Documents show the conflict in Necedah dates back nearly sixty years, when a woman named Mary Ann Van Hoof claimed to have seen apparitions of the Blessed Mother at the Queen of the Holy Rosary Shrine. News of Van Hoof's visions drew a crowd.

"Those of us that came here really did believe that the Blessed Mother was appearing so we wanted to be here,” said Isabll Rubel.

She believed in Van Hoof's claims for 12 years and she worked closely with her. Rubel says Van Hoof would be sent messages to spread to the people, warning them of the dangers in the world: things like abortion and pornography.

"We thought coming here must be true because we were seeing these things happening,” said Rubel.

But Rubel says she stopped believing in them and rejoined the Catholic Church, which never approved of the messages.

The Diocese of La Crosse sent the Van Hoof's a letter in 1951 saying they do not approve of the shrine or the literature Van Hoof was distributing.

But her visions and claims were drawing people in from all over the nation. A few of them claiming to have a position of authority in the Catholic Church, they too were rejected.

"They are not validly ordained. They are not part of the church,” said Rubel.

One of those being 57-year-old Alan Bushey, who told Tammy Lewis, if she prayed hard enough, God would bring 90-year-old Magdeline Alvina Middlesworth back to life.

"These so-called priests are misleading the people who follow them. And they'd be better of to just go right back to their church and not worry whether the shrine is going to be approved or not,” said Rubel.

Three Necedah congregations still claim to be of the catholic faith, and they are still not accepted by the Diocese of La Crosse.