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Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton is the secondary patron of the Diocese of Arlington. She is also the patron of Catholic schools. Her feast day is on January 4.

Catholic Diocese of Arlington

Biography

  • 1774- Elizabeth Bayley was born into a prominent Anglican family in New York.
  • 1803- The Seton family fortune collapsed and her husband William had developed tuberculosis. Elizabeth, William and their eldest daughter Anna Maria, traveled to the gentler climate of Italy. Despite their efforts, William died in Pisa, Italy, leaving Elizabeth a widow at the age of 29, with five young children, all under eight years of age. While Elizabeth and Anna waited to return to the U.S., the Filicchi family provided them hospitality and introduced Elizabeth to Catholicism.
  • 1805- Elizabeth’s devotion to Our Lady and her hunger for Christ in the Eucharist intensified. At the age of thirty, Elizabeth Ann Seton received her First Holy Communion.
  • 1808- Elizabeth, went to Baltimore, MD to help the Sulpician priests form a school for the religious education of children. Elizabeth took vows of chastity and obedience and was given the title “Mother Seton.”
  • 1821- Elizabeth died in Emmitsburg.
  • 1975- Pope Paul VI canonized Elizabeth and her remains are in the Basilica dedicated to her in Emmitsburg, MD.

Important facts

  • She was the first person born in the United States to become a canonized saint.
  • Visit here to read more about
    St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and to prayer her intercessory prayer.

Credits

Text for biographical information from the saints were taken from the
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church's Web site