Questions About Adele Brice
A Cause for Canonization is the Church’s official investigation into whether a person should become a saint. Canonization is the process by which a person is declared to have lived a holy life, is with God, and is recognized as a Saint worthy of prayer, and imitation by the faithful.
On January 30, the 195th birthday of Adele Brice, Bishop David L. Ricken, the 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, promulgated a decree officially opening the cause for the canonization of Adele Brice and naming her a Servant of God.
Some causes take a few years, while others take hundreds of years. The Church takes these investigations very seriously, and they happen in God’s time. We must pray for God’s will to be done.
Adele’s last name has been recorded in multiple ways throughout her life, such as Brise on her legal records and family’s gravestones, Brice on her gravestone and in Belgium, and Bryce in some early writings. While these variations can all refer to Adele, the Bishop of Green Bay and the National Shrine have selected “Brice” to be its official spelling, which is the name that appears on her gravestone.
Adele died on July 5, 1896
Adele and her family lived in a small town in Belgium called Dion-le-Val. She lived there from 1831 to 1855.
Adele saw the Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1859. With the final apparition occuring on October 9th, 1859.
“I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same. You received Holy Communion this morning and that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners. If they do not convert and do penance, my Son will be obliged to punish them.”
Adele’s companions, unable to see Our Lady asked, “Adele, who is it? Why can’t we see her as you do?”
“Kneel,” said Adele, “the Lady says she is the Queen of Heaven.”
The Blessed Lady gazed kindly upon them, saying, “Blessed are they that believe without seeing.” Then, looking toward Adele, the Queen of Heaven asked, “What are you doing here in idleness while your companions are working in the vineyard of my Son?”
“What more can I do, dear Lady?” asked Adele, weeping.
“Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation.”
“But how shall I teach them who know so little myself?” Adele said.
“Teach them,” replied her radiant visitor, “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.”
Then, wrapped as it were in a luminous atmosphere, Our Lady lifted her hands as though she were beseeching a blessing for those at her feet. Slowly, she vanished from sight, leaving Adele overwhelmed and prostrated on the ground.
Adele suffered the loss of her right eye due to an accident with lye at a young age and while still in Belgium.
During the Peshtigo Fire, which killed over a thousand people and burned millions of acres, many locals fled to the chapel to pray with Adele Brise instead of fleeing the flames. They processed around the grounds, praying the Rosary and asking for Our Lady’s intercession. On the morning of the 12th anniversary of the apparitions, rain fell, and all who sought refuge at the chapel were saved. Father Peter Pernin later described the site as “an emerald isle in a sea of ash.” The fire burned through part of the fence but left the chapel unharmed while everything around it was destroyed. All who were there thanked Our Lady and the prayers of Adele Brice for the Miracle of the Fire.
Adele was a secular Third Order Franciscan who wore a religious habit and lived as a nun but had not professed vows.
Adele is buried on the grounds of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion. She rests next to the Apparition Chapel, where it is believed she saw the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Adele’s father and mother, Lambert and Katherine Brice, are buried just down the road from the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion at St. Joseph’s Church and Cemetery. Her sister Isabelle Brice, who was believed to be present with her during the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is buried at St. Martin’s Cemetery in Tonet, Wisconsin. Her other sister, Esperence Brice (Duchateau), is buried at St. Louis Catholic Cemetery in Bay View, Wisconsin.
Adele Brice played a pivotal role in evangelization, especially within the Northeast Wisconsin area. She fearlessly spread the Gospel from home to home on her travels, even offering to do household chores for the children she hoped to teach so that they would have time to listen. She did what she could with what she had – all through trust in God and Mary’s care for her. The fruits of her labor are still seen today within the Northeast Wisconsin community.
Now that the Cause for Canonization of Adele Brice has officially been opened, an essential part of the process is a thorough investigation into her life and holiness. The Church collects historical documents, witness testimonies, and personal accounts to help reconstruct the candidate’s life and spiritual virtues.
We invite you to prayerfully consider sharing how Adele Brice has influenced your life and faith journey. Your testimony can help support this important cause.
The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion is researching the life of Adele Brise as part of her cause for sainthood. The Bishop of Green Bay has appointed a Historical Commission to study her life, with a professional research team within the Diocese of Green Bay conducting the investigation in connection to Adele. For any questions, please contact info@championshrine.org.
