A large statue of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton that previously stood on the grounds of two now-closed Catholic schools has a new home at Mother Seton School in Emmitsburg, where it sits in the school’s annex surrounded by flowers.
The statue was donated by Judith Giangrandi to The Seton Keough High School in Baltimore in 2003 in thanksgiving for the saint’s intercession in healing her son, Steven, from Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Her son is still doing well; his cancer is in remission and he enjoys being a father to his two grown daughters.
When Seton Keough closed in 2017, the statue found a new home at St. Maria Goretti High School in Hagerstown. Deacon Christopher Cosentino was working at St. Maria Goretti at the time and helped move the statue to the school. The deacon, now a middle school religion teacher at Mother Seton School, helped coordinate its move to Emmitsburg after St. Maria Goretti closed last academic year.
“Everyone was so excited it was here,” Deacon Cosentino said. “The statue reminds the teachers and students of Mother Seton School why we are here, and I hope it will be here for the foreseeable future.”
When the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced the closing of St. Maria Goretti last year, Deacon Cosentino reached out to the Archdiocese of Baltimore about having the statue moved to Mother Seton School, where he has been teaching for four years.
After the last school year ended for St. Maria Goretti, Deacon Cosentino picked up the statue and brought it to its new home at Mother Seton School.
Deacon Cosentino has had a deep devotion to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton throughout his life. He graduated from Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., and works part-time as a visitor experience facilitator at the Seton Shrine. He felt St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s presence at his permanent diaconate ordination last year, he said. His pastoral assignment is at St. Ann in Hagerstown.
“I want the statue to always be a reminder of everyone’s faith in God,” Deacon Cosentino said. “The saints are great intercessors for us. We can ask for their prayers to God.”
Judith and her husband, Dr. B. Robert, recently moved full-time to Grasonville, Md. from Florida and are parishioners of St. Christopher Church in nearby Chester. They were delighted to hear of the statue’s new home at Mother Seton School and look forward to seeing the statue there.
After learning of the statue’s move to Mother Seton School, Judith sent a donation for flowers to sit in front of the statue throughout the school year. In return, the school sent her a photo of the students surrounding St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s statue and flowers. Near the statue is a photo of the Giangrandi family, showing a nod to its origin and the healing power of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Deacon Cosentino remembered that when Archbishop William E. Lori visited Mother Seton School in June during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and saw the statue in the atrium, the archbishop said, “Now she’s home.”
That’s exactly how Judith Giangrandi feels
“I’m very happy,” she said. “She’s right where she ought to be.”
She called St. Elizabeth Ann a “marvelous resource to go through when you petition for God or Christ’s help.”
“I want the kids to realize she exists in their life, and that they can go through her or turn to her when they have fear,” Giangrandi said. “She’s another resource to get help to be closer to God.”
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Returning the favor: A statue of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton fulfills Arbutus mother’s promise
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