As part of the Marian-themed second year of preparation for the 2024 Diocesan Golden Jubilee, a diocesan pilgrimage to the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Emmitsburg, Md., will be held Oct. 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge will lead the day that runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It includes a talk, Mass, a visit to the Seton shrine’s museum, a Eucharistic procession and adoration. Opportunities for confession and the blessing of religious articles will be available.
Activities will be held at both places, a six-minute drive apart. Check with your parish to see if transportation is being coordinated.
Father Edward C. Hathaway, rector of the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria and jubilee co-chair, said a pilgrimage is different than a vacation or a day off.
“It is a reminder that our life on earth is a journey toward God, one we make with other people,” he said. “As we continue to be immersed in the Year of Mary during the Diocesan Golden Jubilee Preparation Year Two, it is appropriate that we travel with Bishop Burbidge as pilgrims on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.”
Father Hathaway said that during the Oct. 7 pilgrimage, “we hope to encounter Christ, ourselves and each other as we step outside of our normal weekend routines. I have no doubt the pilgrimage will be a spiritual gift and will sow many graces as we ask for the intercessions of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.”
The day will include a Eucharistic procession, Confessions and the blessing of religious articles.
Schedule
National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
9 a.m. — Presentation on Mother Seton and veneration of her relics
9:45 a.m. — Mass with Bishop Michael F. Burbidge
10:30 a.m. — Visit Seton museum and gift shop
12 p.m. — Outdoor picnic lunch at the Seton Shrine or Mount St. Mary’s Seminary (Limited restaurant options, visitors encouraged to bring bag lunch.)
National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes
1:30 p.m. Eucharistic procession, adoration and rosary
3:30 p.m. Depart
Find out more
For the full schedule, go to bit.ly/3Dvbp4a.
Indulgence
A plenary indulgence is available to members of a pilgrimage group who also fulfill the usual conditions of reconciliation, Communion and prayers for the pope’s intentions. Attendees are also asked to recite a Hail Mary with the invocation, “O Mary, Virgin and Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me,” at the Grotto Cave.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Shrine
The latest addition to the shrine complex is the new Seton Shrine Museum and Visitor Center, scheduled to be blessed Sept. 22 by Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori. The $4 million museum is a great place to start. A video details the saint’s life and the museum showcases 19th-century artifacts, letters Seton wrote and several exhibits.
The exhibits are grouped by theme: Seeker, Servant, Saint and Special Exhibits.
Seton was canonized Sept. 14, 1975, by Pope Paul VI. The banner that hung in St. Peter’s Square for her canonization is among the displays as is Seton’s iconic bonnet. Two new special exhibits are “Fancywork: Early American Needlework from St. Joseph’s School” and “Getting in the Habit: Iconic Apparel of the Daughters of Charity.”
A gift shop features what the shrine calls “one-of-a-kind mementos, books, and souvenirs not available anywhere else.”
There’s a lot of history in Emmitsburg, much of it is Civil War history. The Daughters and Sisters of Charity, the religious Seton began, played a key role during the Civil War. They lived out Seton’s mission of charity caring for the wounded on both sides of the war. They traveled to cities and battlefields and much of their war effort went unreported.
On the shrine’s grounds, visitors can see the Stone House, the Historic St. Joseph House and St. Joseph Cemetery.
The Stone House is one of the first places Elizabeth Ann Seton lived when she arrived in Emmitsburg. It was built in the mid-1700s and is furnished to reflect Seton’s time there in the early 1800s. According to records, 16 people lived in four rooms and a small room was used as a chapel. The structure was expanded later.
The Historic St. Joseph’s House, also called the White House, was built in 1810 for the Sisters of Charity. Some original pieces are on display in the house that looks just as it did when Mother Seton and the sisters lived there, including a classroom.
Seton walked through the dense woods of the property in 1809 to choose a spot for a cemetery. Shrine history includes an anecdote about Harriet, Seton’s sister-in-law, leaning against a large oak saying, “This is my spot.” She died within four months and was buried beneath the old oak in the first of many graves in St. Joseph’s Cemetery.
Grotto
A six-minute drive from the Seton Shrine is the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. Perched on the side of a picturesque hill, the shrine and grotto are on the campus of Mount St. Mary’s University and Seminary.
A large, gold-leaf and bronze statue of Mary can be seen from Route 15. It sits atop a 95-foot tower, the Pangborn Memorial Campanile. The statue was refurbished and reseated in 2022. Across from that is the Richard and Mary Lee Visitors Center and the St. Bernadette’s Gift Shop.
The trek up the mountain to the Grotto Cave is a bit of a hike. According to the grotto’s website, staff will drive people needing assistance to parts of the shrine.
The Corpus Christi Chapel, built in 1905, is at the end of the lane. Just beyond that is the replica of the Grotto in Lourdes, France, built by seminarians in 1875, and nearby a statue of St. Bernadette Soubirous, the young girl who saw the Blessed Mother 18 times in 1858.
There are several places to light a devotional candle on the grounds, including the grotto. Another popular stop is the pool of water with a statue of Our Lady of the Esplanade in the center. There are water taps where people bring containers to take water home. Once blessed, the water can be used for blessing people or objects.
A walk down Rosary Lane includes shrines to Padre Pio, Our Lady of La Vang, St. John Paul II, St. Faustina and the Holy Family as well as the 15 mysteries of the rosary. There are also shrines to St. Jude, Our Lady of Fatima, the Transfiguration of Jesus and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
The Chapel of St. Mary’s on the Hill has a lovely view of the valley and the perfect spot to wrap up the day.
If you go
The National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is located at 339 S. Seton Ave., Emmitsburg, Md. Call 301/447-9297 or go to setonshrine.org.
The Shrine Grotto is located at 16330 Grotto Rd., Emmitsburg, Md. Call 301/447-5318 or go to nsgrotto.org.
