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The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Coronavirus Notice
Due to the directive from Frederick County, MD in response to the Covid-19 crisis, the Seton Shrine will remain physically closed through at least May 29th. We look forward to when we can reopen and welcome visitors again. In the meantime, visit our Facebook page to view livestreams of our private Masses on Sundays at 11am and weekdays at 9am. And we will also have outdoor confession Mon-Fri 10:30 – 12 noon and Sundays 12:30 – 2pm.
What's Coming Up View Full Calendar →
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Livestream Mass and Adoration
While you keep safe at home, join us for Mass and Adoration livestreamed on our Facebook page or on our website here. Tune in Monday through Friday at 9am and Sunday at 11am. After Mass, Adoration takes place.
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Seton Legacy Garden Blessing Livestream
Each spring, the Seton Legacy Garden Blessing & Dedication event celebrates those who are remembered and honored in the Seton Legacy Garden at the Seton Shrine in Emmitsburg, MD. While we can’t gather in person this year due to our temporary closure, we invite you to join us virtually on May 31 at 6pm EST.…
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Virtual Book Club
Participate in the Seton Shrine’s Book Club and explore the life of Elizabeth Ann Seton as she trusted in God, fought for what she believed in, and left a legacy in the charism of charity. We will be reading Elizabeth Seton: American Saint, written by Catherine O’Donnell, and we invite you to join us for a…
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Livestream Mass and Adoration
While you keep safe at home, join us for Mass and Adoration livestreamed on our Facebook page or on our website here. Tune in Monday through Friday at 9am and Sunday at 11am. After Mass, Adoration takes place.
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Virtual Book Club
Participate in the Seton Shrine’s Book Club and explore the life of Elizabeth Ann Seton as she trusted in God, fought for what she believed in, and left a legacy in the charism of charity. We will be reading Elizabeth Seton: American Saint, written by Catherine O’Donnell, and we invite you to join us for a…
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Virtual Book Club
Participate in the Seton Shrine’s Book Club and explore the life of Elizabeth Ann Seton as she trusted in God, fought for what she believed in, and left a legacy in the charism of charity. We will be reading Elizabeth Seton: American Saint, written by Catherine O’Donnell, and we invite you to join us for a…
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Virtual Book Club
Participate in the Seton Shrine’s Book Club and explore the life of Elizabeth Ann Seton as she trusted in God, fought for what she believed in, and left a legacy in the charism of charity. We will be reading Elizabeth Seton: American Saint, written by Catherine O’Donnell, and we invite you to join us for a…
-
Virtual Book Club
Participate in the Seton Shrine’s Book Club and explore the life of Elizabeth Ann Seton as she trusted in God, fought for what she believed in, and left a legacy in the charism of charity. We will be reading Elizabeth Seton: American Saint, written by Catherine O’Donnell, and we invite you to join us for a…
-
Virtual Book Club
Participate in the Seton Shrine’s Book Club and explore the life of Elizabeth Ann Seton as she trusted in God, fought for what she believed in, and left a legacy in the charism of charity. We will be reading Elizabeth Seton: American Saint, written by Catherine O’Donnell, and we invite you to join us for a…
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Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Birthday Celebration
Join us as we celebrate Mother Seton’s birthday on the last Sunday of August at 1:30pm Mass and afterward on our grounds.
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Pilgrimage for the Sea Services
Join us as we honor St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Patroness of Sea Services, and the military personnel who’ve served in a division of the Sea Services.
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Back from the Dead Cemetery Walk
Back from the Dead Cemetery Walks take place October 16-18, 23-25, 30-31 and November 1 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…
Latest News and Reflections View All →
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All Shall Be Well With Julian of Norwich and Mother Seton
| As we endure trials and isolation during the pandemic, we can look to St. Julian of Norwich and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton for strength. They share the mystic’s confidence that “all shall be well” if we trust in God. These things that we suffer and fear – pain, death, illness, loss, and strife – Jesus has already overcome. We suffer in the world, but He has conquered the world.
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Out of the Darkness with Louise de Marillac and Elizabeth Ann Seton
| Meditating on the trials and struggles of St. Louise de Marillac and Mother Seton gives us hope in these uncertain times. We learn that holiness is found not in flashes of glory, but in the messy spaces where one watches, prays, and waits.
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The Greatest Idea of St. Athanasius and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
| What attracted Mother Seton to the Catholic Church was the closeness of Christ, from the intimate scenes of the nativity, to His presence in the Eucharist. Like the great saint Athanasius, she proclaimed the truth of the Incarnation to all—“God is so infinitely present to us that he is in every part of our life and being.”
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Devotion to Jesus, Mary and Joseph With St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
| Elizabeth Ann Seton’s young daughters liked to write out the holy initials J+M+J in imitation of their mother. In difficult times we can go with the saints to the heart of the domestic Church, to Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the family of God.
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St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the Lightness of Divine Mercy
| For humans, finding a balance between justice and mercy is always difficult. But St. Elizabeth Ann Seton understood that God’s grace transcends earthly limits, and allows mercy to fall lightly from heaven on our hearts and minds.
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The Empty Tomb and Empty Churches: Seeking the Resurrected Christ with Mary Magdalene and Elizabeth Ann Seton
| This Easter, as our churches stand empty, let us not despair. With St. Mary Magdalene, let us accept Christ’s ‘Do not touch me’ with the certainty that His words give us a new mission, and a new way to be with Him, just as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton met the hardships of her life with renewed faith and strength.
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Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Patroness of All Who Long for the Eucharist
| While this Holy Thursday will be marked by quiet in empty churches worldwide, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mother Seton shows us just how great the shout of triumph will be when we can finally receive Him again.
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Mother Seton, the Pandemic, and the Charism of Charity
| Since my ordination I’ve kept near to me words of Mother Seton that echo her ‘Yes” which created a sisterhood of Charity. Her intercessory presence is with me now, in the center of the pandemic, as I serve in isolation at a nursing home in New York City.
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St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Patroness of the Quarantine
| Not only did St. Elizabeth Ann Seton endure much suffering and illness throughout her life, but she underwent her own harrowing quarantine with her dying husband far from home. This Lent we can unite our own inner and exterior trials across time and space with the communion of saints.
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Saint Patrick’s Day and Mother Seton’s Heart for the Irish
| From the hardscrabble immigrants she worshiped with and whose piety she learned from, to the Irish clergy and bishops with whom she worked to build her religious community, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton always had a heart for the Irish.
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Two Remarkable Women, One Path: St. Frances of Rome and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
| Frances of Rome and Elizabeth Ann Seton were very different women who took similar paths to sainthood. They each received the grace to found religious communities, by praying without ceasing, and trusting in God’s plan for their lives, no matter the circumstances they encountered.
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Katharine Drexel and Elizabeth Ann Seton—”Sister Saints” Who Changed Education in the United States Forever
| These two brave and unselfish women devoted their lives to educating poor children and ministering to the needy. We can see their legacies today in the religious communities they founded, and the thousands of Catholic schools across our nation.
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.