Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Elizabeth Ann Seton is the first American-born saint. She founded the American Sisters of Charity and is credited with pioneering Catholic education, paving the way for the parochial school system in the United States.

She was born in or near New York City on 28 August 1774, the daughter of Catherine Charlton and Dr. Richard Bayley, devout Episcopalians. She was baptized and grew up in the faith of the Episcopal church, which lay the foundations for her holiness. Her father was the first public health officer of the Port of New York. She grew up in New York City and New Rochelle in the northern outskirts of New York City. On 25 January 1794, she married William Magee Seton, a member of a wealthy merchant family, and the young couple moved to lower Manhattan. The couple was blessed with three daughters and two sons.

Shortly after their marriage, William fell ill with tuberculosis. Elizabeth, William and their eldest daughter, Anna Maria, sailed for Italy in an effort to restore his health in a warmer climate, but William died in Pisa on 27 December 1803, leaving behind a young twenty-nine-year-old widow and five children.

The Felicchi family of Livorno, Italy, close business associates and friends of the family, offered them a warm welcome, hospitality and comfort. Elizabeth, who was always deeply spiritual, was greatly impressed by their faith and devotions and began to inform herself about their religion.

A year after her return to New York, she converted to Catholicism. This conversion cost Elizabeth dearly since she had to face many difficulties the following year: she raised her five children alone; a widow with no resources, she tried to earn her living. Before William’s death, his shipping business had gone bankrupt. Unfortunately, she could not count on the support of her family nor of her friends.

In June 1808, Father William Louis Dubourg, a French Sulpician priest based in Maryland, met Elizabeth while visiting New York and invited her to come to Baltimore with the promise of opening a school for girls. She moved and stayed on Paca Street for a year. There, she was joined by some women who wanted to form a community dedicated to apostolic service.

Thanks to the generosity of a benefactor, Mrs. Seton was able to move to rural Emmitsburg, Maryland, and established St. Joseph’s Free School and Academy there. This new service and way of life began on 31 July 1809 at the Stone House near Emmitsburg. She had great success and was joined by more young women who formed the first community of consecrated women founded in America, the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph.

On 17 January 1812, the Regulations of the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph in the United States received official approval. These Rules were based on the Common Rules of the Daughters of Charity founded by Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Louise de Marillac in France in 1633. Thus were born the American Sisters of Charity, who have expanded to form the Federation of Sisters of Charity.

Elizabeth, even before she was received into the Catholic Church, saw Christ in those who are poor, especially in needy women and children. She is a saint because of her search for and response to God’s will in her life. She was a faithful churchgoer at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, and before and after her conversion to Catholicism, she enjoyed spending time before the Blessed Sacrament at nearby St. Peter’s Catholic Church.

Elizabeth died at the age of forty-six on 4 January 1821 in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

On 25 March 1850, the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph of Emmitsburg joined the French Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul.