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

Holy Hill and Conrad Schmitt Studios

Situated atop eastern Wisconsin’s highest hill in Hubertus, Holy Hill, National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from all over the U.S. each year. Many stories of miraculous cures have been reported from Holy Hill, where a wall of abandoned crutches and wheelchairs stands as a testament. The hill has been considered holy ground since the first settlers arrived in the area and the first log chapel was dedicated. One church followed another, and the third, most prominent of the Shrines was built in 1926. Holy Hill, whose caretakers are the Discalced Carmelites, has become an icon for the surrounding community.

Conrad Schmitt Studios has been privileged to have a long relationship with Holy Hill. Many of the stained glass windows in the Shrine were designed and fabricated by Frank Larscheid, who was employed by Conrad Schmitt Studios in the 1920s and 1930s. He designed the altars and the carved pew ends as well.

Bernard O. Gruenke, Sr. led the 1950s decorative painting at Holy Hill. The design team for the reredos and mosaics included German professor Peter Recker, who was brought to the U.S. by Bernard O. Grue­nke and employed by CSS. The German artist previously had worked at the Vatican, restoring historic mosaics. Some decades later, Bernard O. Gruenke composed the proscenium arch’s angels and the Days of Creation designs.

More recently, Studio artists have painstakingly restored the Marian Shrine statue and, for the recent restoration and renovation, created a sample area of the proposed new decoration to assist in fundraising. The renewal of the classical Catholic worship space addressed every surface, with plaster restoration, a new decorative paint scheme, marble and mosaic cleaning, restoration of the terrazzo floor and refurbishing of the pendant fixtures. The intent was to restore water-damaged areas and provide a renewed and inspiring decorative scheme without sacrificing the original, traditional elements. CSS provided a new palette and design artistry largely comprised of faux stone painting to enhance the Romanesque interior architecture.

Holy Hill was declared a Shrine with "Portiuncula privilege" by Pope Leo XIII in 1903. And, as a result of the increasing number of pilgrims, the Discalced Carmelites of Bavaria were invited to staff the Shrine in 1906. On November 19, 2006, the Shrine was elevated to the status of Basilica.