January 4 + Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Elizabeth Ann Seton was the first native born American to be canonized by the Catholic Church. She founded the first American religious community for women, the Sisters of Charity. She opened the first American parish school and established the first American Catholic orphanage. All this she did before her 46th birthday and while raising her five children.

Elizabeth was a true daughter of the American Revolution, born August 28, 1774, just two years before the Declaration of Independence. By birth and marriage, she was linked to the first families of New York and enjoyed the fruits of high society.

At 19-years-old, Elizabeth was the belle of New York and married a handsome, wealthy businessman, William Magee Seton. They had five children before William's business and health failed. In a final attempt to save William's health, the Setons sailed for Italy, where William had business friends. William died of tuberculosis and Elizabeth, now only 30-years-old, was widowed, penniless, and with five small children to support.

While still in Italy, Elizabeth captivated everyone with her kindness, patience, good sense, wit, and courtesy. During this time, Elizabeth became interested in the Catholic Faith and, over a period of months, her Italian friends guided her in Catholic instruction. Three basic points led her to become a Catholic: belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, devotion to the Blessed Mother and conviction that the Catholic Church led back to the apostles and to Christ. She asked the Blessed Virgin to guide her to the True Faith and Elizabeth officially joined the Catholic Church in 1805.

When the Seton family returned to America, Elizabeth founded the Sisters of Charity, opened a parish school and established two Catholic orphanages. On March 25, 1809, Elizabeth pronounced her vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, binding for one year. From that time she was called Mother Seton.

Although Mother Seton became afflicted with tuberculosis, she continued to guide her children. The thousand or more letters of Mother Seton reveal the development of her spiritual life from ordinary goodness to heroic sanctity. She suffered great trials of sickness, misunderstanding, the death of loved ones (her husband and two young daughters) and the heartache of a wayward son. For the last three years of her life, Elizabeth felt that God was getting ready to call her, and this gave her great joy. Mother Seton died in 1821 at the age of 46, only sixteen years after becoming a Catholic.