Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

Shrine to St. Elizabeth Setton Photo: KJM Today would be the memorial of St. Elizabeth Anne Setton but obviously the second Sunday after Christmas takes precedence. Given my love of the saints, I count myself very blessed to have been able to visit many saints tombs, birth places, places of conversion and strong spiritual experiences. During my stay in New York last Christmas 2013 I had the opportunity to visit the Shrine to St. Anne Seton there. It is quite a strange architectural juxtaposition against the dizzying skyscrapers of the Manhattan skyline. Located directly across from entrance to the Staten Island ferry, it is hard to miss and definitely merits a visit. It is a beautiful red-brick stately building which pays homage to St. Elizabeth Anne Setton. Her story is quite interesting. Convert to Roman Catholicism; foundress of the American Sisters of Charity, which was the first sisterhood native to the United States; a wife, mother, widow, sole parent, foundress of the...

Sr. Annamaria giving us the grand tour! On an apostolic level, Fr. Alberione promoted the printing of popular editions of the Bible and used the swiftest instrument of the time,periodicals,to help the message of Christ reach even those furthest away. He had already begun the magazine Vita Pastorale (The Pastoral Life) in 1912 for parish priests. In 1931 he launched Famiglia Cristiana, (Christian Home) a weekly magazine to nourish the Christian life of families. Other periodicals followed: (Madre di Dio) Mother of God (1933), “to reveal the beauty and greatness of Mary to people”; Pastor Bonus (Good Shepherd) (1937), a monthly magazine in Latin; Via, Verità e Vita (Way, Truth, Life) (1952), a monthly dedicated to the teaching of Christian doctrine; (La Vita in Cristo nella Chiesa) Life in Christ and in the Church (1952), to help people “get to know the treasures of the Liturgy, disseminate the things that serve it, and live it according to the mind of the Church.” Turning his attenti...