Last Saturday, we toured the Saint Mary's Spiritual Center and Mother Seton House in Baltimore. I was fortunate to be living in Rome, Italy when the Beatification of Mother Seton took place on March 17, 1963 by Pope John XXIII. Mother Seton was the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church (on September 14, 1975 by Pope Paul VI). She established the first Catholic girls' school in the nation in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she also founded the first American congregation of religious sisters, the Sisters of Charity. The Sulpician Fathers settled at the St. Mary's site in 1791, invited by Bishop John Carroll to start the first Catholic Seminary in the United States. Today, you will find four buildings on site: The Seminary Chapel, Mother Seton House, the Spiritual Center, and the Visitor Center. The Chapel is absolutely stunning. It was completed in 1808 and is one of the earliest examples of Neo-Gothic architecture in the United States. This site is well worth a visit! read more