"EMMITTSBURG - CATHOLICISM AND HOMELAND SECURITY" Emmitsburg by mtncorg

Emmittsburg is a cute little town along US 15 which traverse the eastern base of Catoctin Mountain en route to Gettysburg, a few miles to the north. The town is best know as the home of the National Shrine to the first American-born Catholic saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton. She was a teaching sister living and working in this area in the early 19th Century. She converted to catholicism after her husband died - she had already had several children - and she had traveled to Italy. Here in the then wilderness of western Maryland, she found a new life and established a community - Sisters of Charity - based upon helping others. The order she founded survives today as the Daughters of Charity, still facing tasks similar to those faced by Mother Seton in her time. She was beatified in 1963 and proclaimed a saint in 1974 by Pope Paul VI. Two Catholic colleges used to be here in Emmittsburg, as well, with one surviving - Mount St Mary's University, which occupies a beautiful location alongside the west side of US 15 and the base of Catoctin Mountain. There is a well-known seminary that is associated with the university here, too. The other college - St Joseph's - was purchased by the Federal government and is the home of the National Emergency Training Center. Somehow, it is kind of appropriate for the centerpiece for a center devoted to possible disasters to be a big chapel. If all else fails, pray?