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The sculpture by Sister Margaret Beaudette depicting St. Elizabeth Ann Seton as a wife and mother. Courtesy photo/Sisters of Charity of New York

Celebrating the life of an American saint

Friday, September 12, 2025Culture

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The journey to Catholicism was not an easy one for Elizabeth, but despite the anti-Catholic attitudes of the era, the opposition from some of her loved ones, and her own inner turmoil, Elizabeth became a Catholic and made her First Communion in 1805.

Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, marks the 50th anniversary of the canonization of Elizabeth Seton, the first person born in what would become the United States of America to be declared a saint. It is an anniversary celebrated with joy and thanksgiving. For years prior to the event, many Catholics, especially Sisters of Charity who look to Elizabeth as their founder, prayed for that day to come. As students in St. Peter School in Dorchester, which was staffed by the Sisters of Charity of Halifax, my friends and I dutifully joined together as a disembodied voice led us in prayer over the public address system on Tuesdays, the designated day.
The sisters sought to cultivate a devotion to Elizabeth through various means, but the primary image that we had of her, one that most religious art still conveys, is a profile of a woman in a black bonnet and cape fingering her rosary beads. That widow's outfit reveals little of the full life that she led in her 46 years. It is helpful to remember how immersed she was in relationships, a fact that can't be captured by her solitary profile on a holy card or in a stained-glass window.

Born amid the tensions that preceded the Revolutionary War, Elizabeth's early years in New York City were difficult because of the deaths of her mother and her little sister and the extended absences of her father, Doctor Richard Bayley, who was continuing advanced medical studies in England. Elizabeth spent time with her surviving sister and their extended family in New Rochelle, New York. There and back in Manhattan, her spirit was nourished by a growing faith in God, by her Episcopalian faith community and by her appreciation of nature.
Elizabeth enjoyed an education appropriate for the daughter of a well-known doctor. (His medical accomplishments are listed in Wikipedia.) Through social events and friendships, she met William Magee Seton. They married in 1794, and her notes to him convey the joy of their early years together. Elizabeth's was hardly a solitary life.
When her father-in-law died, leaving young children from his second marriage, Elizabeth schooled them, along with her own five children, in her home. The late Sister Margaret Beaudette, a Sister of Charity of New York and sculptor, captured this aspect of Elizabeth's life by creating a scene that we can easily imagine. It stands in sharp contrast to the images seen on most holy cards. In the sculpture, Elizabeth holds a child in her arms, with another child tugging at her skirt. This is the kind of experience that made Elizabeth who she was: a woman with deep human connections who cherished her role as wife and mother.
Elizabeth's ability to build relationships sustained her when William died in 1803. On a trip to Italy that was meant to improve his health, he succumbed to tuberculosis, leaving Elizabeth and Anna, their oldest child, to rely on the support of his Italian friends, the Filicchi family. Through them, the young widow gained first-hand experience of Catholicism. The seeds for her conversion to Catholicism were sown by the Eucharistic devotion that she observed there, and by the example of the Filicchis. The bond that grew with them helped her, both spiritually and financially, when she and her daughter returned to Manhattan.
The journey to Catholicism was not an easy one for Elizabeth, but despite the anti-Catholic attitudes of the era, the opposition from some of her loved ones, and her own inner turmoil, Elizabeth became a Catholic and made her First Communion in 1805. She felt the support of Catholic clergy who recognized her giftedness. Bishop John Carroll, the foremost leader of the Catholic Church in the young country, encouraged Elizabeth to move to Baltimore to begin a school and to consider founding a community of vowed women religious. There, and later in Emmitsburg, where the family and community moved in 1809, Elizabeth's role as mother to her five children continued, as did her role as head of the school and leader to the new community that looked to the rule of Vincent de Paul.
But as Elizabeth's relationships brought her joy, they also brought tensions and worries. She occasionally clashed with the priests in Emmitsburg who wanted to shape the new congregation to their plans. She worried about her children: about the romantic interests of Anna, the social opportunities for Catherine, and the health of Becky. As her sons Will and Richard matured, could they be serious about preparing to make their way in the world? And she had concerns about her own physical and mental health following the deaths of Anna and Becky before they reached adulthood.
Through the years, Elizabeth continued to cultivate friendships that had enriched her since her early life in Manhattan, as well as those she had formed in Emmitsburg. By frequent letters, enough to fill two thick volumes, she kept them updated. She rejoiced at the thought of welcoming her family and friends to Emmitsburg.
As the years went by, Elizabeth was nourished by her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and by her love of Scripture. The Eucharist was her treasure, and the Bible was her source of peace and encouragement. Given the challenges she faced, it is not surprising that one of her favorite themes was trust in God's loving care. That theme sustained her until her death in 1821.
In celebrating the 50th anniversary of Elizabeth Seton's canonization, we rejoice that this woman, whose life was marked by love of God, love of family, and love of friends, stands as a model of devotion and service. We celebrate the many good works that she began, the thousands of Sisters of Charity and associates who followed, and the many who adopted her spirit of service in Charity.

SISTER MARY SWEENEY, SC, IS A SISTER OF CHARITY OF HALIFAX. SHE LIVES IN NEEDHAM.