\n<\/p>\n
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(RNS) \u2014 There\u2019s Christian nationalism, and then there\u2019s Catholic Christian nationalism. Perhaps no event has fully captured the latter until this past weekend, when more than 700 people gathered in La Crosse, Wisconsin, to celebrate the American founding \u2014 reinterpreted through a distinctly Catholic lens. The Virgin Mary, the Constitution, saints, patriots and right-wing political activists all occupied the same crowded platform, one where sexual and reproductive issues took center stage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Outside the arena, one of PragerU\u2019s six traveling <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prageru.com\/freedom-trucks-mobile-museum\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Freedom Trucks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> invited visitors, some wearing camouflage MAGA hats, to step inside and hear AI-generated Founding Fathers narrate a providential account of American history. Inside, attendees circulated around a large exhibit on the Shroud of Turin (venerated as the burial cloth of Jesus), tables selling Catholic books and devotional items and an organization sharing the story of the former \u201cabortion king\u201d Dr. Bernard Nathanson, who later converted to Catholicism and spoke out against abortion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4264497\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"width: 427px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/16\/catholic-rally-celebrating-nations-founding-offers-a-vision-of-americas-future\/webrns-zealeamerica-250-5-20260616\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4264497\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4264497 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-5-20260616-427x289.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"427\" height=\"289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-5-20260616-427x289.jpg 427w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-5-20260616-807x546.jpg 807w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-5-20260616-768x519.jpg 768w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-5-20260616-1536x1038.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-5-20260616-1600x1082.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-5-20260616-300x203.jpg 300w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-5-20260616-600x406.jpg 600w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-5-20260616.jpg 1917w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\"\/><\/a> <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text edd-enabled\"><span class=\"caption\">A traveling museum housed in the \u201cFreedom Truck\u201d included an exhibit on early American leaders like George Washington in a presentation on American Freedom through the Catholic lens. Photo courtesy of Martyn Smith<\/span><span class=\"credit\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The event sought to place contemporary conservative politics inside a sacred Catholic narrative stretching from the Virgin Mary and the saints to the Founding Fathers and the present day. In that story, modern political conflicts emerge not merely as policy disputes but as chapters in a sweeping narrative struggle over the nation\u2019s moral and spiritual future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, issues often emphasized in Catholic social teaching that are emerging as major concerns of Pope Leo XIV \u2014 including immigration, poverty and war \u2014 received no attention from speakers, vendors or clergy such as Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke. Burke, who oversees the La Crosse <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/guadalupeshrine.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a major Catholic pilgrimage site, organized the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lp.catholicvote.org\/america250\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zeale for America 250<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> event in partnership with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/catholicvote.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CatholicVote<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What emerged over the course of the day was something more ambitious than a political rally and more overtly partisan than a religious gathering. Master of ceremonies Steve Cortes, a senior political adviser at CatholicVote, described himself as a Trump operative and called for the support of Republican Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany. A video greeting from Brian Burch, founder of CatholicVote and now President Donald Trump\u2019s ambassador to the Holy See, drew enthusiastic applause.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a historian of American Catholicism and frequent writer on church issues and American politics, I was struck most about Zeale for America not by its political conservatism, but its effort to place contemporary political concerns within a distinctly Catholic sacred political narrative.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Throughout the day, speakers returned to a clear theme: America\u2019s story is inseparable from Christianity and, more specifically, from Catholicism.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CatholicVote President Kelsey Reinhardt argued that Catholic influence is woven into the nation\u2019s very geography, pointing to place names such as St. Louis and Sacramento and describing the United States as fundamentally shaped by Catholic history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis is a Catholic country,\u201d she told the audience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reinhardt framed the nation\u2019s story through a series of Catholic historical touchstones and urged attendees to see themselves as participants in a continuing story of national renewal, repeatedly invoking the idea of \u201cAmerican saints\u201d and blending the \u201csacredness\u201d of the Founding Fathers with canonized American saints like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/setonshrine.org\/elizabeth-ann-seton\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">St. Elizabeth Ann Seton<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katerishrine.org\/st-kateri\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">St. Kateri Tekakwitha.