
Also
known as Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, Mother Seton Memorial
4 January Profile Born into a wealthy and influential
Episcopalian family, the daughter of a Dr Richard Bayley, Elizabeth was raised
in the New York high society of the late 18th century. Her mother died when Elizabeth
was three years old, her baby sister a year later. She married the wealthy businessman
William Magee Seton in 1794 at age 19, and was the mother of five. About ten years
into the marriage, William's business failed, and soon after he died of tuberculosis,
leaving Elizabeth an impoverished widow with five small children. For years Elizabeth
had felt drawn to Catholicism, believing in the Real Presence in the Eucharist
and in the lineage of the Church going back to Christ and the Apostles. She converted
to Catholicism, entering the Church on 14 March 1805, alienating many of her strict
Episcopalian family in the process. To support her family, and insure the proper
education of her children, she opened a school in Boston. Though a private and
secular institution, from the beginning she ran it along the lines of a religious
community. At the invitation of the archbishop, she established a Catholic girl's
school in Baltimore, Maryland which initiated the parochial school system in America.
To run the system she founded the Sisters of Charity in 1809, the first native
American religious community for women. Born 28 August 1774
in New York City, New York, USA as Elizabeth Ann Bayley Died
4 January 1821 in Emmitsburg, Maryland of natural causes Name Meaning worshipper
of God - (Elizabeth) Venerated 18 December 1959 by Pope
John XXIII Beatified 17 March 1963 by Pope John XXIII Canonized
14 September 1975 by Pope Paul VI Patronage Apostleship
of the Sea (two of her sons worked on the sea) death of children, in-law problems,
loss of parents, opposition of Church, authorities, people ridiculed for their
piety, Shreveport, Louisiana, diocese of widows Back
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