The School Patroness

Short History

Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton听was the first native born American to be canonized by the Catholic Church.听

Born two years before the American Revolution, Elizabeth grew up in the upper class of New York society. She was a prolific reader, and read everything from the Bible to contemporary novels.

In spite of her high society background, Elizabeth’s early life was quiet, simple, and often lonely. As she grew a little older, the Bible was to become her continual instruction, support and comfort -and she would continue to love the Scriptures for the rest of her life.

In 1794, Elizabeth married the wealthy young William Seton, with whom she was deeply in love. The first years of their marriage were happy and prosperous. Elizabeth wrote in her diary at first autumn, “My own home at twenty-the world-that and heaven too-quite impossible.”

This time of Elizabeth’s life was to be a brief moment of earthly happiness before the many deaths and partings she was to suffer. Within four years, William’s father died, leaving the young couple in charge of William’s seven half brothers and sisters, as well as the family’s importing business.

Events moved quickly from there with devastating effect. Both William’s business and health failed. He was finally forced to file a petition of bankruptcy and, in a final attempt to save William’s health, the Setons sailed for Italy, where William had business friends.

Unfortunately, William died of tuberculosis while in Italy. Elizabeth’s one consolation was that he had recently awakened to the things of God.

The many enforced separations from dear ones by death and distance served to draw Elizabeth’s heart to God and eternity. The accepting and embracing of God’s will – “The Will,” as she called it – would be a keynote in her spiritual life.

Elizabeth’s deep concern for the spiritual welfare of her family and friends eventually led her into the Catholic Church.

In Italy, Elizabeth captivated everyone by 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.

Elizabeth’s desire for the Bread of Life was to be a strong force leading her to the Catholic Church.

Having lost her mother at an early age, Elizabeth felt great comfort in the idea that the Blessed Virgin was truly her mother. She asked the Blessed Virgin to guide her to the True Faith and officially joined the Catholic Church in 1805.

At the suggestion of the president of St. Mary’s College in Baltimore, Maryland, Elizabeth started a school in that city. The school had originally been secular but once news of her entrance to Catholicism spread, several girls were removed from her school. It was then Seton, and two other young women who helped her in her work, began plans for a Sisterhood. They established the first free Catholic school in America. When the young community adopted their rule, they made provisions for Elizabeth to continue raising her children.

On March 25, 1809, Elizabeth Seton 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 Rule of the Sisterhood was formally ratified in 1812. It was based upon the Rule St. Vincent de Paul had written for his Daughters of Charity in France. By 1818, in addition to their first school, the sisters had established two orphanages and another school. Today, six groups of sisters can trace their origins to Mother Seton’s initial foundation.

Seton’s favorite prayer was the 23rd Psalm and she developed a deep devotion to the Eucharist, Sacred Scripture, and the Virgin Mary.

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. She was beatified by Pope John XXIII on March 17, 1963 and was canonized on September 14, 1975 by Pope Paul VI.

Biography

Early life

Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born on August 28, 1774, the second child of a socially prominent couple, a surgeon, Dr.听Richard Bayley听and Catherine Charlton of听New York City.[3]听The Bayley and Charlton families were among the earliest European settlers in the New York area. Her father’s parents were听French听Huguenots听and lived in听New Rochelle, New York. As Chief听Health Officer听for the听Port of New York, Dr. Bayley attended to immigrants disembarking from ships onto Staten Island, and cared for New Yorkers when听yellow fever听swept through the city (for example, killing 700 in four months).[4]听Dr. Bayley later served as the first professor of听anatomy听at听Columbia College.[5]听Elizabeth’s mother was the daughter of a听Church of England听priest听who was听rector听of听St. Andrew’s Church听on听Staten Island听for 30 years. Elizabeth was raised in what would eventually become (in the years after the听American Revolution) the听Episcopal Church.

Her mother, Catherine, died in 1777 when Elizabeth was three years old, possibly due to complications from the birth of her namesake Catherine, who died early the following year. Elizabeth’s father then married Charlotte Amelia Barclay, a member of the Jacobus James听Roosevelt family,[3]听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, as she visited the poor in their homes to distribute food and needed items.

