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Saint Elizabeth Seton: Wife, Mother, and Foundress

by: Br. Silas Henderson OSB

The woman the world still remembers as “Mother Seton” and whom the Catholic Church has given the title of “Saint” was not only an ascetic and contemplative of virtue and spiritual insight, she was herself a wife, mother, widow, foundress of a new, American order of Catholic religious and a religious sister herself.  Her contributions and legacy to the American Church, particularly in the field of child education and development, as well as her social concerns, left a mark on the face of American-Catholicism that has remained to the present day. 

Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born on August 28, 1774, in New York City, and was the daughter of Catherine Charlton and the noted physician, Doctor Richard Bayley.[1]  The couple was married on July 9, 1769, and of this union three girls were born: Mary Magdalene[2], Elizabeth Ann, and Catherine (Kitty)[3].  In 1777 Mrs. Catherine Bayley became ill and died on May 8 following the birth of their daughter Catherine.  At the time Elizabeth was three years old.

            One year after the death of Catherine Bayley, Richard Bayley married Amelia Charlotte Barclay.[4]  Although the two had six children in eight years, their home was not a happy one: having provided a new mother for his two living daughters (young Catherine having died four months after the wedding), Dr. Bayley began to refocus his attentions on his professional duties.[5]

            Elizabeth, deprived of a mother’s love (preoccupation with her own children left Amelia little time to focus on Mary and Elizabeth and she essentially rejected the two girls[6]) and possessing an affectionate nature, missed her father intensely during his absences.  Dr. Bayley favored Elizabeth and valued her natural inquisitiveness and sharp mind and would use his spare moments to teach her and help form her character.[7]  Both the older girls were eventually sent to “Mama Pompelion’s” school where they were taught French and music to supplement the basic education they received at home. 

            Elizabeth’s childhood was divided between her father’s home and that of her uncle, William Bayley[8], and his family in New Rochelle.  Elizabeth developed a love for reading and enjoyed poetry and novels in both French and English.[9]  She developed a warm, striking personality and intellectual prowess that attracted the attention of the young New York aristocrats.[10]  An accomplished musician, she also enjoyed dancing and the theatre, loved nature and was a skilled horsewoman.[11] Elizabeth was also a natural contemplative and was given to introspection, frequently writing in her journal.[12]  In 1791 she met the tall, handsome [13] William Magee Seton[14], the son of a prominent financier and merchant.  After a suitable engagement the two were married on January 25, 1794 in New York City.[15]

            Within ten years the couple had five children: Anna (1795-1812), William (1796-1868), Richard (1798-1823), Catherine (Josephine) (1800-1891), and Rebecca (1802-1816).  Though family responsibilities occupied much of her time and energy during these early years of her marriage[16], Elizabeth did find time for charitable work.  The young Elizabeth had grown up with a desire to imitate her father’s life of service and to devote herself to nursing the sick-poor, and with a handful of like-minded women the young wife and mother founded the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows and Young Children in New York, for which she became known as “the Protestant Sister of Charity.”[17]

            In 1798, following the death of William Seton, Sr., William Magee Seton became the family representative of the Seton-Maitland Shipping Firm and the younger William soon realized the poor financial status of the business.[18]  At the same time William was suffering a decline in his own health, showing early signs of Tuberculosis.  The business soon went bankrupt after a number of the firm’s ships were sunk in storms and the wars of the time.[19]  With the family having suffered a great loss of fortune, Elizabeth’s pain was compounded by the death of her father in August 1801.[20]  It was at this time that Elizabeth experienced the beginnings of a conversion in her life.  Seeking spiritual comfort, she became involved in Trinity Episcopal Church, New York, and was admitted to the Lord’s Supper.[21]

            As William’s health continued to fail, it was suggested by a physician that he travel to a warmer climate to combat the effects of his tuberculosis.  It was decided that William, with Elizabeth and their oldest daughter, Anna, he would travel to Leghorn, Italy, to stay with family friends, the Filicchis[22].  The Setons left New York on October 2, 1803 arriving in Italy seven weeks later.  Because of the yellow-fever epidemic ravaging New York at the time, the Italian government ordered the quarantine of the passengers and the Setons were confined to a Lazaretto for four weeks, being released shortly before Christmas.  William was immediately removed to Pisa by the Filicchis but died on December 27, 1803.

