St Elizabeth Ann Seton

First North American-born Saint
The gracious figure of Elizabeth Ann Seton gleams in sculptured bronze on the central door of St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York. She is the glory not only of the City of New York but also of the entire country. When Pope John XXIII beatified her on March 17, 1963, he proclaimed her "the first officially recognized flower of sanctity which the United States offers to the world." She was canonized by Pope Paul VI on September 14, 1975.

Elizabeth comes across as a blend of humanness and holiness. There is nothing vague, concealed, plaster-cast or superficial about her. Slim and petite though she was, she possessed such a depth of sensitivity, affection, ardour and love that one is forced to identify her with what is best in woman-hood. And then there was in her that living, vibrant faith, a faith strong and rich enough to pull her through bitter sorrow and devastating pain. In her relatively short life - she was forty-six when she died - she was a wife, a mother of five children, a widow, the foundress of the Sisters of Charity of America, and the originator of the country's parochial school system.

A thorough education
Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was born in New York of a highly esteemed family on August 28, 1774. Her mother Catherine was the daughter of the Episcopalian Rector of St. Andrew's Church in Staten Island. Her father Dr. Richard Bayley was not only a noted physician, but also professor of anatomy in King's College, which later developed into Columbia University. Together they had three daughters: Mary, Elizabeth, and Catherine. Her mother died when she was only three years old.

She was brought up in an age when a girl was given a distinctly feminine education. Literature, French, sewing, music, drawing, dancing and general household management were the contents of her curriculum. Dr Bayley's moral training of his daughter was flawless. Deeply religious, Elizabeth followed the practices of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church and often sought spiritual guidance from one of its pastors Dr Henry Hobert. She delighted in poring over the Sacred Scriptures and knew by heart the psalms and much of the New Testament. There was also the vast library of her father to which she had ready access.

Beautiful, vivacious, well-read, fluent in French, a fine musician, an accomplished, horsewoman, she became a welcome guest at parties and reunions. Little wonder that young William Magee Seton fell head over heels in love with her. He was handsome, mature, and a successful businessman. She returned his love adoringly. They were married in 1794.

The first four years of her married life were full of happiness. Elizabeth had the most desirable of husbands, was settled in a magnificent home, enjoyed wealth, health, social position, and was cherished by her husband's family as one of their own. Then, in 1798, William lost his father. His financial affairs crashed and his health began to crumble under the disease of tuberculosis. In 1801, Dr. Bayley, Elizabeth's father, succumbed to yellow fever. It was Elizabeth's natural optimism and her deep trust in God that sustained the family.

On October 2, 1803, William took Elizabeth and their eight-year-old daughter Anna Maria to Italy. He hoped that a change of climate might help him recover his health. He also wanted to introduce Elizabeth to his old friends, Filippo and Antonio Filicchi, in whose banking house he had served as an apprentice as a boy. However, a few days after landing at Livorno, he passed away on December 27. The pale widow and her child went to stay with the Filicchis until such time as they could find a boat to take them home.

Touched by the Catholic Faith
Elizabeth was not long in the house of the Filicchis before she was struck by their Catholic faith. Prayers were an essential part of the day. Every morning began with Holy Mass. The Rosary was a regular practice. And the result was an atmosphere of charity, gentleness and peace. She was particularly impressed by their belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and their love for the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Elizabeth and her daughter Anna Maria returned to New York in June 1804. The entire fortune of her husband had come to ruin. She knew that if she entered the Catholic Church, she would lose the sympathy and support of all her relatives. This did not deter her. On Ash Wednesday, February 27, 1085, she resolutely marched into St. Peter's in Barclay Street, the only Catholic Church that existed in New York at that time. In March, she made her profession of faith, followed by her general confession. On the feast of the Annunciation, she received her First Holy Communion and was confirmed by Bishop John Carroll.

"At last, Amabilia," she wrote to Antonio Filicchi's wife, "at last God is mine and I am His! Now let all earthly things go as they will. I have received Him. My God! To the last breath of life will I not remember this night of watching for the break of day?"

Pioneer for Christ
In June 1808, Elizabeth started a Catholic school for girls next to St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore. This was done at the invitation of Fr. William Du Bourg, the President of the Seminary, after consulting Bishop Carroll and Bishop Cheverus. It was the first of its kind in the United States. There a number of aspiring nuns joined Elizabeth.

The following year, this little community took their vows and decided to wear the dress worn by Elizabeth ever since she became a widow. It consisted of a long black robe with a cape, and a white cap with crimpled border. Elizabeth was appointed their directress, and was thereafter called Mother Seton. The community shifted to Baltimore, and when in 1812, the congregation took the name of Daughters of Charity of St. Joseph, adopting the rule of St. Vincent de Paul, it was the first native congregation of Catholic sisterhood.

Meanwhile, in 1810, Mother Seton started the first parochial school in Emmitsburg. In 1814 she sent her sisters to take charge of an orphanage in Philadelphia, the first such Catholic institution in the country. By 1817 she managed to open a second orphanage in New York, and before her death she prepared plans for a Catholic hospital in Baltimore. That hospital would open a few years later.

By the year 1820, Mother Seton's continual fever was reducing her to a state of complete depletion. The great love in her life was Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. She was anointed on January 2, 1821. Before receiving Holy Communion for the last time, she said to the nun at her side, "One Communion more - and our eternity."

Fr. Brute write: "Will I ever forget that face, fired with love, melted in tears at His approach in Communion? To the last, exhausted death on that face, as He came - it was still inflamed, and blushed in ardent love, desire inexpressible of eternal union with Him." In the early hours of January 4, 1821, between breaths and gasping, Mother Seton prayed, "May the most holy, the most powerful, and the most amiable will of God be accomplished for ever." She exhorted her Sisters, "Be children of the Church, children of the Church." She died with the name of Jesus on her lips.

Mother Seton died in 1821 at the age of 46, only sixteen years after becoming a Catholic. She was canonized on September 14, 1975 by Pope Paul VI.

Her Daughters of Charity would go on to pick up the wounded on the battlefields during the Civil War, teach in schools across America, found hospitals, homes for the aged, orphanages, schools for the deaf. They serve in North and South America, as well as in Italy and in several foreign missions.