St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (August 28, 1774 – January 4, 1821) is the first canonized saint from the United States of America.
Born in New York, Seton was raised as an Episcopalian but converted in 1805 to the Catholic Faith – just two years after the death of her husband, William Seton. Her mother died when she was very young, and her step-mother would bring her along to care for the poor, a ministry she would continue to practice through her adult life.
In 1803, she and her eldest daughter accompanied William to Italy, where he was treated for tuberculosis. It was there that her husband’s business partners introduced Elizabeth to the Catholic Faith, leading to her conversion. Returning to the United States, Elizabeth opened the first ever Catholic school for girls in the U.S., eventually founding the Sisters of Charity. In 1821, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton succumbed at the age of 46 to the same illness that took her husband eighteen years prior.
Source: 2025 Catholic Patriotic Calendar >
Reflection
Elizabeth Ann Seton had no extraordinary gifts. She was not a mystic or stigmatic. She did not prophesy or speak in tongues. She had two great devotions: abandonment to the will of God and an ardent love for the Blessed Sacrament. She wrote to a friend, Julia Scott, that she would prefer to exchange the world for a “cave or a desert.” “But God has given me a great deal to do, and I have always and hope always to prefer his will to every wish of my own.” Her brand of sanctity is open to everyone if we love God and do his will.
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton is a Patron Saint of:
Catholic Schools
Educators/Teachers
Loss of Parents
Widows
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton is the first American saint featured on the Catholic Patriotic Calendar. If you’d like to learn more about Catholicism in the United States of America, click here >
Your action is key to winning the next Presidential Election.