            Elizabeth remained in Italy with the Filicchis until May, 1804.  During this time she was introduced to the doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church, being especially attracted by the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, devotion to the Virgin Mary, and the apostolic succession of the priesthood.[23]  Elizabeth visited various shrines and churches with the Fillichis who encouraged her to investigate the Catholic faith which she did with growing enthusiasm.[24]  By the time Elizabeth left Italy she was completely fascinated with the Catholic faith and had come to see her own Episcopal faith as “dear ashes.”[25]

            Elizabeth left Italy accompanied by her daughter Anna and one of the Filicchi brothers, Antonio.[26]  While on board Elizabeth’s conversion process continued as Antonio instructed her in the tenets of the Catholic Faith and she read Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints and the Bible.[27]  Finally, the travelers reached New York on June 3, 1804 after fifty-six days at Sea.

            Elizabeth reached New York with the heart of a Roman Catholic.  However, her newfound interest and inclinations to Catholicism ignited hostility in her family and friends.  With this tension, Elizabeth was also faced with the death of her sister-in-law and “soul’s sister”[28], Rebecca Seton, a loss which took a great toll on her emotionally and spiritually.  In the midst of her loss and the pressure of her family and friends to abandon her interest in Catholicism, Elizabeth continued to struggle with the financial problems brought on by the failure of her late husband’s business.  At this time all of her children were still less than eight years of age and she, the sole parent.  Elizabeth “faced many challenges and frequently had to relocate into less expensive housing.”[29]

            During this time Elizabeth came under the spiritual direction of a number of priests, most notably the Revered John Louis Cheverus[30].  After reconciling her doubts and fears, Elizabeth resolved to enter the Catholic Church and made her profession of Faith at Saint Peter’s Church, Barclay Street in Lower Manhattan, New York, on March 14, 1805, and received her first communion shortly thereafter on March 25.  She was Confirmed by Bishop John Carroll[31] on Pentecost Sunday, 1805.  At Confirmation she took the name “Mary” in honor of the Blessed Virgin, to whom she had developed a particularly strong devotion during her trials.[32]

            The years encompassing Elizabeth’s conversion were marked by fiercely anti-Catholic sentiment.[33]  She continued to receive negative pressure from family and friends[34] and the anti-Catholic climate prevented her attempts to establish school in an effort to support her struggling family as parents quickly withdrew their children because of her Catholic beliefs.[35]  For a time she worked in small school run by a Protestant couple but this venture soon failed.  Elizabeth experienced a painful mistrust from her family and this was only confounded by the conversion of her younger sisters-in-law, Cecilia (1805) and Harriet (1809).[36]

            The years of struggle to support herself and her children, plus the necessity of defending her faith against disapproving friends and family, revealed Elizabeth as a woman of conviction and inner-strength. Remaining faith-filled, she was certain that God would guide her according to His Divine Plan.[37]  She continued to find support from the Fillichis, her “Family of Pastors” at Saint Peter’s Church, and Bishop John Carroll.[38]  Both Filippo and Antonio Filicchi had corresponded with Bishop Carroll and a number of American priests regarding Elizabeth and her situation during the time preceding her conversion and she received a great deal of advice and assistance from these clergymen.

            In 1806 Elizabeth met the Louis Dubourg, S.S.[39], who was visiting New York from Baltimore.  Upon hearing Elizabeth’s story he took an interest in her and her family.  A year later Fr. Dubourg invited Elizabeth to open a girls school in Baltimore where she could be near her sons who had been sent to study at Georgetown[40].  In addition to the idea of founding the girls’ school, Fr. Dubourg and other Sulpician émigrés working in the United States, presented to Elizabeth their desire to found a community of sisters.  It was through the support of these trusted friends and spiritual guides that Elizabeth discerned God’s Will for herself: the founding of a girls’ school and a religious order in Baltimore.  Elizabeth admitted her long-felt desire to enter religious life but the welfare and spiritual care of her children had always been first in her mind.[41]  Having been assured that her family would be supported and cared for, Elizabeth agreed. 

