Category: Emmitsburg

The Glimmer on the Mountain

©2020 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

When I was a child, I remember my mother watching “The Song of Bernadette”.

The “Song of Bernadette” was about a young peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous, who had visions of a beautiful woman in the city of Lourdes, France. Determined to be the Virgin Mary by the citizens of the town, she was later canonized as a saint by the Catholic church.

Though I have been to France many times, I always thought that it would be nice to visit Lourdes, one of the most important sites of pilgrimage in the world. Instead of the Grotto of Lourdes in France, however, I was able to visit a shrine which honors Our Lady of Lourdes, a little closer to home.

The National Shrine Grotto, located in Emmitsburg, Maryland, is a treasure that I had no idea existed until I was headed to Gettysburg. Passing Mount Saint Mary’s University on Highway 15, I noticed a glimmer on the mountain behind the school.

While scoping out the map for information on The Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Seton, I noticed the National Shrine Grotto on the map adjacent to the university. Deciding to check it out, I drove up the mountain road to the parking lot next to the St. Anthony’s Shrine Cemetery.

My anticipation was immediately appeased when I spotted what had caught my attention from the highway…the Pangborn Memorial Campanile, a 95 foot tower topped with a gold-leafed bronze statue of the Blessed Mother. Reflecting the dim light of the cloudy afternoon, it was breathtaking and I could only imagine what it would look like on a sunny day.

Making my way down the hill to the Dubois-Seton Garden, for a better view of the campanile, I made the circle from the Archbishop John Hughes cabin to the different statues and landmarks lining the walkway; the Celtic Cross, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Sacred Heart, St. Joseph and the Child Jesus, Our Lady of Medjugorje, St. Vincent de Paul, Our Lady of La Vang and Monsignor Hugh Phillips.

Opposite the campanile, I reached the Chapel of St. Mary’s on the Hill or “The Glass Chapel” where mass is held daily at noon. Opening up my umbrella to shield me from the newly falling mist, I passed the St. Teresa of Calcutta Memorial Garden on the Seton Walkway enroute to Corpus Christi Lane. Assuming I was headed in the right direction to the grotto, I was not surprised to first find the Stations of the Cross set within the heavily forested pathway.

Stations of the Cross

Finding myself at a small fountain with a statue of Our Lady of the Esplanade in its center, I noticed the Chapel of Corpus Christi, built in 1905 on the site of the original grotto created by Father DuBois, just beyond. It is here that the Grotto mountain water springs forth and you are able to fill your own container. If you are lucky, you may find a grotto chaplain nearby to bless the water.

Passing the chapel, I finally came upon what I was in search of, the Grotto Cave. A replica of the Grotto of Lourdes in France, it was built by seminarians in 1875. There were enscribed pews lined in front of the grotto for prayer and reflection but because of the light rain, we found ourselves huddling under the nearby overhang while waiting for our turn to venture into the cave. Across from the cave is a statue of St. Bernadette Soubirous.

Taking a right, at the end of the lane I discovered the Calvary, Crucifixion Scene. The present crucifix replaced the old wooden cross erected by Father DuBois in 1815.

Making my way back down the mountain, I veered to the left at the fountain on to Rosary Lane. Instead of the stations of the cross, I discovered shrines to the fifteen mysteries of the rosary, Padre Pio, Our Lady of LaVang, St. John Paul II, St. Faustina, the Holy Family and others.

While it would have been nice to sit on one of the many benches and spend some time in silent contemplation, the rain was coming down harder and there was no cover along the pathway. Hoping to make it into the Richard and Mary Lee Miller Family Visitor’s Center, I discovered that, like many other things during this Covid crisis, it was closed.

The best discovery of the day, however, was that I didn’t have to travel all the way to France to pay homage to the Grotto of Lourdes. It had been nearby all along!

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National Shrine Grotto

  • https://www.nsgrotto.org/
  • Address: 16330 Grotto Road, Emmitsburg, MD 21727
  • Hours: Grotto Grounds, 0830-1700, daily. St. Bernadette’s Shoppe, 0900-1630.
  • Mass schedule: Mass Chapel, 1200, daily. Saturday and Sunday, 1200 at the Grotto. Spanish mass, 1400, Sunday.
  • Admission: free

The First American Saint

©2020 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

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,

Portraits of the Seton Family, Mother Seton, top right

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.

Altar of Relics

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.

Mortuary Chapel
Former Resting Spot of Mother Seton
Stations of the Cross

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

Small Town, Rich History

©2020 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Just south of the Mason Dixon line lies the town of Emmitsburg, Maryland.

You’ve probably never heard of it?

I never had.

While on a trip to Gettysburg, I drove by this small town and learned that there were some important places of interest located here. I decided that when I departed Gettysburg, I would make a detour through Emmitsburg and see for myself what it was all about.

Once known as Poplar Fields or Silver Fancy in the 1780s, it was renamed for a local landowner, William Emmit. Widely known for two pilgrimage sites, the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes and the Basilica and National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, which I planned to visit, I also learned that there are a few other historical buildings within the town.

Just eleven miles south of Gettysburg, I drove through a quaint town with neatly kept colonial buildings and a rich history. Emmitsburg’s town square was the site of the town water pump and distinguished with a beautiful Victorian fountain which operated for more than forty years. During the summer of 1863, a great fire swept through the town and destroyed approximately forty homes. Almost one quarter of the town was destroyed and fifty-five families were left homeless. The town’s progress was greatly diminished by the fire and many had to seek employment elsewhere. Only a month later, both Union and Confederate soldiers traveled through the town on their way to what would be the Battle of Gettysburg. Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart and the 34th Virginia Calvary engaged here in a small battle with Federal troops which resulted in the capture of 70 Union soldiers and their captain.

I decided to park my car and take a walk through the downtown area. There were many churches, but it was the Catholic Church of St. Joseph that drew me in. Established in 1852, the steeple was added to the church in 1863 and multiple renovations completed during the next forty years. The church was relatively uncomplicated with a single aisle and a main altar. A beautiful painting of its patron saint, St. Joseph, was hanging behind the altar, a round portrait of the Holy Family located on the ceiling and there were some stunning arched stained glass windows lining its walls. After my visit was complete, I took a walk around the cemetery, inspecting the headstones, most dating back to the early and mid 1800s.

Getting back to my car, I next headed to the National Emergency Training Center campus which is located on the former grounds of Saint Joseph College. Located here is the Emergency Management Institute, the National Fire Academy and the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial. The latter was what I intended to see, however, the entrances to the campus were all closed.

It was the Shrine to St. Elizabeth Seton and the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes that I wanted to visit next, however, I discovered two other picturesque buildings near the road to the Grotto. St. Anthony’s Shrine, a gorgeous stone church, has roots dating back to the 1700s, however the edifice dates back to its dedication in 1897. The church was not open, however, even in the light rain that was falling, it was a fascinating and striking fabrication with its red contrasts. A short walk led me to another building marked St. Anthony Little School House, established in 1890. Again, the building was not open, however, I gather that it was a public schoolhouse created for use by the local children.

Side trips aside, it was time to make make my way to the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Seton and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. Though Emmitsburg was an interesting detour, these were the sites that I couldn’t wait to see (and they were open for business!)

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St. Joseph Catholic Church

  • https://www.stjosephemmitsburg.org/
  • Address: 47 Depaul Street, Emmitsburg, MD 21727
  • Mass Schedule: Saturday, 1630, Sunday, 0800 and 1030, Monday through Friday, 0830. Open during daylight hours for prayer.
  • Admission: free

National Emergency Training Center

St. Anthony Shrine