Today and tomorrow are “Maryland Days” on the liturgical calendar, as we celebrate two saints who lived in this state: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. John Neumann.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native-born American to be canonized, was born an Anglican in New York City, but after her conversion to Catholicism did most of her apostolate in Emmitsburg, Maryland. I have visited her shrine in Emmitsburg numerous times and it is quite beautiful.

St. John Neumann, the first American bishop to be canonized, was born in Bohemia and was a Redemptorist missionary to the United States who became the bishop of Philadelphia. But before he was consecrated bishop he worked in Baltimore, Maryland for a number of years. I have been to two churches in which Neumann ministered (and which both have first-class relics of the saint), St. Alphonsus in Baltimore and St. Peter’s in Steubenville, Ohio, and my current parish is named after him.

Maryland, of course, has many Catholic connections. The state was originally created as a safe haven for Catholics in the New World and the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence (Charles Carroll) hailed from the Old Line State. The mother diocese of the United States, Baltimore, also resides in this state. Please ask for the intercession of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. John Neumann for Maryland today.

Besides the Maryland connection, both saints worked tirelessly to establish Catholic schools in this country. We should ask for the intercession of these two great saints not only for Maryland, but also for our Catholic schools.

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