A Vision of Christ
One evening in the fall of 1901, Constantin was walking along the road between the two farms of sons Albert and Frank. As he walked he prayed the rosary - probably a common habit. But on this evening, he looked up in the sky and beheld the image of Christ! Constantine's daughter, Francisca Pawlack, recalled the excitement with which her father told the story of what he had seen. "The image appeared in a bright color, and stayed for what my father estimated was several minutes." Constantine ran, planning to call his son, Frank, to see the phenomenon, but as he reached the gate to Frank's farm, the image disappeared.
He was so overwhelmed by this vision, that in the following spring he erected a statue of Christ crucified on the cross at the exact spot where he saw the image. The shrine was erected with the aid of his sons, and was blessed by the Rev. Quirin Zielinski of St. Hyacinth's Catholic Church of Antigo. Farmers from all over the area attended the ceremony.
A few years later, the crucifix (an expensive nickel figure) was stolen. The Jankowski's replaced it, but seven years later the original crucifix was returned in the same mysterious manner in which it disappeared. The figure was broken and showed signs of having been in the ground. Old-timers claim that one evening shortly before the start of WWI, the sky above the shrine was red like fire, and "men, some walking and some running, and some on horses, were engaged in warfare." The mirage lasted for several minutes. (Antigo Daily Journal 12/5/1936)
The shrine remains in place today - on a bend of county trunk "G" on land that was once owned by Jankowski's as far as the eye could see. There is a small fence surrounding the area and some spruce trees. Some Jankowski and Marciniak infants were buried on this spot many years ago.