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4264489\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"width: 427px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/16\/catholic-rally-celebrating-nations-founding-offers-a-vision-of-americas-future\/webrns-zeale-america-250-2-20260616\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4264489\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4264489 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zeale-america-250-2-20260616-427x304.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"427\" height=\"304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zeale-america-250-2-20260616-427x304.jpg 427w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zeale-america-250-2-20260616-807x575.jpg 807w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zeale-america-250-2-20260616-768x547.jpg 768w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zeale-america-250-2-20260616-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zeale-america-250-2-20260616-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zeale-america-250-2-20260616.jpg 1372w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\"\/><\/a> <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text edd-enabled\"><span class=\"caption\">Catholic influencer Isabel Brown speaks during the event rally. Photo courtesy of Martyn Smith<\/span><span class=\"credit\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conservative influencer Isabel Brown offered a similar narrative, connecting the founding of the United States to Christian salvation history itself. Brown began not with the Declaration of Independence but with the Virgin Mary. Mary\u2019s acceptance of God\u2019s call, she argued, set into motion the events that ultimately led to the development of Christian civilization and eventually to Philadelphia in 1776.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe American story and the story of the church are deeply intertwined,\u201d Brown said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She described the Declaration of Independence as rooted in a Christian understanding of the human person and argued that the nation\u2019s future depended on strong families, religious faith and moral virtue. At one point she mocked people of her generation who had \u201c37 pronouns\u201d and \u201crainbow hair,\u201d drawing laughter from the crowd. She then said she hoped that her talk reassured the audience about the future of her generation. Brown also spoke extensively about motherhood and family life, describing the family as the institution that precedes the state and forms citizens capable of sustaining a free society.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conservative Catholic podcaster and Daily Wire show host Michael Knowles, the keynote speaker, admitted, unlike Reinhardt, that some of the Founding Fathers had been quite anti-Catholic. But Knowles argued that the American Revolution was unique because it sought to preserve inherited traditions rather than destroy them. He contrasted the American founding with anti-clerical revolutions in Europe and suggested that America\u2019s political principles naturally point toward Catholicism.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe more conservative one becomes,\u201d Knowles said, \u201cthe more one feels the pull of Rome.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowles celebrated what he described as the decline of the sexual revolution, drawing some of the loudest applause of the day when he declared that support for abortion rights, same-sex marriage and transgender ideology was collapsing or \u201cdead.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the ballroom speeches highlighted the movement\u2019s intellectual framework, the vendor hall revealed its culture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sophia Institute Press promoted Catholic and patriotic children\u2019s books, devotional literature and its Sanctify audio app. Guadalupe Coffee sold Catholic-themed coffee products. A clothing line called XX XY offered sports apparel dedicated to \u201ckeeping men out of women\u2019s sports.\u201d Another booth promoted SMOL, short for \u201cSix Months or Less,\u201d an app inspired by a hospice physician\u2019s work with dying patients and the concept of Memento Mori, meant to spur reflection on one\u2019s mortality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The marketplace suggested that Catholic conservatism increasingly <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/religiondispatches.org\/2026\/06\/15\/jd-vances-new-chicken-coop-isnt-just-folksy-prop\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">functions not only as a political identity but as a broader cultural ecosystem<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> encompassing media, publishing, education, consumer products and family life.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kris Quillin, who has managed the Flores Maria gift shop at Burke\u2019s Guadalupe shrine for 16 years, said customer interests have shifted in recent years toward Marian gardens, homeschooling materials and modest clothing for women. Since the pandemic, she said, many visitors have become interested in integrating Catholic devotion into everyday life through their homes, clothing and family practices.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Attendees often echoed the themes they heard from the stage.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"gallery-1\" class=\"gallery galleryid-4264446 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail\">\n<figure class=\"gallery-item\">\n<div class=\"gallery-icon landscape\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/16\/catholic-rally-celebrating-nations-founding-offers-a-vision-of-americas-future\/webrns-zealeamerica-250-4-20260616\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"240\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-4-20260616-240x240.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-4264496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-4-20260616-240x240.jpg 240w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-4-20260616-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\"\/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text gallery-caption\" id=\"gallery-1-4264496\">\n\t\t\t\tAttendees pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet during the weekend-long event in La Crosse, Wis. Photo courtesy of Martyn Smith<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"gallery-item\">\n<div class=\"gallery-icon landscape\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/16\/catholic-rally-celebrating-nations-founding-offers-a-vision-of-americas-future\/webrns-zealeamerica-250-6-20260616\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"240\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-6-20260616-240x240.