Elizabeth Ann Seton: First American-Born Saint
Elizabeth Ann Seton was a wife and mother who was widowed at the age of 29 in 1803. Despite great hardships, she went on to do amazing work, and eventually became the first American-born saint in 1975.
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The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
'Seeker to Saint' Explores the Healing Role of the Blessed Mother
Watch 'Finding Mary,' the latest video in the series
Mother Seton found healing from her past when she was introduced to Mary.Feast of The Assumption Prayer Offering
Send a beautiful eCard and enroll your loved ones in this special prayer offering.
The Sisters here at the Shrine will place your intentions at Mother Seton’s Altar of relics and pray for her intercession.
What's Coming Up View Full Calendar →
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Hands-On History! Soak, Suds and Sun
Come try your hand at 19th century laundry, a weekly chore for all households.
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Virtual Book Club
Exclusive to the Seton Shrine, this extensively researched book is a definitive biography of Mother Seton.
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20% Off Mother Seton Products
The Gift Shop is offering 20% off all Mother Seton products from now thru Sept. 14th!
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Wednesday Evening Extended Hours
The Shrine is open until 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings!
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Civil War Sisters Tour
On this specialty tour, discover all that the Sisters experienced around the time of the Battle of Gettysburg.
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Hands-On History! Mother Seton's Birthday
Come to historic St. Joseph’s Academy to Celebrate Mother Seton’s birthday along with the Sisters of Charity and students.
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Mother Seton's Birthday Celebration
Come to the Shrine for an afternoon of fun, celebrating Mother Seton's 248th birthday!
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Annual Sea Services Pilgrimage
As Patroness of the Sea Services, hundreds visit the Shrine to pray for Mother Seton's intercession for those who serve.
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Back from the Dead
Auditions will take place Aug. 29-31st. Tickets now available for 2022 season!
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Candlelight Tours
Step back in time at the Shrine's Christmas Living History program...
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Living History
Engage Living History Interpreters (many of whom are students) portraying real people from Mother Seton’s world. Rain or shine.
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Daily Mass & Adoration
Join us for Adoration and Confession Sun-Fri at 12:15pm-1:15pm. Mass is at 1:30pm.
News View All →
Catholic Review covers groundbreaking event
A saint for modern times gets a modern museum
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The Shrine Appears On EWTN News Nightly
EWTN interviews Programs Director Tony DiIlulio
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New Museum Fosters Excitement by Sisters
A chance to tell their story
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Press Release: Groundbreaking on $4 Million Museum Renovation and Visitor Center
The first renovation in forty years comes to the Seton Shrine
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Latest Reflections View All →
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St. Jane Frances de Chantal and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton: Made for Communion
| Even in seasons of loneliness, we were made to live with and for others. God provides the means to serve him through a community.
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The Holocaust Before the Holocaust: St. Edith Stein and Mother Seton
| Mother Seton and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (also known as Edith Stein) witnessed to a way of living and dying modeled on the ultimate sacrifice Christ accomplished on the Cross.
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Following the Master’s Plan: Saint Dominic and Mother Seton
| Like many other great religious founders, St. Dominic and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton had no master plan. They simply opened their hearts to the certainty of Christ’s call, revealing itself through the signs of their times.
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The Fervor of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton and the Transfiguration
| The example of Peter during the transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor warns us against taking easy roads to holiness, a lesson that Mother Seton embodied in her life. She always stayed on the narrow path, walking alongside Christ, all the way to heaven.
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St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. John Vianney Remind Us That Jesus is Here, Alive in Our Hearts
| Adoring Christ in the Eucharist with reverence and devotion leads us to love him more and to know his presence in our lives.
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Where Grace Abounds: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels
| Elizabeth Seton’s ordinary life reminds us that even without divine visions we can discover God’s abiding presence and grace in the everyday circumstances of life.
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Mother Seton and St. Ignatius: Vastly Different; One in Christ
| When we see ourselves in the light of eternity, we know that the pains and sorrows of this world are nothing compared with the glories of heaven.
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Fully American, Fully Catholic: Blessed Solanus Casey and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
| In the lives of Blessed Solanus Casey and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, we can see the seven characteristics of uniquely American saints.
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Women of the Beatitudes: St. Martha and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
| St. Martha is counted as one of the blessed, despite her fears and anxieties, and difficulties in understanding her vocation. What she and Mother Seton teach us is that only in Christ’s call for our lives do we find true joy and consolation.
