(1774-1821)

Mother Seton is one of the keystones of the American Catholic Church. She founded the first American religious community for women, the Sisters of Charity. She opened the first American parish school and established the first American Catholic orphanage. All this she did in the span of 46 years while raising her five children.

Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton is a true daughter of the American Revolution, born August 28, 1774, just two years before the Declaration of Independence. By birth and marriage, she was linked to the first families of New York and enjoyed the fruits of high society. Reared a staunch Episcopalian by her mother and stepmother, she learned the value of prayer, Scripture and a nightly examination of conscience. Her father, Dr. Richard Bayley, did not have much use for churches but was a great humanitarian, teaching his daughter to love and serve others.

The early deaths of her mother in 1777 and her baby sister in 1778 gave Elizabeth a feel for eternity and the temporariness of the pilgrim life on earth. Far from being brooding and sullen, she faced each new “holocaust,” as she put it, with hopeful cheerfulness.

At 19, Elizabeth was the belle of New York and married a handsome, wealthy businessman, William Magee Seton. They had five children before his business failed and he died of tuberculosis. At 30, Elizabeth was widowed, penniless, with five small children to support.

While in Italy with her dying husband, Elizabeth witnessed Catholicity in action through family friends. Three basic points led her to become a Catholic: belief in the Real Presence, devotion to the Blessed Mother and conviction that the Catholic Church led back to the apostles and to Christ. Many of her family and friends rejected her when she became a Catholic in March 1805.

To support her children, she opened a school in Baltimore. From the beginning, her group followed the lines of a religious community, which was officially founded in 1809.

The thousand or more letters of Mother Seton reveal the development of her spiritual life from ordinary goodness to heroic sanctity. She suffered great trials of sickness, misunderstanding, the death of loved ones (her husband and two young daughters) and the heartache of a wayward son. She died January 4, 1821, and became the first American-born citizen to be beatified (1963) and then canonized (1975). She is buried in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

The presentation used during Anna Marie Wright's "Wearing Both Hats: Doing Youth Ministry Effectively Without Short-Changing Either" workshop at NCCYM 2008.

The supplemental handout used during Joan Weber's "Engaging Youth in Intergenerational Catechesis" workshop at NCCYM 2008.

The presentation used during Joan Weber's "Engaging Youth in Intergenerational Catechesis" workshop at NCCYM 2008.

The presentation used during Leigh Sterten's "Youth 2.0: How Do We Use the New Technology to Engage and Form Young People?" workshop at NCCYM 2008

The presentation used during Michael Patin's "The Passion Epidemic" workshop at NCCYM 2008.  To get the downloadable audio
recording of this session click here.

The handout provided for Brian Singer-Towns' "Biblical Literacy Made Easy" workshop at NCCYM 2008.  To get the downloadable audio recording of this session click here.

The presentation used during Brian Singer-Towns' "Biblical Literacy Made Easy" workshop at NCCYM 2008.  To get the downloadable audio recording of this session click here.

A supplemental handout provided for Dr. Charlotte McCorquodale's "Authorizing Lay Ecclesial Ministers" workshop at NCCYM 2008.  To get the downloadable audio recording of this session click here.

The presentation used during Dr. Charlotte McCorquodale's "Authorizing Lay Ecclesial Ministers: Issues, Models, and More" workshop at NCCYM 2008.  To get the downloadable audio recording of this session click here.