The passport, developed by three Marian shrines in Wisconsin, is an invitation to deepen one’s faith through pilgrimage
When you travel overseas, you take your passport along. It identifies who you are, while its many and varied stamps serve as a history of where you’ve been. Passports also lead us to look forward to where we are going.
That is also the idea behind a Pilgrim Passport for the Jubilee Year of 2025, developed by three Marian shrines in Wisconsin. Each is a designated pilgrimage site for the Jubilee Year:
• The Basilica and National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Hubertus, near Milwaukee. It is locally known as “Holy Hill.”
• The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, near Green Bay.
• The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse.
“Pilgrimage is, of course, a fundamental element of every Jubilee event,” the late Pope Francis wrote in announcing the Jubilee. “Setting out on a journey is traditionally associated with our human quest for meaning in life.”
Reflecting on this meaning brought the Pilgrim Passport idea to the staff at Champion.
“It was in response to ‘How can we make this a fun year for pilgrims who are traveling this Jubilee Year?’” said Chelsey Hare, communications director at Champion. “Not everyone can make it to Rome. And so (we thought), there are these beautiful shrines in Wisconsin dedicated to Our Lady. And we’ve had such a beautiful response already (to the passports).”
Hare, who designed the passports, said that they reflect Pope Francis’ naming Mary as “Our Mother of Hope” in his 2024 bull of indiction announcing the Jubilee Year, “Spes non confundit” (“Hope does not disappoint”).
“The Jubilee Year is a profound invitation for Catholics to deepen their faith through pilgrimage,” said Discalced Carmelite Father Mark-Joseph DeVelis, rector at Hubertus. “By uniting our shrines through the Pilgrim Passport, we are offering a tangible way for the faithful to mark their journey and embrace the grace of this Holy Year.”
Each shrine has free passports and pilgrims may get theirs stamped at each shrine’s gift shop. Each stamp bears the unique logo of its shrine for pilgrims to collect as they travel. The passports also include information and highlights about each shrine, as well as devotions and explanations about the Holy Year’s plenary indulgence. While the passports are currently in English, a Spanish version will be available soon.
The hope, Hare said, is to get the passports to people as they travel during the prime pilgrimage season.
In that vein, Father Anthony Stephens, a Father of Mercy, who is rector of the shrine at Champion, noted that, “We are delighted to partner in this meaningful endeavor to bring more pilgrims to Jesus through Our Lady.”
As pilgrims travel to each of these shrines, their use of the Pilgrim Passports will be an aid in reflection during this Year of Hope.
“The Pilgrim Passport is more than a keepsake,” said Father Edward Nemeth, a St. Louis archdiocesan priest, who is executive director of the La Crosse shrine. “It is an invitation to prayer, reflection and spiritual renewal through the lens of Mary as our Mother of Hope. We pray that all who embark on this pilgrimage can draw inspiration from her unwavering hope and maternal guidance, knowing it will always lead us closer to the heart of her son, Jesus.”
