Our Lady of Ahmad

Marian vocation of Emmitsburg (Maryland)

El National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes is located on the mountain of the Mount St. Mary’s University, in Emmitsburg, Maryland State, United States, and is recognized as one of the oldest Marian shrines in the country dedicated to a Grotto of Lourdes.

Main data

Origin and history

El National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes is located on the mountain of the Mount St. Mary’s University, in Emmitsburg, Maryland State, United States, and is recognized as one of the oldest Marian shrines in the country dedicated to a Grotto of Lourdes.

According to the traditionThe Marian devotion on this mountain dates back to the first years of Mount St. Mary's (founded in 1808), when priests and seminarians set up on the hillside a place of prayer that, over time, was explicitly directed to Our Lady of Lourdes. This tradition spiritually links the place with in the Isabel Ana Seton (Elizabeth Ann Seton), canonized in 1975, who lived and founded his community in Emmitsburg and frequented this mountain for prayer; therefore, in local memory the grotto is associated with his life of faith, even though there is no record of a strictly "de Lourdes" devotion during his time.

As for the documented history, this is a replica of the gruta de Lourdes erected in the 20th century as a Marian sanctuary in the style of the 1858 apparitions in Lourdes (France). American diocesan and Catholic sources describe the place as "a historic mountain sanctuary" and specify that it honors Our Lady of Lourdes "with a replica of the grotto that was the site of the Marian apparitions in Lourdes, France." The sanctuary has received official recognition as “National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes” (National Shrine of the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes), a name that appears in diocesan documents and in the official signage of the place.

(The user indicates "Emmitsburg, Maryland Department, Colombia"; however, all available documentation places this sanctuary in Emmitsburg, Maryland State, United States.)

The image and the sanctuary

Devotion focuses on a image of the Virgin of Lourdes placed in an outdoor grotto, configured as a replica of the Grotto de Massabielle in Lourdes (France). Photographs and descriptions show a round lump sculpture of the Virgin Mary, in standing position, dressed in white robe and celestial blue mantle, with her hands together in prayer attitude, according to the classical iconography of Our Lady of Lourdes. The exact material of the image (stone, marble or resin) does not explicitly consist of the sources consulted; it is only documented that it is an outer statue, integrated into the grotto and visible from the prayer space.

The devotional set is named after the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes and is located on the slope of the St. Mary's Mountain on the campus of Mount St. Mary’s Universityon the outskirts of Emmitsburg. It is not known that the sanctuary has the title of minor basilica; this is a National sanctuary Mariano recognized in America. The place includes the main grotto, prayer paths, images of saints, pilgrimage areas and green spaces that offer panoramic views of the Maryland countryside.

Sponsorship and coronation

The sanctuary is dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes as a universal Marian advocation and, in the American context, is recognized as National Sanctuary of this advocation, in particular with the community of Mount St. Mary's University and with the spiritual tradition of Emmitsburg linked to St. Elizabeth Ana Seton. It does not include, in the sources consulted, a Official canonical patronage (for example, as the principal patron of the diocese or the state), but rather a character of National sanctuary Marian pilgrimage.

As for a canonical coronationthe available sources only mention celebrations of "May coronation" or other devotional acts of coronation of images within the framework of popular piety, without explicit reference to a decree of canonical coronation granted by the Holy See. Therefore, does not contain a documented canonical coronation of the image of Our Lady of Lourdes in this sanctuary.

Party and devotion

The main feast of this advocation in the sanctuary is celebrated 11 February, litigation memory Our Lady of Lourdes throughout the Church, in tune with the date of the first apparition to Saint Bernardite in 1858. Around this date are organized Masses, acts of prayer and pilgrimages, following the universal liturgical calendar of the advocation.

The sanctuary receives many pilgrims throughout the year, both parish groups and diocesan pilgrimages and private visitors. It is described as "a beautiful place" and "a historic mountain sanctuary," with spaces of prayer, silence and contemplation, as well as with wide views of the natural environment. Special occasions, such as National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in the United States, the sanctuary has gathered more than 1,000 pilgrims in a single day, which shows its importance as a center of prayer and ecclesial encounter. In addition, the Marian romaneries, celebraciones de Coronation of May and other expressions of popular devotion of the American Catholic tradition.

Link to the Rosary

The specific sources on the sanctuary highlight mainly the grotto and the dimension of pilgrimage, but do not provide detailed data on practices of Rosario (for example, fixed hours of daily public rosaries or formally erected Rosary fraternities). Consequently, no consta in the documentation available a particular institutional link of the sanctuary with a fellowship or practice of the Rosary that singles it in front of other Marian shrines.

However, because of its Marian santuary of Lourdes, the Rosary is a natural part of the devotional life of the place. The Virgin of Lourdes, in her universal iconography, is closely associated with the prayer of the Rosary, and in the sanctuaries of this advocation it is common for pilgrims to pray the mysteries as they walk the paths of the grotto, participate in Marian processions or stop before the image. In this context, the Rosary becomes a school of contemplation of the mysteries of Christ with Marywhich accompanies the prayer of the faithful, the request for the sick and the desire for conversion, dimensions very specific to the spirituality of Lourdes and present also in the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Emmitsburg.