BY KATHI STEARNS

Staff Writer

WASHINGTON--They called it a pilgrimage, a journey to a distant place with a special purpose. But it started with a conscious choice to go that extra mile, to make more firm the individual pilgrim's spiritual grounding in life.

Archbishop John F. Donoghue's second annual pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. Sept. 23-26 was not simply a destination; it was a starting point for many of those actively engaged in or just embarking upon their personal journey of faith.

The pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the Basilica of St. Elizabeth Seton drew 58 participants from 17 parishes including, in addition to the archbishop, Father John Murphy, pastor of St. Peter's Church, LaGrange, and Father Serge Ward, pastor of Christ our King and Savior Church, Greensboro.

As the bus pulled out of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church parking lot Sept. 23 at 7:30 a.m. for the 11-hour ride, morning prayer began followed by the recitation of the rosary. Songs of praise in English and Spanish filled the bus as the pilgrims journeyed to the nation's capital.

"The time on the bus gave everyone a chance to get to know one another and pray together," said Sister Bridget Ann Henderson, BVM, from St. George, Newnan. "The videos of the pope and the recitation of the rosary really set the tone for the entire trip."

The pilgrims' first stop Sept. 24 was at the Basilica of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born saint who is credited with being the founder of Catholic schools. Upon arrival participants watched a 12-minute video depicting the life of Mother Seton. Pilgrims then broke into groups of 10-12 and traveled throughout the basilica's grounds as they learned more details about her life.

Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, the daughter of two devout Episcopalians, was born in New York City, Aug. 28, 1774. At 19 she married William Magee Seton, a prosperous merchant, and gave birth to five children. By 1803 the family's shipping firm went bankrupt; then her husband died. Longtime friends of her husband befriended Seton and welcomed her into their home. It was here that she encountered Catholicism for the first time. She returned to New York in 1804 and, despite the opposition of family and friends, entered the Catholic Church in the spring of 1805.

She sought to support her family by teaching. Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore invited her to establish a school for girls in his diocese which became the nation's first parochial school. Other young women soon joined her in this ministry of education and eventually they formed a religious community, the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. In 1809 they moved to Emmitsburg, Md., where Mother Seton lived with her growing community until her death in 1821.

The St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Chapel was built in 1965 in anticipation of the canonization of Mother Seton. At the time of her beatification in March 1963, the body of Mother Seton was exhumed. Her remains were placed in a small copper casket and enshrined above the altar in the chapel at St. Joseph's College. Five years later her remains were transferred to the altar in the Shrine Chapel at the Provincial House of the Daughters of Charity in Emmitsburg. Seton was canonized Sept. 14, 1975 by Pope Paul VI and on Aug. 28, 1976 the chapel was dedicated by Baltimore Archbishop William D. Borders. In 1991 Pope John Paul II officially designated the shrine chapel a minor basilica.

The pilgrims also stopped at the Stone House, the first permanent home of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in St. Joseph's Valley where she founded the Sisters of Charity, July 31, 1809. The building consists of two large rooms on the first floor and a five-foot-deep root cellar. It was purchased for the sisters by a wealthy seminarian. In the early days 16 people lived in the house, including Mother Seton, her sisters-in-law Harriet and Cecilia Seton, her daughters, Annina, Rebecca and Catherine, two children from the school and eight sisters.

Participants then stopped at a log building called the White House completed in 1809. Mother Seton and her companions moved here from the Stone House in February 1810 and a school opened for the children of the neighborhood was the first parochial school in the United States. Adjoining the chapel is the room where Mother Seton died on Jan. 4, 1821. The bedroom window looks out upon the small cemetery where Mother Seton's sister-in-law, Harriet, was laid to rest in December 1809; her other sister-in-law, Cecilia, was buried there in April 1810, along with her daughters, Annina in March 1812 and Rebecca in November 1816.

For Linda Williams Cattanach, a parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi, Blairsville, and the mother of Father Paul Williams, the shrine will always have a special place in her heart.

