One-Day Pilgrimages

Not up for the flight to Lourdes? These shrines in the Archdiocese of New York will lift you up, boarding pass not required

The word shrine comes from the Latin scrinium, which means “box” – because the first Christian shrines were boxes or repositories for the relics of saints. Today, not all Catholic shrines house relics, but all are focal points for prayer and devotion, often to a saint or the Blessed Mother.

A shrine might be a large, “official” pilgrimage destination like the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in Washington, D.C., a side altar in a parish church or a local memo-rial alongside a highway. It might mark the site of a blessed event – a martyrdom, a Marian apparition – or memorialize a tragedy. A shrine is “in general, a holy place,” says the Catholic Dictionary, where people go to pray, meditate, venerate, ask forgiveness and lay their intentions before God and the saints.

There are dozens of shrines in the Archdiocese of New York, including several worthy of a one-day pilgrimage. From the home of the first American-born saint in lower Manhattan to a humble chapel devoted to the memories of unborn and prematurely born infants in Sullivan County, these holy places offer us a chance to be in the presence of the divine without traveling halfway around the world. In a few cases, convenient side trips can deepen the experience of pilgrimage.

If you are “staycationing” this summer, or just have a free day to spend enriching your faith life, pick a shrine and make a pilgrimage. Think of it as a theme park for your soul – not the fleeting adrenaline rush of the roller coaster or the log flume, but the luminous pause at the top of the ferris wheel that reveals the far horizon and puts the entire world in perspective.

ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON SHRINE

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary 
7 State St., Manhattan 
spcolr.org/st-seton-shrine-1 

(212) 233-8355
Masses Sunday 11:00 a.m., Monday – Friday 12:15 p.m.

For two years in the early 1800s, before she became a Catholic, the first American-born saint lived at 8 State Street – the stately Federal-style building attached to the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Shrine – with her husband and children. The church that now houses the shrine was built in 1965 to match the style of the onetime Seton home. Together the two structures make for a striking piece of architecture amid the steel towers of lower Manhattan – and a spiritual magnet for devotees of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. To visit, come at Mass time.

The Setons left 8 State Street in 1803, and within two years, Elizabeth – a widowed mother of five – converted to Catholicism. She went on to build a network of Catholic schools, found the Sisters of Charity and finally, more than a century and a half after her death in 1821, become a saint. The religious order she founded is Amer-ica’s oldest, and many institutions spawned by the Sisters of Charity and/or named for Mother Seton can be found throughout the archdiocese and, indeed, the country: schools, hospitals, children’s care centers. The sisters still live by a pledge to minister to those in need, wherever they may be. Those in need of some inspiration can find it in this remarkable shrine amid the canyons of commerce.

SIDE TRIP: CATHOLIC GROUND ZERO MEMORIAL

St. Peter’s Church
22 Barclay St., Manhattan 
spcolr.org/catholic-memorial-at-ground-zero  

(212) 233-8355
Mon – Fri  |  9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

A 15-minute walk from the Mother Seton shrine is another tract of sacred ground: the site of the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. The 9/11 Memorial and Museum receive millions of visitors each year; less well-known is the nearby Catholic Ground Zero Memorial. In honor of the heroes who died on September 11, sculptor John Collier created four statues: St. Joseph, patron of construction workers; St. Michael the Archangel, patron of police; St. Florian, patron of firefighters; and St. Mary Magdalene, first witness to the resurrection. Originally installed outside St. Joseph’s Chapel facing the World Trade Center, the memorial was moved in 2018 to the front portico of St. Peter’s Church on Barclay Street, whose place in history includes serving as a relief supply station on 9/11. It’s a fitting place to stop and say a prayer.
 

ST. FRANCES X. CABRINI SHRINE

701 Fort Washington Ave., Manhattan
cabrinishrinenyc.org 

(212) 923-3536
Tuesday – Sunday  |  9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

From the chapel at the Cabrini Shrine in Washington Heights, the view to the west is a breathtaking prospect over the Hudson River to New Jersey; across the street to the east are block after block of apartment buildings harboring workers and immigrants. It’s a location that matches the saint, balanced between the glorious beauty of God’s creations and the everyday needs of His children.

