EMMITSBURG, MD – The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton honored those who serve their country at sea with its annual Pilgrimage and Mass for the Sea Services on Sunday, Oct. 4.
More than 325 people, including active-duty personnel and veterans of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, Merchant Marine and Public Health Services and their families, along with many other attendees, came together at this special Mass to thank Mother Seton for her protection and to ask for her continued intercession for all Sea Services personnel. A special meal followed the Mass.
The pilgrimage, which was televised on EWTN, marks the 49th anniversary of Mother Seton being designated as the patroness of the Sea Services. Mother Seton is the first native-born American to be canonized.
Bishop Gary R. Studniewski, a retired U.S. Army chaplain, and a recently-named auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington DC, was the principal celebrant and homilist for the Mass, which is co-sponsored annually by the Sea Services Sponsoring Committee and the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS).
Bishop Studniewski entered seminary after 10 years on active duty as an artillery officer. Ordained a priest in 1995, he served in the Archdiocese of Washington until 1998, when he returned to the Army as a chaplain. Over the next 18 years, he served at posts around the world, including a deployment to Iraq. Following his retirement from the Army, he returned to the Archdiocese of Washington in November 2016 and served in several assignments. In 2022, he was named pastor of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, where he served until his appointment as an auxiliary bishop this past May.
In his homily, Bishop Studniewski preached, “We’re all elected, brothers and sisters, by our baptism and strengthened by our confirmation to continue Christ’s mission. And our society, our country and our world desperately need to be built up with Christian values. I can’t think of a better assembly than this one right here to do that kind of work; you who have, or are now, or will soon be serving our country–dedicated and self-sacrificing with so many values, so many virtues, such faith, fidelity, discipline, education. You are exactly what Christ wants to use in our day to produce fruit again. Good fruit. Know of your election. It’s God’s way.”
Mr. Rob Judge, Executive Director of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, said Bishop Studniewski’s homily captured the essence of those who sacrifice so much to serve our country.
“Military service is a deeply moving and personal experience for those who serve and for their families,” Mr. Judge said. “Mother Seton knew this personally, yet she also knew how critical it was to put her trust in the providential care of Jesus Christ. As the mother of two sons who faced the perils of the sea, she remains a friend in heaven and someone that military personnel and their families can turn to for comfort. May her prayers sustain these men and women as they serve our country. ”
The Joint Armed Forces Color Guard from the Military District of Washington presented the colors, and Catholic Midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis sang in choir during the Mass.
Participants prayed for more Catholic priests to serve as chaplains. Catholic chaplains in the military numbered in the thousands during World War II. Today, the Navy has fewer than 50 active-duty Catholic priests to serve hundreds of thousands of Catholic Sailors, Marines, Merchant Marines, Coast Guard and Public Health Service personnel.
As the Patroness of the Sea Services, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton has a deep connection with those who spend their lives at sea and those devoted to public health. Her son, William, served in the Navy on the USS Macedonian, while another son, Richard, was a civilian, who served on the USS Cyane. Her father, Richard Bayley, was a prominent New York City physician in the 18th century and the city’s first Chief Health Officer.
“For nearly 50 years, this pilgrimage has brought the Sea Services community together at Mother Seton’s Shrine in prayer and fellowship,” said Admiral William J. Fallon, USN (Ret.), chair of the Pilgrimage Sponsoring Committee. “It is an opportunity to honor the men and women who serve our nation, to remember the sacrifices made by them and their families, and to pray for those serving around the world today. Mother Seton’s own family knew the challenges and uncertainties of life at sea, which makes her intercession especially meaningful to all of us.”
The late Cardinal John J. O’Connor of the Archdiocese of New York, together with the late Admiral James D. Watkins, advocated for Mother Seton’s designation as the Patroness of the Sea Services in 1975 when Cardinal O’Connor served as the Navy Chief of Chaplains and Admiral Watkins was Chief of Naval Personnel. The first pilgrimage to the Seton Shrine was in 1977.
The Shrine celebrates both the spirituality of the first native-born American to be canonized and Mother Seton’s role as one of the most prominent Catholics of the early 19th century in the U.S. After her husband died and she converted to Catholicism, she moved to Emmitsburg where she founded one of the first Catholic schools for girls and the first U.S. congregation of religious sisters.
The story of her life and legacy is commemorated in a museum and visitors center that opened in 2023 at the Shrine. The museum comprises three core galleries that portray her life as a seeker, servant, and saint, using rarely seen artifacts and interactive exhibits.
In 2027, the museum will debut a small, special exhibit called “Patroness of the Sea Services: A Mother & Her Sons,” which will tell the story of her sons’ experience in the Navy. More about the Sea Services Pilgrimage, including footage of the Mass, can be found here or on the Shrine’s Facebook page.
For more information about the Shrine, please visit setonshrine.org.