You wrote that the American bishops have voted to open the process of beatification and canonisation of Adele Brise, to whom Our Lady appeared in the nineteenth century. What can you tell me about her life and work?
Adele Brise was born in Belgium on 30 January 1831 to Lambert and Catherine Brise. With her two sisters, Esperance and Isabelle, she lived a normal childhood. When she was a young girl, Adele had an accident with lye that left her blind in one eye. Despite the life-altering injury, she was always cheerful. She was a charismatic child who was very pious and full of zeal.
When she received her first Holy Communion, Adele promised the Blessed Virgin that she would become a religious sister in the congregation of nuns that prepared her for it, and that she would devote her life to teaching in the town of Champion, Belgium. She was unable to keep this promise when her parents decided to move to America with other Belgian emigrants but, after seeking advice from her confessor, she was told to be obedient to her parents. The priest assured her that if the Lord willed her to become a teacher and a sister, she would do that in America.
After the six-week voyage to America, the Brise family joined a large Belgian settlement near present-day Champion, Wisconsin. The settlers’ lives were very difficult, and many died in the harsh Wisconsin winters. Although the Catholic Church was some 16 kilometres from their home, Adele made the long walk to Mass every Sunday, no matter what the weather.
As I wrote in my column last week, Adele saw Our Lady three times in October, 1859. In the third apparition, on Sunday, 9 October 1859, Our Lady told her to gather the children and teach them the catechism, the sign of the cross, and how to receive the sacraments.
She immediately set out to do this. She would walk as far as 80 kilometres to visit some of the families, undeterred by the weather, her tiredness, or the ridicule she sometimes encountered.
After several years, Adele gathered a group of women who assisted her. They were blessed with much support from the community, and in 1861 they were able to build a convent, a school and a large wooden chapel near the site of the apparitions. Over the chapel door were the words, “Our Lady of Good Help, Pray for Us.” When Adele and her helpers did not know from where their next meal would come, they would gather in the chapel and pray for Mary’s help. A bag of flour or a supply of meat would soon arrive at the door.
An extraordinary event in Adele’s life occurred on 8 October 1871, when the deadliest forest fire in US history broke out in the vicinity, killing more than 1200 people and burning 1.2 million acres.
Fanned by strong winds, the fire raced towards the grounds of the chapel, school and convent. People from the surrounding countryside fled in fear to the chapel, where Adele and her companions took the statue of Our Lady and paraded around the grounds with it, praying the rosary and singing hymns to Jesus and Mary.
The fire bypassed the compound completely but left everything around it blackened for miles on end. What is more, the following morning a downpour put out the fire. It was truly a miraculous event, on the anniversary of the third apparition of Our Lady.
Aided by her helpers, Adele continued to teach the children for the rest of her life. She died on 5 July 1896 and is buried in the cemetery on the grounds of the National Shrine. She was known for her dedication in passing on the faith, her obedience to the Holy Spirit and to higher authority, and her devotion to Our Lady.
In June, 2024, the US Catholic bishops voted unanimously to begin the process of her beatification and canonisation. One of the miracles attributed to her intercession involved a man who was diagnosed in 2018 with colorectal cancer, which had metastasised to his lungs. After praying for Adele’s intercession, the cancer disappeared, and he has remained free of the disease ever since.