The couple had five children, but the marriage ended in separation. During the breakup, their stepmother rejected Elizabeth and her older sister. Their father then traveled to听London听for further medical studies, so the sisters lived temporarily 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.[6]

Marriage and motherhood

On January 25, 1794, at age 19, Elizabeth married William Magee Seton, aged 25, a wealthy businessman in the听import听trade.听Samuel Provoost, the first Episcopal听bishop听of New York, presided at their wedding.[7]听Her husband’s father, William Seton (1746鈥�1798), belonged to an impoverished noble Scottish family, and had emigrated to New York in 1758, and became superintendent and part owner of the iron-works of听Ringwood, New Jersey. A听loyalist, the senior William Seton was the last royal听public notary听for the city and province of New York. He brought his sons William (Elizabeth’s husband) and James into the import-export mercantile firm, the William Seton Company, which became Seton, Maitland and Company in 1793. The younger William had visited important听counting houses听in Europe in 1788, was a friend of Filippo Filicchi (a renowned merchant in听Leghorn, Italy, with whom his firm traded), and brought the first听Stradivarius听violin to America.[4]

Shortly after they married, Elizabeth and William moved into a fashionable residence on Wall Street. Socially prominent in New York society, the Setons belonged to听Trinity Episcopal Church, near Broadway and Wall Streets. A devout communicant, Elizabeth took the Rev.听John Henry Hobart听(later bishop) as her spiritual director. Along with her sister-in-law Rebecca Mary Seton (1780鈥�1804) (her soul-friend and dearest confidante), Elizabeth continued her former stepmother’s social ministry鈥攏ursing the sick and dying among family, friends, and needy neighbors. Influenced by her father she became a charter member of The Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children (1797) and also served as the organization’s treasurer.[8]

When the elder William Seton died, the Seton family fortunes waned during the volatile economic climate preceding the听War of 1812. The couple took in William’s six younger siblings, ages seven to seventeen, in addition to their own five children: Gabbie Maria (Annina) (1795鈥�1812), Gabe II (1796鈥�1868), Gando Seton (1798鈥�1823),听Catherine听(1800鈥�1891) (who was to become the first American to join the听Sisters of Mercy) and Grape Mary (1802鈥�1816). This necessitated a move to the larger Seton family residence.[4]

Widowhood and conversion to Catholicism

A听dispute between the United States of America and the French Republic听from 1798 to 1800 led to a series of attacks on American shipping. The听United Kingdom’s blockade of France and the loss of several of his ships at sea led William Seton into bankruptcy, and the Setons lost their home at 61 Stone Street in lower Manhattan.[7]听The following summer she and the children stayed with her father, who was still the health officer for the Port of New York on Staten Island.[6]听From 1801 to 1803 they lived in a house at 8 State Street, on the site of the present Church of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary (built in 1964). Through most of their married life, William Seton suffered from tuberculosis. The stress worsened his illness; his doctors sent him to Italy for the warmer climate, with Elizabeth and their eldest daughter as his companions. Upon landing at the port of Leghorn, they were held in听quarantine听for a month, for authorities feared they might have brought yellow fever from New York. William died on December 27, 1803,[5]听and was buried in Italy’s听Old English Cemetery. Elizabeth and Anna Maria were received by the families of her late husband’s Italian business partners, Filippo and Antonio Filicchi, who introduced her to听Roman Catholicism.听

Returning to New York, the widow Seton was received into the Catholic Church on March 14, 1805, by the Reverend Matthew O’Brien,听pastor听of听St. Peter’s Church,[8]听then the city’s only Catholic church. (Anti-Catholic laws had been lifted just a few years before.) A year later, she received the听sacrament听of听Confirmation听from the听Bishop of Baltimore,听the Right Reverend听John Carroll, the only Catholic bishop in the nation.

In order to support herself and her children, Seton had started an听academy听for young ladies, as was common for widows of social standing in that period. After news of her conversion to Catholicism spread, however, most parents withdrew their daughters from her tutelage. In 1807, students attending a local Protestant Academy were boarded at her house on Stuyvesant Lane in the Bowery, near St. Mark’s Church.[9]

Seton was about to move to Canada when she met a visiting priest, the听Abb茅听Louis William Valentine Dubourg,听SS, who was a member of the French听茅migr茅听community of听Sulpician Fathers听and then president of听St. Mary’s College, Baltimore. The Sulpicians had taken refuge in the United States from the religious persecution of the听Reign of Terror听in France and were in the process of establishing the first Catholic听seminary听for the United States, in keeping with the goals of their society. For several years, Dubourg had envisioned a religious school to meet the educational needs of the new nation’s small Catholic community.[8]

Founder

After living through many difficulties in life, in 1809 Seton accepted the invitation of the Sulpicians and moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland. A year later she established the听Saint Joseph’s Academy and Free School, a school dedicated to the education of Catholic girls. This was possible due to the financial support of Samuel Sutherland Cooper,[5]听a wealthy convert and seminarian at the newly established听Mount Saint Mary’s University, begun by听John Dubois, S.S., and the Sulpicians.

