St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

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Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born on August 28, 1774, the second child of a socially prominent couple, a surgeon, Dr. Richard Bayley and Catherine Charlton of New York City. The Bayley and Charlton families were among the earliest European settlers in the New York area.

As Chief Health Officer for the Port of New York, Dr. Bayley attended to immigrants disembarking from ships onto Staten Island and cared for New Yorkers when yellow fever swept through the city. Dr. Bayley later served as the first professor of anatomy at Columbia College. Catherine was the daughter of a Church of England priest who was rector of St. Andrew's Church on Staten Island for 30 years. Elizabeth was raised in what would eventually become (in the years after the American Revolution) the Episcopal Church.

Her mother died when Elizabeth was three years old, possibly due to complications from the birth of her namesake Catherine (Elizabeth’s younger sister), who also died early the following year.

Richard (Elizabeth's father) then married Charlotte Amelia Barclay, a member of the Jacobus James Roosevelt family, to provide a mother for his two surviving daughters. The new Mrs. Bayley participated in her church's social ministry and often took young Elizabeth with her on charitable rounds. They visited the poor in their homes to distribute food and needed items.

Richard and Charlotte had five children but their marriage ended in separation. During the breakup, their stepmother rejected Elizabeth and her older sister. Their father then traveled to London for further medical studies, so the sisters lived for six years (from age 8 to 14) in New Rochelle with their paternal uncle, William Bayley, and his wife, Sarah Pell Bayley.

Elizabeth endured a time of darkness, grieving the absence of a second mother, as she later reflected in her journals. In these journals, Elizabeth showed her love for nature, poetry, and music, especially the piano. Other entries expressed her religious aspirations and favorite passages from her reading, showing her introspection and natural bent toward contemplation. Elizabeth was fluent in French, a fine musician, and an accomplished horsewoman.
At age nineteen, Elizabeth married William Magee Seton on January 25, 1794. Together they had five children, Anna Maria, William, Richard, Catherine, and Rebecca. Seton enjoyed a full life of loving service to her family, care for the underprivileged, and religious development in her Episcopal faith.

In the late 1700s, a double tragedy visited Seton. The Seton family’s life took a turn when her husband William became ill. He suffered from tuberculosis and continued to grow worse. Hoping to improve his health, the couple and their eldest daughter Anna Maria decided to go to Italy. On November 19th, they arrived in Leghorn and were placed in quarantine. They were released from quarantine on December 19th. William died 8 days later. Waiting to return to the
United States, Seton and Anna Maria spent several months with the Filicchi brothers who were business associates of her husband.
While in Italy, Seton learned about Roman Catholicism for the first time. She was especially drawn to the doctrine of the Eucharist as the real body of Christ.

She returned to New York in June 1804. After her return, she continued to feel conflicted between the Episcopal and Catholic faiths. After almost a year, she officially converted to Roman Catholicism on March 14, 1805. She was confirmed in 1806 and chose Mary as her confirmation name. Seton admired the Virgin Mary and chose her as a saint to continue to guide her spiritually.

Seton’s choice to convert resulted in three years of financial struggle and social discrimination. Seton opened a school for young women and a boarding house for boys. When the student’s parents discovered that she was Catholic, they removed their children.

Seton and her family were invited by several priests to move to Baltimore, Maryland. They moved in June 1808 to open a school for girls. Catholic women from around the country came to join her work and, over time, they created a convent. The women soon moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland, where they formally began their religious life as Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph's on July 31, 1809. This was the first sisterhood in the United States. Elizabeth Seton was named first superior and given the title of “Mother.” She served in that role for the next twelve years.

As the community took shape, Elizabeth directed its vision. On July 19, 1813, Seton and eighteen other sisters made vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and service to the poor. They would renew these vows annually. In 1814 the community accepted its first mission outside Emmitsburg, an orphanage in Philadelphia. By 1817 sisters had been sent to staff a similar work in New York.

While in Emmitsburg, two of Seton’s daughters died from to tuberculosis, Anna Maria in 1812 and Rebecca in 1816. By that time, she herself was weak and increasingly subject to poor health. She spent the last years of her life directing St. Joseph's Academy and her growing community. She died January 4, 1821, at 46 years old.

Although she passed away at a young age, Seton’s legacy lived on. She life was declared holy (beatified) by Pope John XXIII on December 18, 1959. She was canonized, or officially made a saint, September 14, 1975, by Pope Paul VI. She was the first native-born saint of the United States.
Canonization Process: In order to be canonized, a person must either be a martyr, or perform at least two miracles. For Seton, her miracles occurred through intercession.

First, Sister Gertrude Korzendorfer made a full recovery from pancreatic cancer in the 1930’s after praying to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton for a cure.
Second, Four-year-old Ann Theresa O’Neill was also cured of acute, lymphatic leukemia in 1952, also after one of the Sisters of Charity prayed to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Third, Carl E. Kalin was given a few hours to live in 1963, when he was brought to St. Joseph’s Hospital in New York. He was diagnosed with meningitis of the brain and was in a coma. The Sisters of Charity of the New York chapter visited Kalin, and placed a piece of Seton’s bone, known on a relic, on him and prayed to Seton. Kalin woke a few hours later.

Citations
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Ann_Seton
Anderson, Ashlee. "Elizabeth Ann Seton." National Women's History Museum. September 25, 2018. https://www.womenshistory.org/students-and-educators/biographies/elizabeth-ann-seton