St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

"Elizabeth Ann Seton is a saint. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is an American. All of us say this with special joy, and with the intention of honoring the land and the nation from which she sprang forth as the first flower in the calendar of the saints. Elizabeth Ann Seton was wholly American! Rejoice for your glorious daughter. Be proud of her. And know how to preserve her fruitful heritage."

~ Pope Paul VI

Two hundred years ago, Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton founded the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph's, the first new community for religious women to be established in the United States. She also began Saint Joseph's Academy and Free School, the first free Catholic School for girls staffed by Sisters in the United States. Her enduring legacy now includes six religious communities with more than 5,000 members, hundreds of schools, social service centers, and hospitals throughout America and around the world. Her works led to her Canonization on Sunday, September 14, 1975, in Saint Peter's Square, by Pope Paul VI.