Seton Shrine

It was supposed to rain or snow or both today.  Instead we had full sun, so an outing was in order :)  

We went a bit outside of DC to what was advertised as 'the largest antiques mall' in the area.  It turned out to be very large indeed but not so antique; the kind of stuff you'd find discarded at the side of the road.

So we pushed a bit further and came across the Seton National Shrine, whose basilica is featured on my image (better resolution viewed in large). It pays tribute to the life and mission of Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821), the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church in 1975. 

Elizabeth Ann Seton established a school for the education of girls in the early 1800, then a religious community dedicated to the care of the children of the poor. The order she created is known as the Sisters of Charity and flows directly from from the order of the Daughters of Charity founded by St Vincent de Paul in France.  During the Civil War at least 270 sisters served as nurses and were called "angels of the battlefield" by both Union and Confederate soldiers. The Sisters also served as nurses during the Spanish–American War.

Interesting visit with tie-backs to my own aunt, the nun, in France :)