On June 8, 1808, Elizabeth, with her three girls, Ann, Catherine and Rebecca, sailed for Baltimore.  The family arrived in Baltimore on June 16, 1808, the Feast of Corpus Christi and they were taken directly to Saint Mary’s Seminary, arriving just in time for the consecration of the seminary chapel.[42] 

After her arrival Elizabeth spent one year working as a school mistress.[43]  During this year the Sulpicians began to actively recruit candidates (gaining six between 1808 and 1809) and Elizabeth prepared to make her religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, living a life modeled upon that of the Daughters of Charity of Paris (founded in 1633).  Elizabeth pronounced her vows on March 25, 1809, in the presence of Archbishop Carroll who conferred on her the title “Mother Seton.”  Of this day Elizabeth wrote:

My object in pronouncing them is to embrace poverty, under whose roof I desire to live and die; chastity, so lovable and so beautiful, that I truly find all my happiness in cultivating it; and above all, obedience, the sure refuge and safeguard of my soul.[44]

            On, June 16, the Feast of Corpus Christi, 1809, Elizabeth and her first four candidates appeared publicly for the first time in their religious habits at mass in Saint Mary’s Seminary Chapel.  The community’s first habit was modeled on the Italian “widows weeds”[45] that Elizabeth had begun to wear at the death of her husband.             It consisted of a black dress and shoulder with a simple white cap that tied under the chin as a head covering.

            Samuel Sutherland Cooper[46], a wealthy seminarian and convert, had purchased 269 acres of land for the establishment of a community of sisters in Emmitsburg, Maryland.  His hope was to have a community of sisters who would establish a school for girls and who would serve the elderly, “job skill development, and a small manufactory, which would be beneficial to people oppressed by poverty.  Cooper had Elizabeth in mind to direct the educational program.”[47]

            The promised stone farmhouse was not yet ready for occupancy when Elizabeth and her first group arrived at Emmitsburg.  Revered John Dubois, S.S.[48] offered his cabin on Saint Mary’s Mountain for the group to use and they lived in this small cabin for six weeks until their house was ready.  According to tradition, Elizabeth named the area Saint Joseph’s Valley and it was from this valley that the sisters took their title “Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph”.[49]  The sisters moved into the “Stone House” on July 31, 1809, in mid-February, 1810, the sisters moved into Saint Joseph’s House (later called the “White House”.)  It was here that Elizabeth opened Saint Joseph’s Free School on February 22, 1810.  The purpose of this school was to educate needy girls from the area and it was the first free Catholic school for girls staffed by sisters in the United States.[50]  Another school, Saint Joseph’s Academy, was established on May 14, 1810, with boarding students whose tuition allowed the Sisters of Charity to subsidize their missions.  “Saint Joseph’s Academy and Free School formed the cradle of Catholic education in the United States.”[51]

            The young community experienced remarkable growth during its first years.  During the period from 1809-1820, 98 candidates entered the community with 86 making vows; of these 60 remained with the Sisters of Charity for life.[52]  During Elizabeth’s life-time, 18 Sisters of Charity died at Emmitsburg, and in their early years the sisters faced severe poverty, suffering from shortages of food and inadequate accommodations for sisters and students.[53]

            The Sulpicians priests who had assisted Elizabeth in establishing the new community now began the work of shaping the community in the spirit of the French Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul.  With Elizabeth they adapted the 17^th Century French Common Rules of the Daughters of Charity and Elizabeth worked to form her sisters in the tradition and spirituality of Saint Vincent de Paul[54] and Saint Louise de Marillac[55], founders of the Daughters of Charity.  On July 19, 1813, Mother Seton and eighteen Sisters of Charity made private, annual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience under the new Rule of the community which became known as the Daughters of Charity of Saint Joseph[56].  These vows were renewed annually on March 25.[57]

            Elected to be the first “Mother” of the Sisters of Charity, Elizabeth was re-elected successively and remained superior until her death.  The Sulpicians, who had conceived and helped found the community, served as Superiors General until 1849.[58]

