BIKE TO BUILD:
A CULTURE OF LIFE and
A CIVILIZATION OF LOVE
2026 PILGRIMAGE ACROSS WISCONSIN
“Pedal and Pray, Ponder and Promote”
the meaning of human dignity and of respect for life
Monday, July 20 to Sunday, July 26, 2026
From the Mississippi River at LaCrosse to Lake Michigan at Green Bay
7 days, 350 miles
Mass at three Marian Shrines:
Shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe, LaCrosse, WI
Holy Hill, Shrine of Mary Help of Christians, Hubertus, WI
National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, New Franken, WI
Divine Liturgy at Holy Resurrection Monastery, St. Nazianz, WI
Daily Reflections on Human Dignity and
Building a Culture of Life and a Civilization of Love
Daily Liturgy of the Hours and Rosary
Bike to Build is a pilgrimage of prayer and reflection: on the meaning of human dignity and on ways to promote a culture that embraces reverence for life. The 7 day/350 mile pilgrimage traverses Wisconsin from the Mississippi River on the west boundary of the state to Lake Michigan on the east boundary, with a daily prayer focus on the ways that human dignity is undermined, and daily time for reflection on ways we can, with God’s leading and strength, build a civilization of love. The pilgrimage is also an opportunity to raise funds for organizations who are working to build a culture of respect for life.
In his April 2024 Declaration on Human Dignity (Dignitas Infinita), Pope Francis summarized the foundations of human dignity in our creation in the image of God, in the incarnation of God in the human form of Jesus, and in the ultimate destiny of human beings revealed in and through the resurrection. The Declaration addresses many of the grave violations of human dignity that undermine the growth of a civilization of love: extreme poverty, war, the travail of migrants, the death penalty and inhumane prison conditions and torture, human trafficking, sexual abuse and violence against women, abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide, the marginalization of the disabled, gender theory and sex change, and the spread of violence through digital technologies.
The pilgrimage will focus on prayer for the growth of a culture of respect for life in the face of these violations. The daily prayer includes the Liturgy of the Hours (Lauds, Vespers, and Compline), daily Rosary with intentions each day focused on one of these threats to human dignity. The August pilgrimage will have a definite Marian focus, as August is the month devoted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We will participate in Masses at three Marian shrines, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse on Day 1, the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Holy Hill on Day 5, and the Shrine of Our Lady of Champion near Green Bay on Day 7. On Day 3, the pilgrimage includes mass at St. Cecelia’s in Wisconsin Dells and a stop at the National Shrine of St. Philomena, in Briggsville. On Day 6, the pilgrimage will join in the Divine Liturgy at Holy Resurrection Byzantine Catholic Monastery in St. Nazianz.
Participants in the Bike to Build may choose to raise funds for life-sustaining projects focusing on the most vulnerable members of the human family: the unborn, elderly, and disabled, war refugees, slaves and others exploited in their labor and bodies, and prisoners on death row and the families of murder victims. Sponsored organizations provide assistance to those who are neglected, abandoned, or otherwise treated without human dignity.