On a snowy winter’s day in southeastern Wisconsin, the Holy Hill of Hubertus — formally named the Basilica of Holy Hill, National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians — looks like a scene straight out of a Christmas card.

A grand, majestic church towers from the top of a mountain that rises more than 1,300 feet above sea level. It’s one of the highest points in the Badger State. But there’s much more to this place than a feast for the eyes and fodder for the camera.

The story of Holy Hill is one of faith, hope — and growth: The site started as a modest hermitage and is now a national landmark.

The area was first settled by Irish immigrants in the 1840s. They dedicated their new community and its beautiful physical surroundings to the Mother of God.

Sometime between 1862 and 1864 a French hermit, Francios Soubrio, arrived in the area and built a small cabin. He had come from Quebec, where, while working as a professor’s assistant, he had come across an old diary. One entry described the diary-keeper’s ascent of a tall, cone-shaped hill at which he erected a stone altar, raised a cross and dedicated the area (once again) to the Virgin Mary.

Chances are the unsigned diary belonged to one of the Jesuit missionaries who explored this area in the late 1600s.

Between 1857 and 1858, several parishioners from the German parish of St. Augustine’s in nearby Richfield constructed a large oak cross. They processed it to the top of Holy Hill, where it was later blessed.

A few years later, the people of St. Augustine’s began to construct a log cabin at the top of the hill. It was dedicated in May of 1863, as Father George Strickner preached for the first time from the steps of the Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians.

The shrine would remain in the hands of local priests for the next 30 years. They oversaw many improvements, including the construction of Stations of the Cross following a path up the hill.

In 1879, work began on a new brick shrine at Holy Hill. The plans for this new shrine called for 200,000 bricks. This was problematic, as the horse-drawn carts could only pull 200 bricks at a time. The solution was to substitute local fieldstone for parts of the building, including the foundation.

A new chapel, built of all bricks, would later house a 1,200-pound bell and a magnificent pipe organ.

In 1906, a group of Discalced Carmelites arrived at Holy Hill from Bavaria, Germany. They’d been invited by the archbishop of Milwaukee, who saw the need to turn the care and ministry of the shrine over to a religious order.

It was the Carmelites who built the shrine that stands on Holy Hill today. They laid the cornerstone in the summer of 1926. The shrine was officially dedicated five years later; a friary built into the side of the hill followed soon after.

 

Milwaukee’s Mount Carmel

During my visit to Holy Hill, I stopped first at the upper or main church. A bright morning sun poured in from a row of stained-glass windows at the top of the church. These windows tell the story of Mary as a young mother. While the church has a simple feel to it, I was struck by the number of details to be appreciated.

For example, the marble main altar weighs more than 40 tons. Carved into its center are five panels illustrating Psalm 42:1 — “as the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”

Behind the altar is a beautiful mosaic of the court of heaven. This shows the Holy Trinity with Mary and Joseph below, along with the 12 Apostles on each side. The church’s side altars are dedicated to two pillars of the Carmelite order, Sts. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila.

I wandered into the side chapel off the main church. Here I was greeted by a dazzling statue of the Blessed Mother with Child. In this life-size image, Mary, surrounded by angels, appears to be presenting her son to the world. I learned that this ivory-colored and gold-leaf statue of Our Lady was made in Germany and brought to America for the World’s Fair in 1876 in Philadelphia. 

Leaving the upper church, I took the elevator down one level to the Chapel of St. Therese. This serves as the chapel for daily Mass and confessions. Its main altar is dedicated to St. Thérèse of Lisieux, another great Carmelite.

Prayerful Prophecy

As if there isn’t enough to see and to contemplate inside the buildings at Holy Hill, the shrine grounds offer 400 acres of pristine woods punctuated by lovely devotional artworks. Of particular interest are the near-to-life-size sculptures of the Stations of the Cross wending up the hill. This set, the hill’s third, took almost 10 years to complete. They were dedicated in 1928.

The old monastery of the Carmelites now serves as a cafeteria and retreat facility for visitors. This building was where the friars lived from 1919 to 1937. It later served as a minor seminary until 1953.

 And Holy Hill continues to make history. Just last month, on Nov. 19, 2006 — during this, the Carmelites’ centennial year here — the Church elevated the shrine to a minor basilica.

At the dedication Mass, Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan remarked in his homily that “There is a lot of holiness upon this holy hill.” Then he recalled the loving work of so many faithful Catholics who have built, rebuilt and sustained the site for more than 140 years.

To have their church raised to a basilica, the Carmelites had to document extensively how the church and shrine make a place of pilgrimage and special devotion, as well as a center of historical significance. They began the process last spring. In seeing it through, the Carmelites were fulfilling a prediction made a century and a half earlier.

Back in the 1850s, Father Francis Paulhuber, an Austrian, was pastor of three parishes in the area. According to the shrine’s records, the priest once looked up at the hill and said, “I feel sure and the day is not far distant … when (the hill) shall be consecrated and made holy … a place of worship and pilgrimage where tens of thousands shall come to do homage to the Virgin Mary and her Son.”

Little did he know.

Merry Christmas, Father Paulhuber — and to all a good pilgrimage!

 

Eddie O’Neill writes from

Green Bay, Wisconsin.

 

Planning Your Visit

This Sunday, Dec. 17, Holy Hill will feature a live Nativity from 5 to 7 p.m. (weather permitting). This will be followed by a concert by the Lakeshore Symphonic Band. For information on Masses, devotions and confessions, call (262) 628-1838 or visit holyhill.com.

Getting There

Holy Hill is located 30 miles north of Milwaukee. Take Interstate 94 to Rte. 45 north and exit onto Rte. 167 west. Drive six miles. Follow the signs to the entrance on the left.