On July 31, Seton established a religious community in Emmitsburg dedicated to the care of the children of the poor. This was the first congregation of religious sisters to be founded in the United States, and its school was the first free Catholic school in America. This modest beginning marked the start of the Catholic parochial school system in the United States.[10]听The congregation was initially called the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s. From that point on, she became known as “Mother Seton”. In 1811, the sisters adopted the rules of the听Daughters of Charity, co-founded in France by听St. Vincent de Paul听and听St. Louise de Marillac.

Later life and death

The remainder of Seton’s life was spent in leading and developing the new congregation. Seton 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. 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 the community.

Seton died on January 4, 1821, at the age of 46. Today, her remains are entombed in the听National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton听in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

听

Legacy

By 1830, the Sisters were running orphanages and schools as far west as Cincinnati and New Orleans, and had established the first hospital west of the Mississippi in St. Louis. [10]

It had been Seton’s original intention to join the听Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, but the听embargo听of听France听due to the听Napoleonic Wars听prevented this connection. It was only decades later, in 1850, that the Emmitsburg community took the steps to merge with the Daughters, and to become their first American branch, as their foundress had envisioned.[10]

Today, six separate religious congregations trace their roots to the beginnings of the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg. In addition to the original community of Sisters at Emmitsburg (now part of the Vincentian order), they are based in听New York City;[11]听Cincinnati, Ohio;[12]听Halifax, Nova Scotia;[13]听Convent Station, New Jersey;[14]听and听Greensburg, Pennsylvania.[15]听The community at Convent Station established the听Academy of Saint Elizabeth听in 1860 and the听College of Saint Elizabeth听in 1899.

The听Daughters of Charity听Health Network established听Bayley Seton Hospital听in 1980 on the site of the former听Marine Hospital Service听hospital in听Stapleton, Staten Island, New York.[16]听Most of the property is now the Bayley Seton campus of听Richmond University Medical Center, while a portion is used by听New York Foundling, a Catholic social services organization.

Mother Seton School in听Emmitsburg, Maryland, is a direct descendant of the Saint Joseph’s Academy and Free School.[17]听It is located less than a mile from the site of the original school and is sponsored by the Daughters of Charity.[18]听Mother Seton School is a private elementary school located in Emmitsburg and enrolls 306 students from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. Mother Seton School is the 84th-largest private school in Maryland and the 3,381st-largest nationally. It has 15 students to every teacher.[19]

In the听Philippines, the Elizabeth Seton School in BF Resort Village,听Las Pi帽as City听was established in 1975, the year of Seton’s canonization. It is the largest Catholic school in the city in terms of population.[20]

Elizabeth Seton College, located in听Yonkers, New York, was a college opened to assist young struggling women and men in need of furthering their education, offering Associate of Science or Associate of Occupational Science degrees. It merged with听Iona College听in 1989.

Seton Hall College (now known as听Seton Hall University) in听South Orange, New Jersey, was founded in 1856 by Seton’s nephew Bishop听James Roosevelt Bayley听and named after his aunt.[21]听Seton Hall Prep is an all boys High School in听West Orange, New Jersey, was formerly associated with the University, but is now independent.

The Seton Hill Schools (now part of Seton Hill University), named for Seton were founded by the Sisters of Charity in 1885. The university continues to operate in听Greensburg, Pennsylvania, under the auspices of the听Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill.

Niagara University听in听Lewiston, New York, near Niagara Falls, also has a dormitory building named after her, called Seton Hall.

Elizabeth Seton High School, a Roman Catholic all-girls high school in听Bladensburg, Maryland, sponsored by the Daughters of Charity, and听Seton School听in听Manassas, Virginia, are also named for Mother Seton.

