Note: For the next several weeks, I’m featuring women with a connection to the Americas.
The Basics: Born August 24, 1774, in the United States; died January 4, 1821, in the United States; canonized March 17, 1963, by Paul VI; feast day, January 4; wife, mother, woman religious.
The Story: Elizabeth knew both privilege and heartache at an early age. Born into a wealthy family in
New York City, she and an older sister were sent off to spend much of their early lives with an uncle after their mother died when Elizabeth was just three and their new stepmother didn’t care to have them around. Elizabeth fell in love with William Magee Seton, whose family was in the import-export business, and the couple married in 1794. They were happy, involved in Trinity Episcopal Church and a variety of ministries, not to mention raising their children.
But less than ten years later, all this happiness had turned upside down. William’s business was failing, and he learned he had tuberculosis. In a desperate attempt to recover his health, William, Elizabeth, and one of their five children left for Italy. Less than two weeks after their release from quarantine due to yellow fever, William died. Imagine that situation: Elizabeth was just twenty-nine. She and her daughter were all alone… except they weren’t. Two of William’s business associates, Antonio and Filippo Filicchi and their wives, took the Setons under their wing. They consoled them. They supported them. One brother even accompanied them back to the United States. It just so happened the brothers were Catholic.
It was the Filicchis’ simple acts of kindness that helped convince Elizabeth to convert to Catholicism when she got home, despite objections by family and friends. She would go on to found the first original group of women religious in the United States, the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph–and to become the first U.S.-born citizen to be canonized.
Elizabeth’s Wisdom: “We are never strong enough to carry our cross, it is the cross that carries us.”
What We Can Learn from Elizabeth: We never know the impact that what we consider to be a small act of kindness can have on someone else. Resolve to thank someone who has influenced your life more than he or she knows.
To Learn More About Elizabeth: Visit the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland. For more on my own experience with Elizabeth, read an earlier blog post.
To Learn More About Other Women Saints and Blesseds: Come back next week, or consider buying my books, Blessed Are You: Finding Inspiration from Our Sisters in Faith or Sisterhood of Saints: Daily Guidance and Inspiration.
