Back from the Dead Cemetery Walks begin this weekend!
Encounter saints and martyrs in our historic cemetery, and hear what they have to say on this moving, faith-filled walk. LEARN MORE
The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
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Back from the Dead Cemetery Walk
Back from the Dead Cemetery Walks take place October 18-20, 25-27, and October 30 in the historic cemetery at the Seton Shrine, located at 339 South Seton Avenue in Emmitsburg, MD. Learn more about the walk in the video below. On the Cemetery Walk, as a guide leads you through the dark by…
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Retreat – Grieving Through the Holidays
Grieving through the Holidays is a day retreat for those who have endured the loss of a loved one. The retreat will feature talks from Jeannie Ewing, a Catholic writer who’s books include “For Those who Grieve” (2019) and “From Grief to Grace” (2016). It will also include music from signer/songwriter Anna Nuzzo. Learn more…
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Emmitsburg Community Chorus Concert
Welcome back to the Emmitsburg Community Chorus as they return to the Shrine for their annual holiday concert. We welcome everyone to join us for this festive performance.
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Candlelight Tours
Step back in time to the Christmas season in the 1800s and discover Elizabeth Ann Seton’s inspirational story from those who knew her best. A guide will lead you by lantern to the historic homes decorated for the Christmas season. You’ll encounter beloved friends of Elizabeth Ann Seton who will share stories of her life,…
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Door to Bethlehem
On the first Christmas Eve, Joseph and Mary wandered through the streets of Bethlehem, looking for shelter. All doors, however, were shut to them. No one would welcome them into their home. In our busy lives today, we too may shut the door to our hearts on Jesus and His family. Open your heart and…
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December Film Series
Featuring – The Star. We welcome everyone to join us for the Shrine’s Film Series in December, which features a free showing of The Star on December 7. A small but brave donkey and his friends follow the Star and become accidental heroes in the greatest story ever told – the first Christmas. Rated PG.…
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Museums by Candlelight
We welcome everyone to join us for Museums by Candlelight and see the candlelit historic homes and Basilica decorated for the Christmas season. The grounds will be illuminated with 1,000 luminaries. Enjoy living history activities related to the Christmas holiday within the historic homes. Museums by Candlelight is held in partnership with Visit Frederick and…
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December Film Series
Featuring – It’s A Wonderful Life. We welcome everyone to join us for the Shrine’s December Film Series, which features a free showing of It’s A Wonderful Life on December 14. An angel is sent from Heaven to help a suicidal man by showing him what life would have been like if he had never…
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Seasons: A Celtic Christmas Concert
We welcome everyone to join us for a holiday concert called Seasons: A Celtic Christmas, featuring the regional Celtic band, Seasons. This award-winning Celtic family band is made up of five siblings who play a variety of traditional instruments including the harp, hammered dulcimer, fiddle, pennywhistle, Irish drum, and more. They will be performing a…
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December Film Series
Featuring – The Muppet Christmas Carol. We welcome everyone to join us for the Shrine Film Series in December, which features a free showing of The Muppet Christmas Carol on December 28. Characters from the Muppet universe re-tell Charles Dicken’s immortal classic “A Christmas Carol,” the story of an old and bitter miser’s redemption on…
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Feast Day of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
We welcome everyone to celebrate Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s Feast Day with us! Learn about her life, and see where she lived and worked on our Historic Homes Tour, which takes place at 10:30am, 11:30am, 12:30pm, 2:30pm and 3:30pm.The tours are available for free on this day. Mass for Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s Feast Day…
Latest News and Reflections View All →
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Finding Interior Peace with St. Teresa of Avila and Mother Seton
| Feelings change, emotions rise and fall, but God remains our anchor. It’s that truth, as St. Teresa of Avila and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton knew, that brings us peace, no matter the storms that rage around us.
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St. John Henry Newman and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton: Apostles of Friendship
| Both St. John Henry Newman and Mother Seton were generous in their affection for many friends. In their lives we see how holiness and the natural virtue of friendship go hand-in-hand.
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The Hallmarks of a Saint: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Francis of Assisi
| At Mother Seton’s canonization, Pope Paul VI said “A Saint is a human creature fully conformed to the will of God.” Consider these four ways that St. Francis and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton embodied this standard in their own lives.
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St. Vincent de Paul and Mother Seton: A Match Made in Heaven
| St. Vincent de Paul and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton weren’t holy card or fairy-tale figures, but flesh and blood human beings who struggled with earthly dreams. Their lives suggest a way forward for all of us who suffer the tension between a comfortable life in the world and a life thrown open to Christ.
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St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s Exaltation of the Holy Cross
| Mother Seton suffered much during her life, from poverty and social hostility, to the deaths of many loved ones. She persevered and carried on her work, thanks to her faith and courage. But through it all, she always accepted her own weakness, knowing that the true source of her strength was the Crucified Christ.
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Mother Seton Embraced the Gift of Mary
| St. Elizabeth Ann Seton grew up longing for a mother’s love. Her own mother died when she was just three-years-old. So when Elizabeth entered the Catholic Church, God gave her his own mother, Mary. For the rest of her life, she clung to the Blessed Mother. And just as she urged her Sisters to sing Mary’s praises, she urges us to do the same.
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5 Things St. Gregory the Great and Mother Seton Had in Common
| The wisdom of the Saints transcends time and place, as we see in the lives of St. Gregory the Great and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Separated by 1,200 years, each Saint lived in tumultuous times, balancing action and contemplation in ways that are relevant in any age.
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St. Augustine and Mother Seton Dared to Ask—“Lord, Who Are You to Me?”
| St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was a woman of great works, but she was also a mystic. Like Saint Augustine, her restlessness led her to open her heart fully to God, to ask the most essential questions about her very being, knowing that she could fully trust in His answers.
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Saint for a New Nation: The Uncommon Docility of Elizabeth Ann Seton
| God calls forth new saints in every place and in every age. He needs only what he needed at Nazareth, when Mary first said “yes”—a willing heart. For the United States, he found such a heart in Elizabeth Ann Seton.
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How the Queenship of Mary Helps Us To Understand Mother Seton’s Courage
| We don’t like to put ourselves under the authority of another. For us, power is often synonymous with oppression. But in Christ, and in Our Lady, Mother Seton, and the saints, power exists in the framework of love. And when Love is what rules us, everything changes.
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Mother Seton’s ‘Certain Hope’ in Mary, Assumed Into Heaven
| The Church teaches that Mary’s assumption anticipates the resurrection of the saved, and is a sign of hope and comfort for us all. In her life, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton continually relied on this certain hope, in the sure knowledge of Mary’s presence in eternity, body and soul.
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The Fervor of Elizabeth Ann Seton
| The example of Peter during the transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor warns us against taking easy roads to holiness, a lesson that Mother Seton embodied in her life. She always stayed on the narrow path, walking alongside Christ, all the way to heaven.
Home of the First American-Born Saint
Discover the inspirational life and legacy of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Seton Shrine Museum
Begin your visit with a brief film about Elizabeth Ann Seton and browsing our exhibits. including our latest, Sisters Today: A World of Difference.
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The Basilica
Awe-inspiring and amazing are a few words people have used to describe the Basilica.
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Civil War Sisters
Discover how the Daughters and Sisters of Charity continued Elizabeth Ann Seton’s ministry of charity, helping those who were in need or wounded during the Civil War.
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The Stone House
Step back in time while you tour the Stone House, which was originally built in the mid-1700s.
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The White House
This historic home was built in 1810 when Elizabeth Ann Seton realized one home wasn’t enough for all that she had in mind.
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St. Joseph's Cemetery
In 1809, Mother Seton and her companions took a walk through the dense woods on their property to select a site for a cemetery.
Read MoreElizabeth Ann Seton
The First American-Born Saint
Elizabeth Ann Seton was a wife and mother, and then found herself a widow at just 29 years old in 1803. Despite the hardships that she faced, she went on to do amazing work, and eventually became the first American-born saint in 1975. Visit this historic site and Shrine and see the museum, her historic homes, and the Basilica dedicated to her.
Elizabeth Ann Seton
The First American-Born Saint
Elizabeth Ann Seton was a wife and mother, and then found herself a widow at just 29 years old in 1803. Despite the hardships that she faced, she went on to do amazing work, and eventually became the first American-born saint in 1975. Visit this historic site and Shrine and see the museum, her historic homes, and the Basilica dedicated to her.