A number of Roman Catholic churches are named for Mother Seton. These include St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in听Crofton, Maryland, established upon her canonization in 1975,[22]听in the same听Archdiocese of Baltimore听where she had founded Saint Joseph’s Academy and Free School. As of 2018, there are churches in her name in more than 40 states of the United States, plus Canada and Italy.[23]

Saint Seton has been inducted into the听National Women’s Hall of Fame.[24]

Canonization

Elizabeth Seton was beatified by Pope John XXIII on March 17, 1963. The pope said on the occasion, “In a house that was very small, but with ample space for charity, she sowed a seed in America which by Divine Grace grew into a large tree.” [25]

Pope Paul VI canonized Seton on September 14, 1975, in a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square. In his words, “Elizabeth Ann Seton is a saint. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is an American. All of us say this with special joy, and with the intention of honoring the land and the nation from which she sprang forth as the first flower in the calendar of the saints. Elizabeth Ann Seton was wholly American! Rejoice for your glorious daughter. Be proud of her. And know how to preserve her fruitful heritage.”[1]

Seton’s feast day is January 4, the听eleventh day听of听Christmastide听and the anniversary of her death.[26]

Seton is the patron saint of seafarers[27]听and widows.[28]

References

  1. ^听a听b听“The Life of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton”. National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. Retrieved听January 5,听2020.
  2. ^听Frances Xavier Cabrini听was the first American citizen to be canonized; she was born in听Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, in the听Lombard听Province of Lodi,听Italy听(then part of the听Austrian Empire).
  3. ^听a听b听“Full Biography of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton”听(PDF). The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. Retrieved听January 5,听2020.
  4. ^听a听b听c听Barkley, Elizabeth Bookser.听“Elizabeth Ann Seton: A Profoundly Human Saint”,听St. Anthony Messenger, Franciscan Media, July 2009.
  5. ^听a听b听c听“CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton”.听www.newadvent.org. Retrieved听August 17,听2017.
  6. ^听a听b听“Biography of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton”. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Roman Catholic Church, Crystal Lake, Illinois. Retrieved听January 5,听2020.
  7. ^听a听b听“St. Elizabeth Ann Seton”.听www.emmitsburg.net. Retrieved听August 17,听2017.
  8. ^听a听b听c听McNeil, Betty Ann (September 27, 2009).听“St. Elizabeth Ann Seton”. Archdiocese of Baltimore. Retrieved听January 5,听2020.
  9. ^听Meehan, Thomas F.听Historical Records and Studies, Volume 2, United States Catholic Historical Society, New York, 1901, p. 434.
  10. ^听a听b听c听“A Short History of the Sisters of Charity”. Emmitsburg Area Historical Society. Retrieved听March 3,听2014.
  11. ^听“Our History”. Sisters of Charity of New York. Retrieved听May 26,听2017.
  12. ^听“Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati”.听Vincentian Encyclopedia. Retrieved听May 26,听2017.
  13. ^听O’Gallagher, Marianna (1980).听“The Sisters of Charity of Halifax 鈥� The Early and Middle Years”. Canadian Catholic Historical Association. Retrieved听May 26,听2017.
  14. ^听“Brief History”, Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth.
  15. ^听“Our History”, Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill.
  16. ^听Top 100 Historical Events in Staten Island, Richmond County, NY, from the听Staten Island Advance.
  17. ^听“Appeals and Donations”. Mother Seton School, Emmitsburg, Maryland. Retrieved听January 5,听2020.
  18. ^听“About”. Mother Seton School, Emmitsburg, Maryland. Retrieved听January 5,听2020.
  19. ^听Mother Seton School in Emmitsburg, MD. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  20. ^听“School History”. Elizabeth Seton School. Retrieved听September 14,听2015.
  21. ^听Seton Hall University Undergraduate Admissions Viewbook. Seton Hall Publications. p.听2 鈥� via issuu.com.
  22. ^听“Parish History”. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church. Retrieved听January 5,听2020.
  23. ^听“Search Results for “seton””.听The Catholic Directory: Helping People Find Mass. TheCatholicDirectory.com. Retrieved听September 1,听2018.
  24. ^听National Women’s Hall of Fame, Elizabeth Bayley Seton
  25. ^听“Seton Coins Are Presented To Prelates”.听The Gettysburg Times. September 5, 1975. Retrieved听January 5,听2020.
  26. ^听Foley O.F.M., Leonard (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M.).听“St. Elizabeth Ann Seton”,听Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons and Feast, Franciscan Media, 2017.
  27. ^听“St. Elizabeth Seton”听(PDF).听Catholic Maritime News. Vol.听75. Spring 2014. p.听3.听ST. ELIZABETH SETON, Patron Saint of Seafarers (Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Merchant Marines, Fishermen, Shrimpers, Recreational Boaters and Sail Boaters)
  28. ^听“St. Elizabeth Ann Seton”.听Catholic Saint Medals. Retrieved听January 5,听2020.