"This is where my son was ordained a transitional deacon," she said. "I visited this shrine and the grotto numerous times while Paul was in seminary. It is so full of such beautiful memories."

For Catherine Lynn McNeill, a widow in the process of converting to the Catholic faith at Queen of Angels Church, Thomson, it was especially meaningful to hear of the struggles and suffering of Elizabeth Seton.

"I was so able to identify with her," she said. "It touched me in a way that is hard to describe in words."

In the afternoon Archbishop Donoghue, Fathers Murphy and Ward celebrated Mass at the altar of St. Joseph. The archbishop was assisted by Deacons Ben Gross and Don Kelsey who organized the pilgrimage.

During his homily the archbishop spoke of St. Elizabeth Seton's conversion to the Catholic faith.

"She knew that God had taken from her what wasn't needed and left in its place a heart filled with his love and the desire to do only his will. In a letter written soon thereafter she noted the great re-ordering of her life--this great escape from all the doubts of the past, and she wrote: 'It is done. I feel as if the chains have fallen off. My God, what new scenes for my soul.'"

"And what new scenes did follow--countless acts of heroic charity, of selfless devotion and of absolute faith in the power of God to overcome all obstacles."

The archbishop challenged the pilgrims to follow Mother Seton's example by emptying themselves so that they might be filled with God's own plan for their salvation. "And let us begin by repeating a thousand times over those same words which opened the heart of Mary, and which let into the world the Son of God and the grace of salvation: "Be it done unto me according to thy word."

After Mass participants traveled to the National Shrine of Our Lady which is situated on a mountainside overlooking the campus of Mt. St. Mary College and Seminary and the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. The pilgrims were overwhelmed by the sight of the gold statue of Our Lady atop the Pangborn Memorial Campanile. The statue, which stands at the entrance of the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes, marks the site of St. Mary's Church which was built by Father John DuBois, the founder of Mt. St. Mary's College and Seminary.

Seminarians studying for the Archdiocese of Atlanta at Mt. St. Mary's joined the pilgrims for the recitation of the rosary at the Corpus Christi Chapel and for silent prayer at the grotto.

The following day, Sept. 25, the North Georgia pilgrims traveled to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest church in the Western hemisphere and the eighth largest church in the world.

The Shrine reflects the spiritual bond between the U.S. and the Blessed Virgin Mary that was formalized in 1847 when Pope Pius IX entrusted America to the protection of Mary, "Patroness of the United States," under the title of her Immaculate Conception.

Responding to this in the early 1900s, Bishop Thomas J. Shahan, the fourth rector of the Catholic University of America, explored the possibility of building a shrine to Mary adjacent to the campus. He presented his plan to Pope Pius X, who supported the plan with his backing and a $400 personal donation. In 1913 the board of trustees of Catholic University agreed to donate a parcel of land on which the shrine would be built.

The crypt church dedicated to Our Lady of the Catacombs was completed in 1926. The altar was given as a gift to the Shrine by more than 30,000 women named Mary and has been used for the celebration of Mass since 1927. Both the Great Depression and World War II delayed construction until 1953 when the nation's bishops renewed their efforts to build the upper church of the Shrine. U.S. Catholics were asked to assist with the national fund-raising effort. Construction resumed in 1954 and the upper church was dedicated in 1959.

According to Msgr. Michael Bransfield, Shrine rector, the 56 chapels located throughout the Shrine reflect the religious and cultural heritage brought to America by generations of immigrant Catholics and the strength of their unity achieved through devotion to Our Lady. Sculptures, stained glass and mosaics remind visitors of these unique heritages.

Pilgrims participated in a guided tour which took them throughout the main building, its various altars and chapels. Each altar served to lead the pilgrims' thoughts to the sacrifice of Mary's son, Jesus.

One of the newest additions to the Shrine is the Chapel of Our Mother of Africa. The chapel was dedicated Aug. 30, 1997 as a part of the VIII National Black Catholic Congress celebration. The Archdiocese of Atlanta contributed $50,000 toward the construction of this chapel.

