Category: Religious Institutions

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As a Catholic school girl, it was de rigueur to learn about the many saints of my religion.

There are over 10,000 named saints and blessed people. Christians began honoring other Christians around 100 A.D. with many of the first saints being martyrs who had given up their lives during the persecution for their faith, a custom that was appropriated from the Jewish faith in which prophets and holy people were revered and honored with shrines.

While a schoolgirl, the most beloved saints, and the ones I remembered most, hailed from other countries; Saint Francis of Assisi (Italy), Saint Patrick (Ireland), Saint Anthony of Padua (Italy), Saint Christopher (Canaan), Saint Patrick (Ireland), Saint Theresa of Avila (Spain), Saint Bernadette (France). In 1975, just after I began third grade, I remember my teacher, Sister Mary Cecilia, giving us some important information. The first American-born saint had been canonized…Saint Elizabeth Seton.

I don’t remember learning much more about her at the time…learning to duplicate Sister Cecilia’s neat cursive handwriting seemed much more crucial.

Years later, during a visit to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, a familiar name popped up on the map in the nearby town of Emmitsburg, Maryland…that of Elizabeth Seton.

The fact that a shrine to this American saint was located in a very small town in Maryland was quite puzzling as I knew that she was a New York native. Gettysburg had been my main destination on this trip, but once I learned of this shrine, it was a place that I simply had to visit and the mystery as to how St. Elizabeth Seton ended up here would be solved.

An arresting film in the museum presented St. Elizabeth Seton’s life in a brief twelve minutes.

Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born in New York City on August 28, 1774 in the Episcopal faith. Married at the age of nineteen to William Magee Seton, she had five children. During a trip to Italy with her husband, she was moved by the deep faith of those who practiced Catholicism. Before their return home, however, William passed away from tuberculosis, leaving her a widow. Seeking consolation and the desire to experience the deep faith that she had witnessed in Italy, Elizabeth decided to convert to Catholicism two years later, despite criticism from friends and family,

Working as a teacher for a short time, in order to support herself and her children, she was approached by a visiting priest, the Abbe Louis William Valentine Dubourg, a member of the French émigré community of Sulpician Fathers and then president of St. Mary’s College of Baltimore Maryland. Abbe Dubourg extended an invitation for Elizabeth to move to Emmitsburg and establish the Saint Joseph’s Academy and Free School, dedicated to the education of Catholic girls on land bestowed by Samuel Sutherland Cooper, a wealthy convert and seminarian at the newly established Mount Saint Mary’s University.

On July 31, 1809, Elizabeth Seton established the first congregation of religious sisters to be founded in the United States, which was dedicated to the care of the children of the poor. With the initiation of Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s, Elizabeth adopted the title of “Mother Seton”. Mother Seton, along with the sisters, worked tirelessly until her death on January 4, 1821, at the age of 46.

Touring the museum, I learned a great deal about Elizabeth Seton’s remarkable life from illustrations, anecdotes, 19th century artifacts and letters written by the saint. The 40 Years A Saint exhibit detailed how she became a saint and highlighted the event on September 14, 1975, when Pope Paul VI proclaimed her a saint.

“Elizabeth Ann Seton is a saint. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is an American. All of us say this with special joy, and with the intention of honoring the land and the nation from which she sprang forth as the first flower in the calendar of the saints. Elizabeth Ann Seton was wholly American! Rejoice for your glorious daughter. Be proud of her. And know how to preserve her fruitful heritage.” –Pope Paul VI

This exhibit’s focal point is the actual banner which hung in St. Peter’s Square on the day of her canonization.

Moving on to the basilica located upstairs from the museum, I was extremely moved by the the artistic beauty of the building. Originally designed as a chapel for the sisters of the Daughters of Charity, upon her beatification it was decided that it would serve as her National Shrine. Completed in 1965, the main feature is the altar for Saint Elizabeth. Here, in the Altar of Relics, is where Saint Elizabeth Seton’s remains are entombed in a copper casket enclosed in marble and topped with a statue of the saint, sculpted in Italy and depicting Mother Seton dressed in the habit that she and the Sisters of Charity wore beginning in 1809.

Stepping out of the basilica into the beautiful sunny afternoon, a day fit for visiting a saint, I ventured through the well manicured lawn to the Stone House, one of the first homes that Elizabeth Seton lived in when she first arrived in Emmitsburg. The home, which had been expanded over the years to accommodate the growing number of sisters, is usually available for self-guided tours. Due to the Covid restrictions, however, this and none of the other buildings throughout the premises were open. There was an audio recording that I was able to play and listen to while I peered into the windows at the period furnishings that still decorate the structure.

Moving through the gardens, I made my way over to the White House, the first house of the Sisters of Charity. Originally called “St. Joseph’s House” for Elizabeth Seton’s high regard of the saint, it is fully furnished with items that include those in existence for nearly 200 years and includes a schoolroom, much like the one Saint Elizabeth taught in, and a small chapel. Again, the interior was not open to visitors, but a recording was available at the back door.

The cemetery was a short walk away. As Mother Seton, her sister-in-law, Harriet, and other sisters walked through the woods searching for a cemetery site, the story has been passed on that Harriet threw an apple core against an old oak and declared it to be her final resting spot. Sadly, it was where they laid Harriet to rest only four months later.

Surrounded by a high wall set with bronze stations of the cross, the cemetery is the final resting place of many graves of Sisters and Daughters of Charity. As I walked toward the center, I discovered the Mortuary Chapel. Built by Elizabeth’s son, William to honor his mother, her remains laid in rest here for only a short while. In 1846, they were transferred to the chapel’s vault and later exhumed for her beatification. As I saw earlier, they rest in the basilica.

My visit to the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Seton had come to an end. So much information was imparted on me that I felt like once again, I was at St. Joseph’s School in Sister Cecelia’s religion class. Thinking that I was going to only learn about Gettysburg and the ghosts of Civil War past, I discovered so much more about the first American saint.

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The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Seton

• https://setonshrine.org/
• Address: 339 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727-9297
• Hours: Visitor’s Center, Museum, Gift Shop, Monday-Saturday, 1000-1700 and Sunday, 1200-1700. Basilica, Monday-Sunday, 1000-1700.
• Mass Schedule: Sunday-Friday, 1330. Confession and Adoration, Monday-Friday, prior to Mass from 1215-1315.
• Admission: free
• Getting There: The shrine is located along US 15, about 10 miles south of Gettysburg and within a one to two-hour drive of major metropolitan areas, like Frederick and Baltimore, MD, Washington, DC, and Harrisburg, PA.
• Virtual tour Stone House:https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+National+Shrine+of+Saint+Elizabeth+Ann+Seton/@39.6973993,-77.3262549,3a,75y,11.56h,68.12t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAF1QipOmM8s12yGQ8aeS4Fz2k2q_N1vxjWU1oktGVA!2e10!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x3b7e32e3dc36b610!8m2!3d39.6989248!4d-77.3264291
• Virtual tour White House: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6962387,-77.3276186,3a,75y,93.77h,87.86t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAF1QipNtbN22HrpKiFfqMBPmlvWlwmseyeMMnU9GoA!2e10!7i13312!8i6656