By Brian T. Olszewski, Catholic Herald Staff

HUBERTUS – For most people, it is just “Holy Hill.” But as of Nov. 19, it is officially known as the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, at Holy Hill.

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan and Discalced Carmelites concelebrated the Mass, attended by a standing-room only congregation of more than 900 people, in which the church was elevated to a basilica.

The archbishop announced on July 16 that Pope Benedict XVI, through the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, had granted the basilica designation for the 156-year-old shrine. He had started the process more than a year earlier.

In his homily last Sunday, Archbishop Dolan said that a “holy hill” has been significant throughout history, noting it was the place on which Noah’s ark settled, Abraham obeyed God’s request for sacrifice, Moses received the Ten Commandments, and Elijah defended the faith against the prophets of Baal.

He continued that on a holy hill, Jesus fasted and prayed before starting his public life; “gave us the beatitudes and was transfigured”; “offered the supreme sacrifice on the cross to God the Father”; and ascended to his Father.

Archbishop Dolan continued that the same could be said about “this Holy Hill.”

“God’s faithful people have found an ark, have sacrificed with Abraham, have confessed failure to obey the Ten Commandments, have preserved the integrity of the faith, have prayed and fasted in union with Jesus, have renewed their commitment to the Beatitudes and beheld Jesus transfigured before them, have worshipped as Calvary is renewed at the Eucharist, and have professed a living faith that Jesus is indeed still here with us,” he said.

The archbishop noted that those who have come to Holy Hill discovered and found Jesus “in the arms of his holy mother; really present in the holy Eucharist, and in the person of our Holy Father.”

He said that in inviting people who come to Holy Hill to hold Jesus, the Blessed Mother “welcomes his children home, especially the sick, the sinner, the searching, and the struggling.”

Emphasizing the place of the Eucharist at Holy Hill, the archbishop said, “…we reverently and worthily receive him in holy Communion, as we genuflect before him in the tabernacle, as we kneel in quiet adoration before him exposed in the monstrance.”

As for the pope, Archbishop Dolan said Holy Hill is a place to “foster a deep bond with the successor of St. Peter, the vicar of Christ on earth … the center of earthly unity for the church we cherish and call home.”

As a basilica, Holy Hill may display two papal-related symbols — symbols which hearken to an earlier time in the church. One is an ombrellino, an umbrella used to shield the pope in inclement weather. The other is a tintinabulum, a bell that would, if the pope were to visit Holy Hill, announce his presence during an official procession.

In acknowledging the many people who support the basilica with their time and money, the archbishop singled out those he termed “our Carmelite family – the lay Carmelites, our cloistered Carmelite sisters, and our Carmelite fathers and brothers.”

The July Mass at which Archbishop Dolan announced the basilica designation was held as part of the celebration marking the Discalced Carmelites’ 100th anniversary at Holy Hill.

Holy Hill joins the Basilica of St. Josaphat as the only two basilicas in Wisconsin. The latter, the third church in the U.S. to be designated a basilica, was so named March 10, 1929.

In erecting a church as a basilica, the pope says the following: “We, by our apostolic authority … erect (name of church) to the dignity of a lesser basilica and bestow upon it all the privileges which belong to the lesser basilicas of this our own cherished city.”

To see a slide show of the event go to this link.

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