"I express my deep love and esteem for the black Catholic community in the United States. Its vitality is a sign of hope for society," Pope John Paul II said in his 1987 address to black Catholics in New Orleans. "Composed as you are of many lifelong Catholics and many who have more recently embraced the faith, together with a growing immigrant community, you reflect the Church's ability to bring together a diversity of people united in faith, hope and love, sharing a communion with Christ in the Holy Spirit. I urge you to keep alive and active your rich cultural gifts."

The chapel is located on the crypt level between the chapels of Our Lady Queen of Peace and Our Lady of Lourdes. According to a Shrine press release, the design concept reflects the centrality of the sacraments with the altar and the cross. The cross is made of wood and suspended in a brightly lighted space behind a cross-shaped opening in the stone wall. Its location, at a distance from the stone wall, in a serene, ethereal light, represents the hope for the future that African-Americans see embodied in the cross of Christ.

The floor space beneath the cross is filled with green plants which serve as a reminder of the homeland and the African-Americans' relationship with nature. A niche on the left side of the chapel holds a statue of Our Lady created by an African-American artist.

After the tour and lunch at the Shrine, the sacrament of reconciliation was made available to the pilgrims. This was followed by the recitation of the glorious mysteries of the rosary.

Participants then gathered for the celebration of Mass in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. This chapel, a gift of the bishops and priests of the United States, is intended to reflect the fact that their lives are firmly rooted in the Eucharist. The chapel is located on the west side of the Shrine, to the left of the chancel area and opposite the main sacristy of the great upper church.

According to a Shrine press release, the eye of the pilgrim is attracted immediately to the tabernacle which holds the real presence of Christ. The tabernacle is surrounded by gold bronze strands rising to form a canopy. Above the canopy is the crucified Christ. An open crown invites rays of light to enter through the skylight and focus on the tabernacle. During the day the light sometimes descends through a window like a sunburst, illuminating the entire chapel.

During his homily the archbishop addressed the need for pilgrimages. "Chaucer truly described the essential motivation of our hearts toward pilgrimage, leaving home in search of holy places--'The shadows fall, the year draws on, and we good people on pilgrimage long to go,'" he said. "But it was the poet (David) of a much earlier century and a king before God and men who wrote in his 48th song of the truer journey, the journey of the soul, saying: 'Happy are those who find refuge in you, (O Lord), whose hearts are set on pilgrim roads.'"

After the Mass pilgrims headed back to the hotel for a banquet hosted by Archbishop Donoghue. During the banquet the archbishop thanked Fathers Murphy and Ward for accompanying him on the pilgrimage, and Deacons Gross and Kelsey for their organizational efforts. The archbishop said that he would like to make the pilgrimage an annual event and that next year he hopes to have three buses full of pilgrims make the trip.

Many participants truly felt that this trip would be a yearly part of their lives.

"My husband and I are going to make it an annual event," said Linda Williams Cattanach. "I went last year and it has really, in the truest sense of the word, become a retreat for me."

"I want to go back and savor the beauty of everything," said Catherine Lynn McNeill. "It was so overwhelming. I need to be able to go back so that I can really savor being there. There was so much to take in that I may need to go back several times before I really have seen it all."

The parish of St. George, Newnan, had 12 people on the pilgrimage, the largest representation of any parish.

"We really promoted the idea of pilgrimage at our parish," said Lenore Schrowang. "It is such a wonderful opportunity to meet people from our archdiocese, to see those beautiful shrines and have the opportunity to spend time with the archbishop. We have a wonderful archbishop who made sure that everyone had an enjoyable time on the trip. I still can't get over the fact that I was privileged to take the gifts to the altar during the celebration of Mass at the Shrine. That was such a once in a lifetime opportunity. It is something I will truly never forget."

Archbishop Donoghue has announced that next year's pilgrimage will be held from Tuesday, Sept. 29 through Friday, Oct. 2.