About Shrine of St. Anthony · Ellicott City, Maryland
The Shrine of St. Anthony is a Roman Catholic shrine in Ellicott City, Maryland, housed within the St. Joseph Cupertino Friary on roughly 310 acres of rolling Howard County woodlands. Operated by the Conventual Franciscan Friars of Our Lady of the Angels Province, it is the official Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Anthony for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and is home to the most significant first-class relic of St. Anthony of Padua in North America. The site welcomes thousands of pilgrims each year for daily noon Mass, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Eucharistic Adoration, Franciscan retreats, walking trails, and an annual mid-June pilgrimage tied to the June 13 feast of St. Anthony.
- Established
- 1928
- Patron
- St. Anthony of Padua
- Rector
- Fr. Steven G. Frenier, OFM Conv. (Shrine Director)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Baltimore
Why belong here
The Shrine offers a rare combination of a contemplative Franciscan setting, daily Mass in the presence of a first-class relic of St. Anthony, and a 310-acre wooded campus with seven walking trails, a Lourdes grotto, an outdoor Stations of the Cross, the St. Anthony Garden of Eternity, and an open-air shrine to St. Maximilian Kolbe. Pilgrims come for the Tuesday novena blessing with the relic, Saturday Eucharistic Adoration, the annual St. Anthony Festival and June pilgrimage, Franciscan 'Pilgrimages of Hope' retreat days, opportunities for spiritual direction, and free weekly historical tours of the 1832 Carrollton Hall manor. For anyone seeking an authentically Franciscan encounter — prayer, beauty, and quiet — it is one of the most significant pilgrimage sites on the U.S. East Coast.
Mass times at Shrine of St. Anthony
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday – Saturday, 11:00 AM – 11:50 AM (Conference Room)
Adoration times
- Tuesday, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (in the Chapel before the noon Mass)
- Saturday, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (in the Chapel)
Welcome to the Shrine of St. Anthony
The Shrine of St. Anthony is the official Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Anthony for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and a ministry of the Franciscan Friars Conventual of Our Lady of the Angels Province. Operated continuously by the friars since 1928, it covers roughly 310 acres of rolling hills and woodlands in central Howard County, Maryland, and welcomes thousands of pilgrims each year for daily Mass, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Eucharistic Adoration, walking trails, retreats, and heritage tours. Its mission is summarized by its founding verse: "come away and rest awhile" (Mk 6:31).
- 12290 Folly Quarter Road, Ellicott City, MD 21042
- Phone: (410) 531-2800
- Director: Fr. Steven G. Frenier, OFM Conv.
- Open daily 9 AM – 4 PM (building & Chapel); grounds open dawn to dusk
History of the Shrine
The story of the Shrine is threaded through three centuries of American Catholic, Carroll family, and Franciscan history. The original 1,000-acre "Folly Quarter" estate was carved out of the Carroll family's vast Maryland landholdings (granted to Charles Carroll of Annapolis in 1700) and a manor house was built there around 1730 by architect William Small, a protégé of Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Charles Carroll of Carrollton — the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence — remodeled the manor for his granddaughter Emily Caton MacTavish, completing it in 1832. The Franciscan Friars Conventual purchased the estate and 236 acres in 1928 for $436,000 and used the manor (today's Carrollton Hall) as their novitiate. Within two years the community needed a larger home, so Conventual Franciscan friar and architect Fr. Benedict Przemielewski designed a new novitiate as a miniature of the Sacro Convento in Assisi, clad in Beaver Dam marble; it was completed and blessed by Archbishop Michael Joseph Curley in 1931. The Shrine was formally designated the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Anthony by Cardinal William Keeler on July 1, 2005, and Carrollton Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
- Land grant to Charles Carroll of Annapolis: 1700
- Folly Quarter manor built c. 1730; remodeled 1832
- Franciscan Friars purchase of 236 acres: 1928 — $436,000
- Shrine building groundbreaking: 1930; completed and blessed: 1931
- Relic of St. Anthony received: 1995
