EMMITSBURG, Maryland — In the first episode of a series of short videos launched by the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Sister Mary Catherine Conway, a Daughter of Charity, discusses her 40 years in Catholic education as a teacher and principal.
The series, titled “Stories from the Sisters,” features short interviews with sisters who, like Conway, are members of the orders that trace their lineage to the first native-born American saint.
Conway works at the shrine, which debuted the series Feb. 2, the World Day of Consecrated Life. The annual observance celebrates the contributions that religious sisters around the world make to the church and in society.
The video series also began on the same day Mother Seton founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, the first community for religious women established in the United States, in 1809. Both the current day Sisters of Charity and Daughters of Charity stem from that founding.
“Mother Seton’s sisters have so much to offer to all of us in their everyday witness to our Lord,” said Rob Judge, the shrine’s executive director. “Their stories provide a glimpse of the sacrifices they make but also their service to those experiencing poverty and the joy of life they experience as a religious.
“They offer us love, good humor and a witness to holiness that is needed now more than ever.”
The videos in the series will be available on the shrine’s social media channels and on its website, www.setonshrine.org. The first episode can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3HBFU91.
A news release on the video series said it is just one initiative planned for 2022 after a full year of events and other activities that commemorated the 200th anniversary of Mother Seton’s death, Jan. 4, 1821.
Other initiatives this year include:
— A “Seton & Culture” series of original stories and videos by leading Catholic writers, poets and artists. The initial essay is by noted Catholic poet Paul Mariani and describes the sensations of a concerto and the feelings it elicits through the eyes of Trappist Father Thomas Merton and Mother Seton.
— Groundbreaking will take place by the summer on a fully renovated and expanded Seton Museum/Visitor Center, which “will highlight the life and legacy of Mother Seton and the sisters who took her message to the world.”
Shrine officials said the funds for the renovation and expansion are coming from the shrine’s “New Century of Charity” capital campaign, which they said “is close to reaching its $7 million goal.”
— “Lift Up My Soul: 15 Days of Prayer with St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, a free, 15-day email program that uses the writings and meditations of Mother Seton “to more fully integrate prayer into our daily life and to develop a deeper, more personal relationship with the living God.”
More about the prayer program can be by going to the “Pray” tab at www.setonshrine.org.
“Mother Seton’s life was full of crisis and discouragement, and yet she persevered and became a saint and one of the most revered figures in the history of American Catholicism,” the shrine news release said. “Where did she find the strength to continue? By turning to prayer and a deeper devotion to God.”
