An American Saint who planted seeds of faith and education

BY ELIZABETH MORALES South Texas Catholic

It is so easy to judge a book by its cover. On the surface, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton may seem a faceless brand synonymous with Catholic education and offering little or no further context.

Yet, behind the popular name is a real person, an all-American girl who enjoyed happiness and endured much suffering in this life.

Born Elizabeth Ann Bayley on August 28, 1774, in what is now the United States of America –two years before the Declaration of Independence, Elizabeth came from a prominent New York family. Her father, Richard Bayley, was a surgeon, and her mother was Catherine Charlton. Both families were among the first European settlers in New York.

Loss entered Elizabeth’s life at a young age as her mother and younger sister passed away before her fifth birthday. Her father remarried, and it was Elizabeth’s stepmother who introduced her to service towards the poor, while her father lived out service to the sick. Although the marriage ended in separation, a seed of caring for those in need was planted deep within Elizabeth, which she would continue to nurture throughout the remainder of her life.

She was raised Episcopalian and developed a love for God, Scripture, nature, music and language becoming fluent in French.

Soon Elizabeth grew of age, and at 19 years old, she married William Seton, a young New York businessman in import trade with whom she was deeply in love. They enjoyed springtime in their young marriage and bore five children.

When William’s father passed away, the young couple took care of his six siblings in addition to raising their own. William, who suffered from tuberculosis throughout their married life, came into severe trouble with his business during the early 1800s. After claiming bankruptcy, his health took a turn for the worse. A doctor’s recommendation encouraged William to live in a warmer climate; thus, he, Elizabeth and one of their daughters moved to Italy where he had business partners. However, William passed away not long after their arrival.

Remaining in Italy, Elizabeth and her daughter were introduced to Catholicism by the example of William’s friends. Elizabeth learned about the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the Virgin Mary as her own mother and tracing the roots of the Catholic Church back to the Apostles.

Returning to the States in 1804, Elizabeth was welcomed into the Catholic Church in 1805.

As a widow and mother, she sought to provide for her children and started a school. Yet, once the community learned of her conversion to Catholicism, some parents withdrew their children from the school.

Struggling with discrimination concerning her newfound faith, an invitation from a priest encouraged her to relocate from New York to Emmitsburg, Maryland. Heeding this advice, she moved her family and established a free Catholic school in Maryland. This was the first Catholic school in America, planting the seeds of what is now the Catholic parochial school system in the West.

Continuing to grow in her Catholic faith, Elizabeth formed a religious order called the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s. This, too, would be the first of its kind – a religious order for women founded in the States.

The order served children in poverty and would grow beyond Maryland to New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Canada.

Elizabeth’s life was soon cut short as she began suffering from tuberculosis and eventually passed away from this earthly pilgrimage at the age of 46.

Throughout her existence, she became aware of the transience of life at a young age with the loss of her mother and sister, and then in adulthood with the loss of her husband and two of their daughters after the family’s move to Maryland.

An important part of her spirituality was surrender to the will of God as she shared with a friend she felt a responsibility to serve God within education and the orphanage that the religious order cared for.

From the example of people during her life, Elizabeth’s legacy would become a living inheritance planted deeply within America’s roots.

Pope John XXIII said at her beatification in 1963, “In a house that was very small, but with ample space for charity, she sowed a seed in America which by Divine Grace grew into a large tree.”

In 1975, Elizabeth was canonized within the Catholic Church by Pope Paul VI, making her the first native-born American saint.

Elizabeth’s resting place is at the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Woman Of Strength

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

She is the patron saint of seafarers and widows. Her memorial is celebrated on January 4, the day of her passing.

May surrender to the will of God and striving to do His will as St. Elizabeth Ann

Seton did continue to spread throughout the earth.