On September 25, 1891, Pope Leo XIII signed the Bull of Canonical Coronation for a small stone church on the west bank of the Fox River in Wisconsin — making the statue of St. Joseph housed there the first and only papally crowned image of the saint in the United States. The following May 8, Bishop Sebastian Messmer of Green Bay placed the gilded crown on the statue's head before a crowd of French-Canadian and Belgian immigrants who had settled this corner of the Great Lakes frontier. The church stood at 123 Grant Street in De Pere, five miles southwest of Green Bay, on land whose Catholic history reached back more than two centuries.
That history began in 1671, when the Jesuit missionary Claude-Jean Allouez founded the Mission of St. Francis Xavier at the rapids of the Fox River. The local Indigenous name for the site described the same geological feature that drew both fishermen and missionaries: the last falls before the river opens into Green Bay. Allouez's community of converts grew large enough to warrant a chapel measuring seventy feet by forty feet, completed in 1684. Three years later, an Iroquois raid burned the mission to the ground. Catholicism in the region fell dormant for well over a century, until a log chapel arose at the site in 1825 and the first permanent parish, St. John the Evangelist, was established in Green Bay in 1831.
The shrine's modern chapter opened in 1888, when Fr. Joseph Durin, a Missionary of the Sacred Heart and pastor of the French-Canadian immigrant parish of St. Joseph in De Pere, established both a weekly Perpetual Novena in Honor of St. Joseph and an annual Solemn Novena leading to the saint's feast on March 19. The original wooden church burned the following year when lightning struck in 1889, though the statue of St. Joseph survived. The stone church that replaced it in 1890 — High Victorian Gothic Revival in style — is the building that stands today, and it now carries a distinction unique in North American Catholic history.
📜 History & Spiritual Significance
On September 28, 1898, Fr. Bernard Pennings, a Dutch Norbertine priest who had arrived in Wisconsin five years earlier to minister to Belgian and Dutch immigrants, formally established St. Norbert Priory in De Pere on the same day he assumed stewardship of the National Shrine of St. Joseph. The two institutions — religious community and pilgrimage shrine — have been inseparable ever since. Pope Pius XI elevated the priory to an independent abbey in 1925 and named Pennings its first abbot. St. Norbert College, which Pennings also founded in October 1898, grew up around the church and abbey on the banks of the Fox River.
The shrine's papal connection reached back to Pope Leo XIII's 1889 encyclical Quamquam Pluries, the first papal document dedicated entirely to St. Joseph. In it, Leo wrote of Joseph as one who "holds, as it were, a paternal authority" over the Church, having been entrusted with the protection of Mary and the child Jesus. Two years after publishing the encyclical, Leo issued the Bull of Canonical Coronation for De Pere. The crowned statue — a new, larger image of St. Joseph holding the Christ Child, which had replaced the fire-damaged original — shows St. Joseph wearing a flat mural crown and the Christ Child wearing an imperial crown. It remains one of only 17 such papally crowned Josephian statues in the world.
Between 1959 and 2015, the shrine occupied the crypt of the newly built St. Norbert Abbey church, a practical decision following the abbey's expansion. In 2015 the community returned the shrine to its original and proper home in Old St. Joseph Church, restoring the devotional continuity of the site. Pilgrims today enter the same High Gothic Revival structure rebuilt after the 1889 lightning strike — the stone walls, arched windows, and the crowned statue above the altar all belonging to the living memory of more than a century of weekly novenas.
The annual Solemn Novena, prayed each March 10-19, reaches the Solemnity of St. Joseph on the feast's final day. In 2026 the shrine marked its 139th consecutive annual novena, an unbroken chain of communal prayer initiated by Fr. Durin in the year the statue's coronation was still three years away. The Wednesday Perpetual Novena has continued with equal regularity: pilgrims arrive at noon each week to pray for particular intentions, which are submitted globally through the shrine's website and included in every novena Mass.
☩ Pilgrimage Sites in De Pere
National Shrine of St. Joseph
The shrine occupies Old St. Joseph Church, the 1890 stone structure on the edge of the St. Norbert College campus. Pilgrims enter a compact nave brightened by stained glass and walk toward the crowned statue of St. Joseph holding the Christ Child — the very image Bishop Messmer crowned in May 1892 and the object of every novena prayed here since. A plaque on the exterior wall records the church's designation as a National Shrine and its papal history. The Norbertine community celebrates Mass at noon on weekdays (with novena prayers following on Wednesdays) and at 10 a.m. on Sundays during the academic year. Prayer intentions may be submitted through the shrine's website for inclusion in the weekly novena.
