Category Archives: Emmitsburg

April 1, 2015 · 8:16 am

New Federation Exhibit; Upcoming Celebration of Seton Canonization

Ruth Bielobocky and Tony DiIulio in front of the new Sisters of Charity Federation exhibit at the Seton Shrine (Photo reproduced with permission of Ruth Bielobocky and Tony DiIulio)

The Provincial Archives has been assisting our colleagues at Seton Shrine as they prepare new exhibits for the upcoming commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the canonization of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. One of the collaborations involved the archivists from the other eleven congregations of the Sisters of Charity Federation. Each sent in an image of their First Mother, and exhibit curator Ruth Bielobocky designed this wonderful panel that traces that history. The panels were installed today along with other images and artifacts. Ruth stands near her work along with Tony DiIulio of Seton Heritage Ministries who has been coordinating the exhibit changes. Check for our posts next week as we document the installation of the crowning item in the new exhibit: the original banner for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton that hung in Vatican Square at the canonization on Sept. 14, 1975.

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March 19, 2015 · 10:56 am

Feast of St. Joseph

(portions of the text below are based on research by Sr. Betty Ann McNeil, D.C.)

March 19 marks the feast of Saint Joseph, a saint who was especially dear to the heart of Elizabeth Ann Seton.

During her year in Baltimore, Elizabeth discovered the significance of Saint Joseph. The Sulpicians obtained the first statue of Joseph for their newly dedicated chapel at Saint Mary’s Seminary (Paca Street). Saint Joseph was also gaining prominence on the liturgical calendar. No doubt his guardianship of the Child Jesus must have been consoling to Mrs. Seton as a widow and sole parent of five young children. According to tradition, Mother Seton named the area where she settled Saint Joseph’s Valley, and the area is still informally known by that name.

Mother Seton originally planned to name her community Sisters of Saint Joseph. After arriving in Emmitsburg she chose the title Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph’s. This legal name was used by the Province of Emmitsburg until 2011 when it combined with three other former provinces to create today’s Province of St. Louise.

The building known today as the White House was built by Mother Seton in 1810 and originally known as Saint Joseph’s House. It was the Mother House for her community until ca. 1845. Saint Joseph’s Central House, headquarters from 1845-1964, is now the site of the National Emergency Training Center, part of FEMA. Headquarters for the Emmitsburg Province from 1964 to 2011 was St. Joseph’s Provincial House, the building we occupy today. The building, known today as St. Joseph House, houses the Provincial Archives, the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, active communities of Daughters of Charity, retirement facilities for Daughters and lay people. The life of Saint Joseph is depicted in stained glass windows located in the foyer of the Basilica at the Seton Shrine.

Mother Seton instructed Saint Joseph’s Class, comprising pupils from the Emmitsburg area. Her school, founded 1810, became Saint Joseph’s Academy. The current Mother Seton School traces its roots to her establishment. Developing from Saint Joseph’s Academy, Saint Joseph College was a liberal arts college for women which chartered in 1902 and served until 1973. The college grounds are now part of the National Emergency Training Center.

On the feast of St. Joseph in 1885, a fire broke out at St. Joseph’s Central House. Seminarians from Mount St. Mary’s, along with townspeople and fire companies, worked together to put out the fire. Since then, seminarians from the Mount have been invited to a special dinner on the campus on St. Joseph’s feast day in gratitude for their help in putting out the 1885 fire. Learn more about the 1885 fire

“We Saw The First Spade of Earth Turned” – virtual tour

Selected images from our our current exhibit, on display in Gallery 1. All images used with permission of the Daughters of Charity Provincial Archives. If you wish to see the complete exhibit, it is open to the public Wednesday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:30 and will be on display through January 9, 2015.

View and download the exhibit brochure.
View a video featuring memories of three Sisters who moved into the building in 1964.

Design drawing by Maguolo and Quick, architects for the Provincial House, showing three wings which were never built.

Provincial House under construction, May 1963

Sister Isabel Toohey, Visitatrix, breaks ground for the new St. Joseph’s Provincial House

Groundbreaking for St. Joseph's Provincial House. As part of the groundbreaking the Sisters processed around the campus and broke ground at a number of different spots.

Groundbreaking for St. Joseph’s Provincial House. As part of the groundbreaking the Sisters processed from the old Central House to the site of the new Provincial House.

Aerial view of the former Central House and St. Joseph’s College

Chapel at St. Joseph’s Central House. The chapel still stands; it is now on the property owned by FEMA located just south of our current campus.

Campus scene showing St. Joseph’s Provincial House and grounds. At the time of the move to the Provincial House, the grounds had little landscaping; Sisters remembered getting red mud on their shoes when they went for walks.

A distinctive feature of the building was its long corridors, such as this one looking down F wing toward the Basilica.

A distinctive feature of the new building was its long corridors, such as this one looking down F wing toward the Basilica. Because the corridors looked so similar, getting lost was a frequent occurrence.

Drawing showing plans for the Seton Altar in the Basilica.

Elizabeth Ann Seton altar. Mother Seton’s remains were moved to this spot in 1968.

The Sisters’ Chapel, now the Basilica, opened in January 1965 Sisters are seen here exploring their newly-completed chapel.

As originally installed the crucifix at the main altar in the Sisters’ Chapel (now the Basilica) had a double corpus. One of the corpuses was later removed in response to changing liturgical practices.