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-4264498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-6-20260616-240x240.jpg 240w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-6-20260616-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\"\/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text gallery-caption\" id=\"gallery-1-4264498\">\n\t\t\t\tT-shirts, hats and other memorabilia were sold during the weekend event, including references to both religious figures as well as the 250th birthday of the United States. Photo courtesy of Martyn Smith<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"gallery-item\">\n<div class=\"gallery-icon landscape\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/16\/catholic-rally-celebrating-nations-founding-offers-a-vision-of-americas-future\/webrns-zealeamerica-250-1-20260616\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"240\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-1-20260616-240x240.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-4264495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-1-20260616-240x240.jpg 240w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zealeamerica-250-1-20260616-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\"\/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text gallery-caption\" id=\"gallery-1-4264495\">\n\t\t\t\tMedals with Catholic and patriotic themes were among the many memorabilia items sold during the weekend event. Photo courtesy of Martyn Smith<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"gallery-item\">\n<div class=\"gallery-icon portrait\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/16\/catholic-rally-celebrating-nations-founding-offers-a-vision-of-americas-future\/webrns-zeale-america-250-7-20260616\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"240\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zeale-america-250-7-20260616-240x240.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-4264491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zeale-america-250-7-20260616-240x240.jpg 240w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-zeale-america-250-7-20260616-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\"\/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text gallery-caption\" id=\"gallery-1-4264491\">\n\t\t\t\tCardinal Raymond Leo Burke was one of several speakers during the event\u2019s rally. Photo courtesy of Martyn Smith<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gabriel and Jayci Polcyn, who traveled two and a half hours from the small town of Poy Sippi, Wisconsin, to attend the rally, said America had been founded on God\u2019s laws and needed to return to them. They spoke about government overreach, cultural decline and the importance of faith. They were not Catholic, they said, though they \u201chad no problem with it\u201d but had come because they were fans of Michael Knowles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One Catholic attendee, who traveled from Tulsa, Oklahoma, after hearing about the event through CatholicVote\u2019s popular \u201cLoopcast\u201d podcast, praised Trump for \u201cbringing virtue back to the country.\u201d Asked about criticism of Trump\u2019s personal behavior, he responded that Trump was \u201cvery virtuous\u201d and \u201ca great family man\u201d and that critics simply disliked his blunt style.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Zeale 250\u2019s telling, these themes are all part of a singular drama about American political and religious identity, one in which might makes right and the marginalized ought to stay in the shadows.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That vision represents one possible future for American Catholicism, but it is not the only one. The Catholic tradition also contains deep commitments to the poor, migrants, workers, peacemaking and social justice. Those themes, which have been brought to the forefront by both Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV, were absent at the rally. This was by design.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quillin, the gift shop manager, confirmed to me that Burke\u2019s shrine sells no posters, medals, books or other items related to Pope Francis. When asked why, she said, \u201cWe\u2019re just not interested.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What emerged at the Zeale for America 250 rally was a version of Catholic public life focused on perceived cultural decline and the recovery of a lost Christian America. What was missing was any sense of humility about the nation or the pursuit of political power. As the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary, one of the most important questions facing American believers, both Catholic and non-Catholic, may be which of these competing visions will prove most compelling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Karen E. Park is a writer and historian of American Christianity whose work focuses on religion, politics and public life. Her writing has appeared in Religion News Service, National Catholic Reporter, Religion Dispatches and other outlets. She publishes the newsletter <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/karenelizabethpark.substack.com\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ex Voto<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and is co-editor of \u201c<\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/fordhampress.com\/american-patroness-hb-9781531504878.html\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">American Patroness: Marian Shrines and the Making of US Catholicism<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n <\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/16\/catholic-rally-celebrating-nations-founding-offers-a-vision-of-americas-future\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(RNS) \u2014 There\u2019s Christian nationalism, and then there\u2019s Catholic Christian nationalism. Perhaps no event has fully captured the latter until this past weekend, when more than 700 people gathered in La Crosse, Wisconsin, to celebrate the American founding \u2014 reinterpreted through a distinctly Catholic lens. The Virgin Mary, the Constitution, saints, patriots and right-wing political […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}