Theoni Bell
Theoni Bell is a wife and homeschool mom who has an MA in journalism and has studied religion and culture. She came to Catholicism in college and embraces the idea that "conversion is a lifelong process." She is the author of The Woman in the Trees, a novel about America's first approved Marian apparition (TAN Books, 2021).
Penance at Lourdes and Champion (PART II)
PART TWO: Our Lady to St. Bernadette The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wisconsin every year gears up for its patronal feast day on October 9th. This day celebrates the appearance of Our Lady of Good Help to a Belgian immigrant by the name of Adele Brise on October 9th,…
Penance at Lourdes and Champion (PART I)
PART ONE: Our Lady to Adele Brise On October 9th, Catholics across the country will celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Good Help, America’s first and only approved Marian apparition. In the decades since the events of 1859 in Champion, Wisconsin, locals have referred to these appearances of the Virgin Mary as the “Wisconsin…
Our Lady of Good Help: Antidote for a Church in Crisis
In 1871, on the same night as the Great Chicago Fire, America’s most destructive wildfire swept through Wisconsin. People searched for safety in wells and streams. Some covered themselves in mud. A throng of settlers descended on the river, splashing at the water to keep themselves from igniting in the heat. What isn’t as well-known…