Elizabeth Ann Seton
Elizabeth Ann Seton | |
|---|---|
| File:Seton.gif Elizabeth Ann Seton | |
| Abbess | |
| Born | August 28 1774 New York City |
| Died | January 4 1821 |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | March 17 1963 by Pope John XXIII |
| Canonized | September 14 1975 by Pope Paul VI |
| Major shrine | House at 7 State Street in New York City (former residence); Emmitsburg, Maryland (site of her body) |
| Feast | January 4 |
| Patronage | death of children; in-law problems; loss of parents; opposition of Church authorities; people ridiculed for their piety; Shreveport, Louisiana; widows |
St. Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (August 28 1774 – January 4 1821) was the first native-born United States citizen to be canonized.
Life
She was born to the wealthy Bayley family of New York City, and raised in the Episcopal Church. At the age of nineteen, she married William Magee Seton, a wealthy business man. Five children were born to the marriage, which ended with her husband's death in 1803, shortly after becoming bankrupt. Two years later she converted to Roman Catholicism, on March 14 1805.One of her nephews, James Roosevelt Bayley, would later become Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Due to her conversion she lost the support of her friends and family. After some trying and difficult years, Elizabeth was able to establish in Emmitsburg, Maryland a small religious congregation, the Sisters of Charity of New York, dedicated to the care for the children of the poor. This was the first religious community of apostolic women in the United States. The remainder of her life was spent in leading and developing the community she had founded, which in time developed into a large and prominent community.
She was described as a charming and cultured lady. Her connections to New York society and the accompanying social pressures to leave the life she had created for herself did not deter her from living the life she believed God had called her to. The greatest difficulties she faced were actually internal. She very much disliked exercising authority over others, and suffered from bouts of spiritual aridity. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 46.
Works
Seton helped found the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children, New York City's first private charity organization. In 1808, Seton established Saint Joseph's Academy and Free School, a school dedicated to the education of Catholic girls, in Emmitsburg, Maryland, at the invitation of the president of St. Mary's Seminary. St. Joseph's would later merge with St. Mary's to become Mount Saint Mary's College, now Mount Saint Mary's University.
She founded the first religious community of apostolic women of the United States, the Sisters of Charity, in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Recognition
On December 18, 1959, Seton was declared Venerable by the Sacred Congregation 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. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is the patron saint of widows, children near death, and teachers. Her feast day is January 4. Her name appears on the front doors to St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, describing her as a "Daughter of New York".
Several schools are named for Seton, including College of Saint Elizabeth and Academy of Saint Elizabeth both on the same campus in the Morris Township, New Jersey, Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Keller, Texas, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Grade School in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Nepean, Ontario, Elizabeth Seton High School in Maryland, Seton Catholic High School in Chandler, Arizona, Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Shrub Oak, New York, Seton Keough High School in Baltimore, Maryland (formerly Seton High School and Archbishop Keough High School which merged in 1988), Seton Catholic College Hilton, Western Australia (formely Saint Brendons College and Emillia De Viliar College which merged in 1990), Elizabeth Seton School - Main in Las Piñas City, Philippines and Elizabeth Seton School - South in Imus, Cavite, Philippines. There is also a Catholic homeschooling school called Seton Home Study School.
References
- Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-140-51312-4.
External links
- Brief biography of Seton (dead link)
- The Seton Shrine at the New York City Church of Our Lady of the Rosary
- Full text of the homily by Pope Paul VI on the occasion of the cannonization of St. Seton
- The National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland
- Seton Hill University
- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School in Keller, Texas
- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Salina, Kansas
- Elizabeth Seton School in Las Piñas City, Metro Manila, Philippines
- Vincentian Studies Institute
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- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Shrub Oak, New York
- Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, Maryland
- http://www.seton.wa.edu.au/
- Seton Home Study School (Catholic Homeschooling)