- Relic installed in the Chapel: fall 2000
- Designated Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Anthony: July 1, 2005
- Outdoor St. Maximilian Kolbe Shrine dedicated: 2010
- Carrollton Hall listed on the National Register of Historic Places: 2014
Architecture and the St. Joseph Cupertino Friary
The Shrine building is the St. Joseph Cupertino Friary, designed by Conventual Franciscan Fr. Benedict Przemielewski, OFM Conv. in a Neo-Renaissance style intended to echo the Sacro Convento of Assisi — the original Franciscan friary built over the tomb of St. Francis. Set on a hilltop slope, the friary measures roughly 20,194 square feet and is clad in regionally-quarried Beaver Dam marble. Construction ran from 1930 to 1931 and was blessed by Archbishop Michael Joseph Curley. The patronage of St. Joseph Cupertino, a Conventual Franciscan and patron of students who struggle with learning, was given to the building when the novices moved in. The interior is organized around an Italian Renaissance-style atrium and chapel. The Shrine Chapel at the heart of the building holds a reliquary containing the first-class relic of St. Anthony and is decorated with thirteen large mural-size copies of Italian paintings depicting key events in St. Anthony's life. The complex is sited on what is variously reported as 236, 310, or 320 acres of Howard County woodlands.
- Architect: Fr. Benedict Przemielewski, OFM Conv.
- Style: Neo-Renaissance
- Exterior cladding: Beaver Dam marble
- Completed: 1931; blessed by Archbishop Curley
- Patron of the building: St. Joseph Cupertino, OFM Conv.
- Chapel artwork: 13 murals depicting St. Anthony's life
Carrollton Hall
Carrollton Hall is the historic 1832 manor house that was the friars' first home on the property and today operates as the cultural and heritage center of the Shrine. Designed originally around 1730 by William Small, a protégé of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, it was remodeled for Emily Caton MacTavish, granddaughter of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, and completed in 1832. Carroll himself is buried nearby at Doughoregan Manor. The Hall features two heritage rooms and hosts a rotating traveling art exhibit; in 2008 it displayed watercolor paintings by Fr. Gerry Waterman, OFM Conv. and poetry by Fr. Gary Johnson, OFM Conv. The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2014 (NRHP #14001042) and has been known as the "Carrollton Hall Cultural Center" since 2015. As of 2022 the friars were planning additional restoration to use it as a meeting, retreat, and exhibit space. Tours of Carrollton Hall are offered monthly and by reservation.
- Built c. 1730 by William Small; remodeled and completed 1832 for Emily Caton MacTavish
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: 2014 (NRHP #14001042)
- Known as the Carrollton Hall Cultural Center since 2015
- Houses two heritage rooms and a traveling art exhibit
The Relic of St. Anthony of Padua
The Shrine's most singular treasure is its first-class relic of St. Anthony of Padua, which the Shrine describes as the most significant relic of the saint in North America. In 1995, to mark the 800th birthday of St. Anthony, the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua opened the saint's tomb and distributed newly obtained relics. The Conventual Franciscan friars in Padua gifted both the relic and the specially-made reliquary that holds it to the friars of the Province of St. Anthony in America — whose provincial house is on the same Ellicott City grounds. The relic, with its Latin inscription indicating dried skin/tissue (ex cute), was formally installed in the Shrine Chapel in a special ceremony in the fall of 2000. It is available for veneration daily during Chapel hours and is used each Tuesday to give a blessing following the noon Mass.
- First-class relic gifted by the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, 1995
- Formally installed in the Shrine Chapel, fall 2000
- Available for veneration daily 9 AM – 4 PM
- Used each Tuesday to bless pilgrims after noon Mass
Devotions and Special Events
Following the noon Mass every Tuesday, the friars lead a portion of the St. Anthony Novena — a 13-week prayer series given to all who join the Mass. The Mass concludes with a special blessing of the assembled using the first-class relic. The annual St. Anthony Festival and Day of Pilgrimage, held around the June 13 feast of St. Anthony, includes sung Vespers the preceding evening and a full Saturday program with guest speakers, Adoration, Confession, Mass, kids' activities, and food trucks.
