Basilica of National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, at Holy Hill

History & Significance

Basilica · Est. Current basilica church built 1926–1931; shrine origins date to 1862–1863

Holy Hill traces to the 1860s, when a log chapel was dedicated as a Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians (1863) atop a wooded hill in present-day Erin/Hubertus, Wisconsin. The Discalced Carmelite friars assumed care of the shrine in 1906 at the invitation of Archbishop Sebastian Messmer and have staffed it ever since. The present church was built between 1926 and 1931, and Pope Benedict XVI elevated it to a minor basilica in 2006. It serves the Archdiocese of Milwaukee as a national shrine and pilgrimage destination drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.

Neo-Romanesque with Gothic Revival elements, marked by prominent twin spires

• •Minor basilica since 2006 (decree of Pope Benedict XVI)
• •National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee
• •Staffed by the Discalced Carmelite friars since 1906
• •Current church constructed 1926–1931; shrine origins date to 1862–1863
• •Major Catholic pilgrimage site in Hubertus/Erin, Wisconsin, drawing several hundred thousand visitors yearly