Ice Age Trail.
The night was spent at Greenbush Group Camp in the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest. Wisconsin Way Trail Angels, Pam and Tom Brink joined us providing a scrumptious dinner!
Ice Age Trail all the way from Greenbush Group Campground to Mauthe Lake Campground, Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest. A long, hot hike!
Another long day! Visited the historic St. Matthias Catholic Church in Auburn, WI, entered the last county of the walk: Washington County, passed glacial kames and farms, stopped to pray at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Kewaskum, walked along the Eisenbahn State Trail, and a seemingly endless uphill road walk to our cabin outside of West Bend, WI.
Took a lunch break at Gehring’s Meat Market in St. Lawrence, WI. We arrived at our final evening destination at Pike Lake State Park. Climbing the observation tower there, we could see the Wisconsin Walk’s end at Holy Hill!
The pilgrims are eager to get started. Hiked mostly on the Ice Age Trail, up the hill and stairs of the end of The Wisconsin Way: Holy Hill Basilica and National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians.
Getting our Wisconsin Way passports stamped at the Wisconsin Way destination and receiving our Wisconsin Way patches.
Recommended for pilgrim preparation and as a useful reference is today’s most complete guidebook for walking the Wisconsin Way from the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion near Green Bay to Holy Hill Basilica outside of Milwaukee [fully updated January 2025].
Available at the Champion and Holy Hill shrine bookstores and amazon.com
Wisconsin Way patch available on Etsy.com
Map courtesy of the Spiritual and Walking Guide: The Wisconsin Way by Stacy Wittig