            The Congregation grew steadily after those initial years of poverty and uncertainty.  In their ministry the sisters intertwined faith-education and religious values with social ministry.  The community assumed control of Saint Joseph’s Orphan Asylum[59], Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1814, and established the New York City Orphan Asylum (later Saint Patrick’s Orphan Asylum), in New York City, New York, in 1817.  In addition to their work in education and child-care, Elizabeth established a mission at Mount Saint Mary’s to oversee the domestic services and infirmary of the college and seminary in 1815.[60] 

            Wherever the sisters went they opened schools and orphanages.  Mother Seton wrote textbooks, translated French books into English, and composed hymns and spiritual discourses.[61]  All Elizabeth’s achievements were attributed to God’s help:

… my soul is free and contented as it has been burthened and afflicted, for God has been so gracious to me as to remove every obstacle in my mind to the true Faith and given me strength to meet the difficulties and temptations I am externally tried with…[62]

            Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton died at the White House in Emmitsburg on January 4, 1821.  At the time of her death the community, the first to be founded in the United States, had twenty houses spread throughout the country.[63]  There are now five independent communities of the Sisters of Charity and a sixth which merged with the French Daughters of Charity in 1850.  The sisters now staff hospitals, child-care institutions, homes for the aged and handicapped and schools at all levels.  The community is also found in South America, Italy and in various mission countries.[64]

            Elizabeth and the Sisters of Charity are regarded as the founders of the American Parochial School system.[65]  Elizabeth Seton’s contribution to the American Catholic Church and her legacy was, and is, the establishment of a system of Catholic Schools in this country, particularly a system that made Catholic education available to the poor.  The greatness of Elizabeth’s life “flowed from the centrality of the Word of God and the Eucharist in her life… she undertook works of mercy and justice.  Not only did she and her Sisters of Charity care for orphans, widows, and poor families, but they addressed unmet needs… Elizabeth had a special concern for children who lacked educational opportunities, especially religious education in the faith.”[66]

            The Cause for Elizabeth’s Canonization was introduced by James Cardinal Gibbons[67] in 1907.  Officially introduced at the Vatican in 1940, she was declared “Venerable” by Blessed Pope John XXIII who later beatified her on March 17, 1963.  Pope Paul VI canonized her on the 14^th of September, of the Jubilee year 1975, which was also the International Year of Women.[68]  Elizabeth has come to be popularly regarded as Patron of Catholic Schools because of her pioneer role in value-based education.[69]

            In a letter to her friend Julia Sitgreaves Scott[70] Elizabeth wrote these words that seem to sum up her unique life’s work in a most profound and prophetic way:

For my part, I find so much contentment in this love (of God) that I am obliged to put on my consideration cap to find out how anyone can raise their eyes to the light of heaven and be insensible to it… Faith lifts the staggering soul on one side, Hope supports it on the other.  Experience says it must be, and love says- let it be.  And so goes your friend thro’ her passing career.[71]

Bibliography

Burns, Paul, ed. “St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, foundress.” Butler’s Lives of the Saints: New Full Edition. Volume 1: January. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998.

Celeste, Marie, S.C. ed. Elizabeth Ann Seton: A Self-Portrait. Libertyville, Illinois: Franciscan Marytown Press, 1983.

--- Elizabeth Ann Seton: A Woman of Prayer: Meditations, Reflections, Prayers and Poems Taken From Her Writings. New York: Alba House, 1993. 

De Barberey, “Madame”. Elizabeth Seton. Transl. Rev. Joseph B. Code. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1931.

Dirvin, Joseph I., C.M.. Mrs. Seton: Foundress of the American Sisters of Charity.

            New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, Inc., 1962.

McNeil, B.A. “Seton, Elizabeth Ann Bayley, St..” New Catholic Encyclopedia.  2^nd Edition. Farmington Hills, Michigan: The Gale Group/Thomson Learning, Inc., 2003.

--- “Sisters of Charity, Federation of.” New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2^nd Edition. Farmington Hills, Michigan: The Gale Group/Thomson Learning, Inc., 2003.

Power-Waters, Alma. Mother Seton and the Sisters of Charity. New York: Vision Books: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1957.