Elizabeth Ann Seton

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Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Foundress and Educator
Born August 28, 1774(1774-08-28), New York City
Died January 4, 1821 (aged 46), Emmitsburg, Maryland
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Beatified March 17, 1963 by Pope John XXIII
Canonized September 14, 1975 by Pope Paul VI
Feast January 4
Patronage Catholic Schools; Shreveport, Louisiana; and the State of Maryland

Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (August 28, 1774 – January 4, 1821) was the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized, on September 14, 1975.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Seton was born on August 28, 1774 to Richard Bayley of New York City.[1] She was raised in the Episcopal Church. Her mother, daughter of an Episcopal priest, died when Elizabeth was three. At the age of nineteen, she married William Magee Seton, a wealthy businessman. Five children were born to the marriage, Anna Maria, William, Richard,Catherine (also known as "Kit") and Rebecca.

Her home in Manhattan, New York City (building at right with columns, 7 State Street), now a shrine in her honor

Her husband's business lost several ships at sea and the family ended up bankrupt. Soon after, her husband became ill and his doctors sent him to Italy for the warmer climate, with Elizabeth Seton accompanying him. In Italy, they were held in quarantine, during which time her husband died. She spent time with a wealthy family where she was exposed to Catholicism. Two years later she converted to Roman Catholicism, on March 14, 1805 and was received into the Church by the first bishop of Baltimore, John Carroll. One of her half-nephews, James Roosevelt Bayley, would later also convert, and became Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

To support her children, she started a school in Baltimore, but it failed due to the anti-Catholic bigotry of the day. In 1809, after some trying and difficult years, Elizabeth moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland, where a year later she established Saint Joseph's Academy and Free School, a school dedicated to the education of Catholic girls, at the invitation of Samuel Sutherland Cooper. Cooper was a wealthy convert and seminarian who knew of the Catholic settlement near Emmitsburg and the newly established Mount St. Mary's College and Seminary, begun by Father (later Bishop) John Dubois and the Sulpicians.

Eventually, Elizabeth was able to establish a religious community in Emmitsburg, Maryland dedicated to the care of the children of the poor. It was the first religious community of apostolic women founded in the United States, and its school was the first free school in America. The order was called the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph.

The remainder of Elizabeth's life was spent in leading and developing the new order, which expanded to include the Sulpician priests of Baltimore. Today, six independent religious communities trace their roots to the humble beginnings of the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

St. Joseph's Academy eventually developed into Saint Joseph College, which closed in 1973. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) purchased the buildings and land of Saint Joseph College in 1979 and it is now the site of the National Emergency Training Center (NETC) housing the Emergency Management Institute, the United States Fire Administration and the National Fire Academy.

Elizabeth was described as a charming and cultured lady. Her connections to New York society and the accompanying social pressures to leave the new life she had created for herself did not deter her from embracing her religious vocation and charitable mission. She established St. Joseph's Academy and Free School in order to educate young girls to live by religious values. The greatest difficulties she faced were actually internal, stemming from misunderstandings, interpersonal conflicts, and the deaths of two daughters, other loved ones, and young sisters in community. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 46 in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Today, her remains are entombed in the Basilica that bears her name: the Basilica of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Dedicated to following the will of God, Elizabeth Ann had a deep devotion to the Eucharist, Sacred Scripture, and the Virgin Mary. The 23rd Psalm was her favorite prayer throughout her life. She was a woman of prayer and service who embraced the apostolic spirituality of Saint Louise de Marillac and Saint Vincent de Paul.

Statue in Saint Raymond's Cemetery, Bronx

"We must pray literally without ceasing—without ceasing—in every occurrence and employment of our lives . . . that prayer of the heart which is independent of place or situation, or which is rather a habit of lifting up the heart to God as in a constant communication with Him." Elizabeth Ann Seton.

[edit] Recognition

On December 18, 1959, Elizabeth was declared Venerable by the Sacred Congregation of Rites of the Catholic Church. She was beatified by Pope John XXIII on March 17, 1963, and canonized by Pope Paul VI on September 14, 1975, making her the first native-born United States citizen to be canonized. Her feast day is January 4.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is popularly considered a patron saint of Catholic schools. Her name appears on the front doors of St. Patrick's Cathedral, as a "Daughter of New York". The National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, is open to the public.' In addition, The Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton has been created from her home in Manhattan, and is accessible to the public.[2]

The Mother Seton House at Baltimore, Maryland was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.[3] The house had been offered as an inducement to Elizabeth Seton to come to Baltimore in 1808 and there to found a school and occupy the then newly completed house.[4] It is now operated as a museum by St. Mary’s Seminary.

[edit] Namesakes

The Seton Hill neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland is named for Mother Seton. Mother Seton School, a Catholic elementary school in Emmitsburg, Maryland, traces its roots directly to St. Joseph's Academy and Free School, founded by St. Elizabeth Ann in 1810. In 1856, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton's nephew and the Bishop of Newark (a diocese which had been established just three years prior in 1853), James Roosevelt Bayley, founded the first major institution named in her honor Seton Hall College (which is now Seton Hall University).

Quite a number of churches, other schools and hospitals have been named for Elizabeth Seton:

[edit] Catholic parishes

St. Elizabeth Seton (or St. Elizabeth Ann Seton) is a popular name for Catholic parishes in the United States:

[edit] Schools

[edit] Elementary Schools

[edit] Middle/Junior-high Schools (no associated elementary)

[edit] High Schools / College Preparatory schools

[edit] Colleges / Universities

[edit] Home Study / Tutorial

[edit] Schools – outside USA

[edit] Closed Schools

  • Seton Catholic High School-closed-Pittston,Pa.
  • Seton Hall High School (now, closed; presently, the Eastern Long Island campus of Saint Joseph's College of Brooklyn) in Patchogue, NY
  • St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, Minneapolis, MN. Closed 6/2009

[edit] Libraries

[edit] Hospitals

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton RS, Bellmore, NY

Sign at St Elizabeth Ann Seton Regional School, Bellmore, New York

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Saints portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Mother Seton". Catholic Online. January 6, 2009. http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=31387&cb300=vocations. Retrieved 2009-01-30. "The mother's name was Elizabeth Ann Seton. She was born in New York City on August 28, 1774, the second daughter of the socially prominent Dr. Richard Bayley, later Health Officer for the city, and his wife Catherine Charlton, whose father was rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on Staten Island for 30 years." 
  2. ^ Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton,Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, New York, New York
  3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. http://www.nr.nps.gov/. 
  4. ^ "Maryland Historical Trust". Mother Seton House, Baltimore City. Maryland Historical Trust. 2008-11-21. http://www.marylandhistoricaltrust.net/nr/NRDetail.aspx?HDID=91&COUNTY=Baltimore%20City&FROM=NRCountyList.aspx?COUNTY=Baltimore%20City. 
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