- St. Anthony Novena — Tuesdays after noon Mass, 13-week cycle
- St. Anthony Festival & Pilgrimage — weekend around June 13
- Sung Vespers on the eve of the Festival in the Shrine Chapel
- Friday evening ice cream social
Explore the Grounds
The Shrine's roughly 310 acres of rolling hills, meadows, and woodlands are designed to be walked, prayed in, and contemplated. Seven marked trails of various length wind through the property, with benches placed throughout for reading, meditation, or simply resting in the beauty of creation. Pilgrims are encouraged to use the downloadable Pilgrimage Passport (available at the Shrine website or at the front entrance) as a self-guided devotional walk.
- St. Anthony Garden of Eternity
- Lourdes Grotto (Grotto to Our Lady)
- Outdoor Stations of the Cross
- Open-air Shrine to St. Maximilian Kolbe (dedicated 2010)
- Seven walking and meditation trails
- Scattered benches for private prayer
Retreats and Days of Prayer
The Shrine offers retreat spaces for outside guests and Days of Prayer, plus individually-arranged spiritual direction. Its signature retreat offering is the Pilgrimages of Hope program — themed full-day experiences developed by resident tour guide Ray Glennon, OFS, in response to Pope Francis's Jubilee Year 2025 declaration. Each Pilgrimage of Hope includes an extended tour of the Shrine, time for Confession and Mass, and an afternoon activity tied to the day's theme (for example, the life of St. Maximilian Kolbe).
- Pilgrimages of Hope (capacity ~50 pilgrims each)
- Spiritual direction with resident friars
- Group Days of Prayer by reservation
- Bible studies and spiritual workshops (livestreamed on the Companions of St. Anthony YouTube channel)
Get Involved
The Shrine welcomes volunteers in a range of roles: serving as tour guides, arranging flowers at the altar (longtime volunteer Karen Sympson is a notable example), supporting the annual festival, assisting with Pilgrimages of Hope, and helping maintain the gardens and trails. The Companions of St. Anthony serves as the lay-affiliation and donor community supporting Franciscan ministries at the site, and donations can also be directed through the Franciscan Mission Association.
- Volunteer corps (ushers, garden and floral care, festival support)
- Companions of St. Anthony (lay community and YouTube channel)
- Donations through the Franciscan Mission Association
Visiting the Shrine
The Shrine building and Chapel are open to the public Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with reduced Sunday hours; the grounds remain open daily from dawn to dusk. Daily noon Mass, Tuesday nov blessing with the relic, and the free historical tour following the noon Mass are the core public offerings. Visitors are also encouraged to download the free Pilgrimage Passport and (for those who cannot travel) to take the official 360° virtual tour linked from the Shrine's website.
- Building and Chapel: 9 AM – 4 PM (Mon–Sat)
- Grounds: dawn to dusk, daily
- Free historical tour after the noon Mass
- Downloadable Pilgrimage Passport
- Official 360° virtual tour: tour.shrineofstanthony.org
Franciscan Heritage and Affiliation
The Shrine is one of the principal ministries of the Franciscan Friars Conventual (Order of Friars Minor Conventual) of Our Lady of the Angels Province in the United States. The Provincial House of the Province sits on the same Ellicott City property as the Shrine. The Conventual Franciscans are one of the three branches of the First Order of St. Francis and trace their origin to St. Francis himself. Pope Leo XIV has proclaimed a Jubilee Year of St. Francis from January 10, 2026 to January 10, 2027, marking the 800th anniversary of St. Francis's death, and the Shrine is one of the pilgrimage sites designated for that Jubilee.
- Operated by the Franciscan Friars Conventual, Our Lady of the Angels Province
- Provincial House located on the same grounds
- Designated Jubilee Year of St. Francis pilgrimage site for 2026
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Steven G. Frenier, OFM Conv.current
Shrine Director; quoted in Archdiocese of Baltimore coverage of the 2017 pilgrimage revival