In 1880, at the age of 30, Frances Cabrini founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus along with seven other young women. A native of a tiny village near Milan, in Italy, she dreamed of starting a mission in China,  but in 1889, Pope Leo XIII asked her to lead a mission “not to the East, but to the West,” to minister to the needs of the thousands of Italian immigrants in New York City. Cabrini and her sisters were soon setting up academic and catechetical classes for immigrant Italian children, and not long afterward began establishing orphanages and schools.

Cabrini ended up traveling throughout the United States as well as to Europe, Central and South America in response to requests to open schools, hospitals and orphanages. She died in Chicago in 1917, and her remains can be seen in a case beneath the altar of the shrine.

SIDE TRIP: CLOISTERS MUSEUM

99 Margaret Corbin Dr.  
(Fort Tryon Park) Manhattan 
metmuseum.org/visit/plan-your-visit/met-cloisters

(212) 923-3700
Sun – Sat 10:00 a.m. – 5:15 p.m.

From the Cabrini Shrine, it’s a lovely walk through Fort Tryon Park to the Met Cloisters, a museum constructed in the style of a monastery and devoted to the art and architecture of Medieval Europe. The collection contains thousands of pieces of largely Christian art from all over the Continent, including architectural gems from throughout the centuries, removed from their original locations and reassembled piece by piece in New York.

Give yourself time to be moved and to meditate in these holy spaces. Although the museum, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is managed as a secular institution, the art is insepa-rable from its roots in faith. For a few minutes, you may forget the phone in your pocket and imag-ine yourself living a monk’s life.
 

NATIONAL SHRINE OF MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

174 Filors Ln., Stony Point
marianshrine.org 

(845) 947-2200
Open daily until sundown

On rolling hills beside the Hudson, this shrine began as a path for saying the rosary bordered by 15 life-size statues of Mary at different points in her life. It became so popular among pilgrims that the Salesian Brothers transformed the site into a shrine of national stature, with a 48-foot statue of the Rosary Madonna crafted in Pistoia, Italy, and grottoes meant to evoke the shrines at Lourdes and Fatima. The 160-acre property is also home to a retreat center and a summer day camp.

NATIONAL SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL

70 Carmelite Dr., Middletown 
ourladyofmtcarmelshrine.com
(845) 343-1879
Sunday – Saturday  |  8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Originally established in New York City in 1941, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was relocated to this beautiful Orange County location in 1991. The purpose of the shrine is “to provide you with the opportunity and space to experience God through prayer, silence and reflection centered around devotion to our Lady of Mt. Carmel.” The chapel and grounds are open to visitors, and reconciliation can be arranged through advance appointment.
 

SHRINE OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS

36 Cedar St., Saugerties
shrineholyinnocents.org
Open to the public 24/7

In a onetime convent chapel at St. Mary of the Snow in Ulster County, the Shrine of the Holy Innocents is “dedicated to babies unborn, babies born too soon, infants and children who have gone home to God,” says Deacon Mike Sweeney. “We are a place of dignity and healing.”

The modest chapel houses a growing number of plaques dedicated by grieving parents. Visitors can order a plaque for their own departed innocent, or just say a prayer in the presence of the existing plaques and in community with those who have suffered the loss of a child. Masses are offered in the chapel twice during the week, and there is an overnight Eucharistic adoration every Sunday evening.
 

SIDE TRIP: FALLING WATERS PRESERVE

Dominican Lane, Saugerties
scenichudson.org/parks/fallingwaters 

(845) 473-4440
Sun – Sat  |  7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

To stroll through the glory of God’s creation before or after your visit to the Shrine of the Holy Innocents, find your way to Falling Waters Preserve, formerly a retreat center for the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, with three miles of trails, picturesque gazebos and views of waterfalls.