By Michelle Harvey
Parishioners from St. Elizabeth Seton recently made a six-day pilgrimage to several holy sites on the East Coast including the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore, the Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Emmitsburg, MD, and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. On day two of the pilgrimage, the group arrived at the holy site that was the initial reason for the pilgrimage – the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Seton in Emmitsburg, MD.
The day started with Mass at the minor Basilica. After Mass, we had some free time before our tour began, and some pilgrims chose to pray at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s tomb in the Altar of Relics.
St. Elizabeth Seton is known as a pioneer of Catholic Education who founded both a girls’ school and a congregation of religious sisters, the first of its kind in the United States. She was a widow with five children and had a great devotion to St. Joseph. Both the school she started, St. Joseph’s School, and the order of religious sisters, The Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, bear his name.
There are several sites of significance at the Shrine. One is a building called “The Stone House.” This is one of the first homes St. Elizabeth Seton lived in while in Emmittsburg. The building was moved from what is now the Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes to its current location so that Seton and her newly formed Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph would have a place to live. Another building called “The White House” was originally the schoolhouse for her girls’ Catholic school, St. Josephs. It now houses the convent for the sisters of Charity of St. Joseph.
One of the stories our tour guide related was about the first replication of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe that was received in the United States; this image was given to St. Elizabeth Seton and now hangs in the St. Elizabeth Seton Museum on the property.
St. Elizabeth Seton is currently entombed in the Basilica, but that was not always the case. She was originally buried in the cemetery that is on the grounds and her original headstone can still be found near her family members.
Our tour ended near the place where it started in a garden setting. At the center of the garden is a fountain that features a familiar looking statue. It was here that we gathered to pray the Novena to St. Elizabeth Seton, which we pray each Wednesday after the 8 AM Mass. It was a beautifully peaceful and holy way to close our visit to the shrine. Though our pilgrimage continued to other holy sites in the area, our visit to the Shrine left pilgrims wanting to return there again.
