2 Best Sights in Emmitsburg, Frederick and Western Maryland

Surrounded by shaded walkways and trickling brooks, the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes is a meditative spot for Catholics and non-Catholics alike, in use since 1805. The grotto itself is a re-creation (from about 1875) of the spot in France where Bernadette Soubirous saw visions of the Virgin Mary. Today it attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually who come to pray or ask for healing. Many leave photographs, flowers, or handwritten prayers and take spring water from the grotto. The paved paths are safe for children, the elderly, or disabled.

Located on the campus of Mount St. Mary's College, the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton honors the country's first native-born saint. Born to a wealthy New York family, Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774–1821) was a widow with five children when she converted to Catholicism. Charismatic and tireless, she started the nation's first parochial school and first order of nuns. Today, her legacy lives on at the numerous churches and schools, including Seton Hall University, that bear her name. A small white clapboard house at the shrine is a re-creation of the home where she lived with fellow religious sisters and relatives surrounded by near-total wilderness. St. Elizabeth's body is entombed at the magnificent on-site basilica where masses are held several times a week. Only the Basilica is open on Monday.