April 28: On St. Mary's Mountain

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is April 28th, and our story is on St. Mary's Mountain. In 1728, William Elder, his wife Anne, and a handful of other Catholic families left their home in St. Mary's City, Maryland, and moved west. Like so many other Catholics at the time, they were looking for a new home, a place where they could openly, albeit not legally, practice their Catholic faith. They found that home near a mountain, and they named it St.

Mary's. They built a church, and the little community flourished. By 1793, it had become part of a town, Emmitsburg, with two parishes, St. Mary's and St. Joseph's. That year, Father John Dubois arrived in nearby Frederick, Maryland, and served as pastor to both parishes. The future Bishop of New York had recently come to America from France, where, if not for the help of his friend the Marquis de Lafayette, he would have died at the hands of anti-clerical revolutionaries.

After his arrival, the priest set about uniting the two parishes and planning for a school. According to local Emmitsburg records, Dubois purchased the land for what would eventually become Mount St. Mary's Seminary and University on April 28, 1807. Two years later, the school merged with Pigeon Hill Seminary, and a long tradition of educating future priests began. Around the same time, Dubois welcomed Mother Elizabeth Seton and her daughters of charity to Emmitsburg. The sisters lived in his home while their own house was readied, and every Sunday, for much of the remainder of Mother Seton's life, they traveled to the small mountain church for Mass.

In the centuries that followed, Mount St. Mary's came to be known as the Cradle of Bishops, with more than 51 future prelates graduating from the school, including some of the giants of the early church in America, such as Archbishop John Hughes of New York, America's first cardinal, Archbishop John McCloskey, and William Corder, the first bishop of Chicago.

Today, more than 150 men study for the priesthood at the seminary, while an additional 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled in Mount St. Mary's University. Mount St. Mary's illustrates how faith, education, and community build enduring legacies. Faithful institutions flourish when rooted in perseverance, vision, and service, offering both guidance and inspiration for generations to come. Reflect on ways you can contribute to the formation of others, spiritually, intellectually, or morally, in your own family or community.

Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, April 29th, for another story of faith and courage in America.