Our Lady of Champion Miracle Illustrates the Profound Love Our Blessed Mother Feels for Us

Susan Ciancio tells the incredible story of a miracle one woman experienced after visiting the Oratory at the Shrine of Our Lady of Champion. 

A small and unassuming shrine sits nestled in the countryside a couple hours north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It’s the only approved Marian apparition site in the US. Outside of its Oratory, which was built over the spot where Mary appeared to Adele Brise in 1859, a glass case holds things discarded by people who experienced healings there. Walkers, canes, crutches, and more fill the space. But it can’t hold proof of Susan Holtz’s miracle, as not all miracles leave tangible evidence.  

Our faith commands that we give glory to God in all that we do. And when Susan joyfully told a priest at the Shrine of her healing, he told her she should not keep it to herself. She has not, and this is her story.   

A Life-Altering Accident  

In 2001, Susan Holtz was in a car accident. While it didn’t seem bad at first, the resulting whiplash grew to have significant physical effects. Susan began experiencing debilitating migraines two to three times each week. The pain would preclude her from working, and once the migraines finally dissipated, she had to deal with extensive exhaustion and brain fog. 

Susan tried everything to treat the migraines. She saw doctor after doctor, tried various meds, endured steroid shots, and went to physical therapy. Nothing helped. The migraines and the pain eventually forced her to leave her job. 

For over a decade, she lived with the pain, the unpredictability of her life, and the missed opportunities with those she loved and cared about.  

But in 2014, everything changed. 

Susan’s Miracle 

In October of 2014, Susan and her husband Bill joined her sister and her sister’s husband on a weeklong vacation to Door County, Wisconsin. Her sister had heard of the Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in nearby Champion, Wisconsin, and asked if they wanted to stop there on the way home. They eagerly agreed. 

The Shrine is home to a beautiful church and grounds built where our Blessed Mother appeared to Adele Brise, a Belgian immigrant who had moved to Champion with her family when she was young. When she was 28 years old, Adele encountered the Blessed Virgin Mary, who told her to teach children their catechism. Adele eventually became a nun and dedicated the rest of her life to teaching. 

Today, tens of thousands of people make pilgrimages each year to learn her remarkable story, the story of the miracle after the Great Peshtigo Fire, and to pray in the spot where Mary appeared.  

Adele’s story intrigued Susan, so the group began making plans and created a list of people to pray for.   

On the day of the pilgrimage, the family arrived at the Shrine early, intending to spend time in the Oratory before Mass. Susan described the Oratory as a small but incredibly beautiful room lit only by candles and with a lovely statue of Mary adorned by flowers as its focal point. She knelt down and began to pray, her husband and sister on either side of her.  

Susan had just experienced another migraine the day before and was still dealing with its lingering effects, and she explained that after a few minutes of prayer, she lifted her head and “the tension, the tightness, and the grogginess were going away.” 

She lowered her head and prayed more, not for herself but for the people on her list. But as she prayed, she realized that she felt better, that her body just felt different, and she knew in her heart that she had been cured.  

She said she looked at her husband and sister and said in astonishment, “I feel better!” and burst into tears. Her relief caused her to crumple into her husband’s arms, and both he and her sister engulfed her as they all praised Mary.  

Susan would later find that Bill hadn’t made a list of people to pray for. Instead, he was praying only for her migraines to go away, and at the exact moment that he finished his prayers, she looked at him and exclaimed, “I feel better!”  

Giving Thanks 

Susan explained that her miracle has inspired her to now live her faith “more openly” and to talk about it “more than ever before.” But she also emphasized the importance of giving thanks for everything in life and for allowing God to help us derive good from the bad. 

She said that her life is a great example of this, and looking back, she can see that at least three good things came from her accident and her departure from her job. 

She was able to take time to help settle her late brother’s estate after he passed away. She was able to move in with her father and take care of him after he broke his back. And because she was there at her father’s house caring for him, she was the one who answered the door when the son of a neighbor knocked, inquiring if her dad was okay. 

That man is now her husband. 

Susan’s story is one of profound faith, of immense blessings, and of a miracle that she gives thanks for every day of her life. She and her husband now both have a special devotion to Mary, who interceded on her behalf. And ever since Susan’s miracle, they have returned to the Shrine every year to give thanks and to praise Mary for her protection, her love, and the miracle that not only changed their lives but that strengthened their faith and brought them closer to her Son.  

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Copyright 2025 Susan Ciancio
Images: copyright The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, all rights reserved, used with permission