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Rejoicing in the Lord Always With St. Titus Brandsma and Mother Seton
| The martyr St. Titus Brandsma and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton each embodied St. Paul’s simple yet life-changing words: “Rejoice in the Lord always… Have no anxiety about anything.” Their absolute trust in God was the source of their peace and joy.
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Giving Our Hearts to God with St. Anne and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
| Throughout their lives, St. Anne and Mother Seton had little idea of the glorious destiny God had in mind for them. They show us how to be faithful to God in all things, and to trust in his perfect plan for our lives.
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Mothers First: St. Bridget and Mother Seton Remind Us That We Are All Called To Holiness
| In a world that says “have it all,” St. Bridget of Sweden and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton are “mom-saint” role models who show us how trusting in God is the key to balancing marriage, family, and work.
Seton & Culture View All →
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Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and Elizabeth Seton and Their Devotion to Mary
| There could hardly be two women who lived in such different cultures as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, yet Mary spoke to each of them.
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The Vocation of Women According to Elizabeth Seton and Sigrid Undset
| Elizabeth Seton and Sigrid Undset were feminist icons without officially becoming feminists because they drew their strength from their Catholicism.
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Reimagining Robert Lowell
| The saint Elizabeth Seton and the poet Robert Lowell took divergent paths through the storm clouds of their lives, each seeking shelter under God’s immense umbrella of grace.
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Gravitas: Good Friday, 2022
| In a remarkable act of trust, Elizabeth Seton referred to the death dates of her daughters as their “Heavenly birthdays”—the day when they were born into eternal life after the long, hard labor of dying.
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The Eucharist at the Core: Flannery O’Connor and Elizabeth Ann Seton
| The Catholic writer and the Catholic saint each grounded their lives and their works in the astonishing power of grace.
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Companionship in Christ: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and Fr. Luigi Giussani
| Luigi Giussani and Elizabeth Seton never planned to found religious movements. Their mission was to love God and neighbor and proclaim that the Incarnate God lives now, in the Eucharist and in our encounters with the people we are given.
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Dolores Hart and Elizabeth Seton: Threading the Eye of a Needle
| These two immensely talented women gave up everything that stood in the way of their love of God and neighbor.
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Spiritual Soul Mates: Elizabeth Seton and Poet Vassar Miller
| Vassar Miller, her body limiting what she could do in the world, lived out her life in Christ through her poetry. Despite their different circumstances, she and Elizabeth Seton are soul sisters, linked by the spirituality that they shared.
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Henri Nouwen, Elizabeth Seton, and the Painful Price of Love
| Elizabeth Seton and Henri Nouwen arrived at the same conclusion about what God asks of us: to give ourselves away in love.
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The Conversions of Elizabeth Seton and the poet Denise Levertov
| Elizabeth Seton and Denise Levertov were strong women with strong wills who surrendered themselves body and soul to God.
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Love’s Music and the ‘Yes’ of the Convert
| The lives of Thomas Merton and Elizabeth Ann Seton make for rich, vibrant history which—like good music—resounds down the halls of memory.
Home of the First American-Born Saint
Discover the inspirational life and legacy of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Seton Shrine Museum
Begin your visit with a brief film about Elizabeth Ann Seton and browsing our exhibits. including our latest, Sisters Today: A World of Difference.
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The Basilica
Awe-inspiring and amazing are a few words people have used to describe the Basilica.
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Civil War Sisters
Discover how the Daughters and Sisters of Charity continued Elizabeth Ann Seton’s ministry of charity, helping those who were in need or wounded during the Civil War.
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The Stone Farmhouse
Step back in time while you tour the Stone House, which was originally built in the mid-1700s.
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Historic St. Joseph's House
This historic home was built in 1810 when Elizabeth Ann Seton realized one home wasn’t enough for all that she had in mind.
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St. Joseph's Cemetery
In 1809, Mother Seton and her companions took a walk through the dense woods on their property to select a site for a cemetery.
Read MoreElizabeth Ann Seton
The First American-Born Saint
Elizabeth Ann Seton was a wife and mother, and then found herself a widow at just 29 years old in 1803. Despite the hardships that she faced, she went on to do amazing work, and eventually became the first American-born saint in 1975. Visit this historic site and Shrine and see the museum, her historic homes, and the Basilica dedicated to her.