St. Norbert Abbey
The abbey church and monastic complex sit 1.5 miles north of the shrine on the abbey's 160-acre campus. The Norbertine community of approximately 80 canons — the largest in the United States — maintains both the abbey and the shrine as integral parts of their apostolic life. The abbey grounds include the crypt museum, which documents the community's history from their 1893 arrival from Berne Abbey in the Netherlands through the establishment of shrine, college, and monastery. The abbey church itself, completed in 1959, replaced the priory structure that had housed the community during its first six decades in Wisconsin.
Norbertine Center for Spirituality
Adjacent to the abbey church, the Norbertine Center for Spirituality (NCS) offers 30 private guest rooms — refurbished with private bathrooms and air conditioning — on the 160-acre campus. Single- and double-occupancy rooms and ADA-accessible rooms are available. The setting invites extended stays: the campus paths, the gardens, and the proximity to both the abbey church and the nearby shrine make it a natural base for pilgrims wishing to attend multiple Masses or make a day-long retreat before or after the Walk to Mary.
🕯️ Annual Feast Days & Celebrations
Solemn Novena to St. Joseph — March 10-19
The nine-day novena leading to the Solemnity of St. Joseph on March 19 is the shrine's oldest and most significant annual observance, established by Fr. Durin in 1888 and continued without interruption to the present day. Evening Mass and novena prayers are celebrated each day of the novena at 7 p.m. The novena reaches its peak on March 19, when the Solemnity of St. Joseph — patron of the universal Church, of workers, and of fathers — is observed with a solemn Mass. Pilgrims travel from across Wisconsin and the Midwest to attend, many combining the journey with private retreats at the Norbertine Center.
Walk to Mary — First Saturday of May
Each year on the first Saturday of May, thousands of pilgrims gather at the National Shrine of St. Joseph before dawn to begin the Walk to Mary: a 22-mile walking pilgrimage northeast along the Fox River and the Niagara Escarpment to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin. Conceived by Father Francis Hoffman and brought to reality by local organizers Tom Schmit and Pat Deprey, the walk has grown to draw more than 6,000 participants from across the United States in its 12th year in 2025. Join-in points at the 14-, 7-, and 1.7-mile marks accommodate pilgrims of every age and physical condition. The shrine serves as the symbolic and liturgical starting point: the walk begins with a blessing at the crowned statue of St. Joseph before pilgrims set out for the only Vatican-approved Marian apparition site in the United States.
Feast of St. Joseph the Worker — May 1
Pope Pius XII established the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955 in response to the Communist celebration of International Workers' Day on May 1. The shrine in De Pere observes this feast with Mass and novena prayers, honoring St. Joseph in his role as the craftsman of Nazareth — the model for all who sanctify their daily labor.
Wednesday Perpetual Novena — Weekly
Every Wednesday at noon, the Perpetual Novena in Honor of St. Joseph is celebrated with Mass followed by novena prayers. This weekly observance, continuous since 1888, draws local pilgrims and visitors throughout the year. Intentions submitted through the shrine's website are included in every novena Mass.
🛏️ Where to Stay
Norbertine Center for Spirituality (pilgrim accommodation) — Thirty private guest rooms on the 160-acre St. Norbert Abbey campus, with home-cooked meals, spacious meeting rooms, and ready access to both the abbey church and the shrine. Single and double occupancy; ADA-accessible rooms available. Reservations via ncs@norbertines.org. Website
Kress Inn ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — Owned and operated by St. Norbert College, the Kress Inn sits on the edge of the campus, steps from the shrine. Forty-six suites with complimentary full breakfast, free airport shuttle, and free bicycles. The location makes it the most convenient commercial option for shrine pilgrims. Website ∙ Reserve this hotel
Cobblestone Hotel & Suites De Pere ⭐⭐⭐ — Six minutes' walk from St. Norbert College, at 499 Main Avenue. Rooms include microwaves and refrigerators; complimentary breakfast; indoor pool; on-site restaurant. Website ∙ Reserve this hotel
🚗 Getting There
By Air: Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport (GRB) is 4.3 miles from the shrine — approximately 10 minutes by car. The Kress Inn offers a complimentary airport shuttle. Chicago O'Hare (ORD) is approximately 220 miles south, about 3.5 hours by road.
