Parish Visit

National Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton Emmitsburg, Maryland

We attended the 3pm Good Friday service at the Basilica of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton on March 29, 2024. We sat in the middle and it was full of families. So many families and children were there visiting the Shrine for the day seeing them all here for the Good Friday service was wonderful.

We have made visiting the National Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton a Good Friday tradition for our family. It has become an every other to every two years we visit the shrine. The shrine is 83 miles north from our home in Virginia making it about a 90 minute drive away. An easy day trip for families in the DC area. And well worth the effort to visit.

This parish began with Elizabeth Ann Seton (timeline of Mother Seton) and her dream of founding the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s House. She arrived to Emmitsburg, Maryland in 1809. It was several years of prayer and perseverance to build this community. Harsh winters and tight financial limits were just a few of her obstacles. Despite the loss of her own daughters Mother Seton continued on her mission of building a Catholic community. Here is where her vocation as educator bloomed in St. Joseph’s Academy.

On our visit we booked a guided tour for 11am. In years past we opted to visit the shrine exploring the museum and grounds. This year we felt it was time to take the guided tour and learn more about St. Elizabeth Seton. We highly recommend that you take the tour. There is a small fee, which is how the shrine helps support its continued mission. It was worth fee to have the opportunity to see inside the very buildings Mother Seton lived and worked. We were greeted by a lovely young Sisters of Charity guide. If you do visit the shrine plan on about 2 hours up to three hours for your visit. This is not factoring in time for mass, that would be additional time well worth doing.

We began the tour in the Stone Farmhouse which is the smaller white building nearest to the Basilica and main buildings of the shrine. It was in this house where Mother Seton began her mission to educate young girls and specifically poor and orphaned girls. I took several pictures of various corners and rooms. I like the way you can see how these women lived, especially the work room where they spent most of the day performing the needed chores for their home life.

The first home Mother Seton and her group of women lived in was a tiny log cabin near the what is now the National Shrine Grotto which is now part of the campus of Mount St. Mary’s University. {If you want to make your Good Friday pilgrimage a day long visit to Emmistburg stopping by the Grotto is a great way to get an even richer experience. We recommend stopping over there to see the Grotto too. In years past we walked the Stations of the Cross before attending Good Friday Service at the Basilica.}

The second stop on the tour was the Historic St. Joseph’s House. This is the larger white house where the academy was most active in the later years of Mother Seton’s life. The house is furnished with period items so you can see how this building was used in the mid-1800s as the heart of the St. Joseph’s school. Being able to see the classrooms and chapel was so fascinating. On the weekends the Shrine hosts Living History Experiences and Hands on History for families. Those days are good days to visit and have an interactive experience being able to listen to historical interpreters and sample classroom lessons in an immersive program. See their Living History page for dates and times.

The last stop on the tour is St. Joseph Cemetery. You will be led to the small Chapel in the center of the cemetery. Here you will be able to view the original resting place for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Once Mother Seton was canonized in 1975 her remains were transferred to the Basilica. Before leaving the cemetery we walked the Stations of the Cross.

We had time for lunch and a visit to the museum before the 3pm Good Friday Service. We packed our our lunch finding a spot on the lawn. Several other families did the same enjoying the beautiful grounds. I took only a few pictures of the museum focusing on the newer features. Perhaps you will make a visit with your own family and come learn more about this tremendous American Saint.