By Train: Amtrak serves De Pere (DPE Park & Ride station) with connections from Chicago and Milwaukee via the Hiawatha and Empire Builder routes. Direct daily services operate between Chicago and Green Bay, with De Pere as a stop. Travel time from Chicago is approximately 4.5 hours.
By Car: From Milwaukee, take I-43 north to US-141 west, then WI-32 into De Pere (approximately 2 hours). From Chicago, take I-94 west to I-43 north (approximately 3.5 hours). From Minneapolis, take I-94 east to US-10 east (approximately 4 hours). The shrine sits at 123 Grant Street on the St. Norbert College campus; street parking is available on Grant Street and surrounding campus roads.
By Bus: Greyhound serves Green Bay. The Green Bay Metro transit system connects Green Bay to De Pere. A rental car or taxi is recommended for direct travel to the shrine.
📚 Further Reading
Books:
Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC. Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father — The most widely used contemporary guide to Josephine devotion, a 33-day consecration program drawing on the full breadth of Catholic tradition regarding the foster father of Jesus.
Msgr. Dominique Le Tourneau. To Know St. Joseph: What Catholic Tradition Teaches About the Man Who Raised God — A scholarly synthesis of two millennia of magisterial teaching, Scripture commentary, and theological reflection on St. Joseph.
Fr. Maurice Meschler. The Truth about Saint Joseph: Encountering the Most Hidden of Saints — A classical spiritual biography drawing on patristic and scholastic sources to illuminate the character and mission of the man who raised the Son of God.
Online Resources:
National Shrine of St. Joseph — Norbertines.org — The shrine's official page with novena schedules, prayer intention submission, and history.
Walk to Mary Official Site — Route information, registration, join-in points, and pilgrimage history for the 22-mile May pilgrimage.
St. Norbert Abbey — History and Houses — Full history of the Norbertine community in De Pere, from the 1893 arrival from Berne Abbey to the present day.
🎥 Recommended Videos
Wisconsin's National Shrine of St. Joseph — A Small, Quiet Place of Prayer — Documentary profile of the shrine and its Norbertine custodians, produced by The Catholic Spirit.
Walk to Mary 2025 — 12th Annual Jubilee Pilgrimage — Coverage of the annual 22-mile pilgrimage from De Pere to Champion, showing the route, participants, and the blessing at the National Shrine of St. Joseph.
🔗 Useful Links
National Shrine of St. Joseph — Official shrine page, weekly novena schedule, and intention submission.
Walk to Mary Pilgrimage — Annual 22-mile walk from De Pere to Champion; registration opens October 9 each year.
St. Norbert Abbey — Norbertine community website with information on the abbey, spirituality programs, and retreat bookings.
National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion — The destination of the Walk to Mary, 22 miles northeast of De Pere.
Amtrak De Pere Station (DPE) — Train service information and timetables for De Pere.
🥾 Pilgrim Routes
Walk to Mary — The 22-mile route from De Pere to Champion follows the Fox River northeast from the National Shrine of St. Joseph, tracing the Niagara Escarpment through farmland and small towns before arriving at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion. The official pilgrimage takes place each year on the first Saturday of May, founded in 2014 and drawing 6,000+ participants annually. Join-in points at 14, 7, and 1.7 miles from Champion accommodate those unable to walk the full distance. The route passes through De Pere, Bellevue, and Suamico before entering Champion on Chapel Drive.
Wisconsin Way — A 156-mile multi-day pilgrimage linking Champion (northeast of Green Bay) to Holy Hill, the Carmelite basilica near Milwaukee. The route passes through the Kettle Moraine Forest and stops at historic churches, monasteries, and roadside shrines across eastern Wisconsin. De Pere and Champion together form the northern anchor of the route.
🧭 Nearby Pilgrimage Destinations
Champion (30 km northeast) — The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, the only Vatican-approved Marian apparition site in the United States, where Mary appeared to Adele Brise on October 9, 1859. Destination of the Walk to Mary pilgrimage.
Holy Hill (225 km south) — Basilica and National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, operated by Discalced Carmelite friars on a glacial hilltop in southeastern Wisconsin. Southern terminus of the Wisconsin Way pilgrimage.
La Crosse (370 km southwest) — Home of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, designed by architect Duncan Stroik and consecrated in 2008. The eventual southern terminus of the extended Wisconsin Way route.
🪶 Closing Reflection
"He should now cover with the cloak of his heavenly patronage the Church of Jesus Christ — him, who had extended the maternal care of Mary and his own protection of the child Jesus." — Pope Leo XIII, Quamquam Pluries, August 15, 1889
