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
Join the Seton Shrine's $10 Million Capital Campaign
'A New Century of Charity' marks the 200th anniversary of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s death
This historic campaign will fund a new Museum and Visitors Center, expand our Seeds of Hope Retreats program for the poor, and strengthen the Shrine's ministries that spread Mother Seton's intercession and her message of faith and hope to a world in need of God's healing love.
Introducing 'Seton & Culture'
A new essay series on great religious artists, writers, thinkers, activists and visionaries from the perspective of Elizabeth Seton's spirituality.
The first essays in the series are by Paul Mariani on the Trappist monk, writer, and mystic Thomas Merton, Peggy Rosenthal on the poets Denise Levertov and Vassar Miller, and Paula Huston on the priest, psychologist and author Henri Nouwen.What's Coming Up View Full Calendar →
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Virtual Book Club
The next book club pick is "Nothing Short of a Miracle: God’s Healing Power in Modern Saints" by Patricia Treece.
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National Christian Choir Concert
A perfect Father's Day Gift: a free concert featuring a choir of over 100 members.
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Corpus Christi Procession
Join us after the 11am Mass at the Seton Shrine for a Eucharist Procession.
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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 →
Kimberly Hahn, On "Finding Mary"
Catholic apologist and author Kimberly Hahn reflects on her spiritual journey
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Stories from the Sisters
A new video series launches in February
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The Seton Shrine Is Hiring!
See what jobs are currently available.
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Press Release: Academy Alive Will Welcome School Groups
An unforgettable living history experience for learners of all ages.
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Latest Reflections View All →
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All Shall Be Well With Julian of Norwich and Mother Seton
| St. Julian of Norwich and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton share the mystic’s confidence that “all shall be well” if we trust in God. These things that we suffer and fear – pain, death, illness, loss, and strife – Jesus has already overcome. We suffer in the world, but He has conquered the world.
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Embracing the Certainty of Easter with Saint Damien and Mother Seton
| When my fears threaten to overtake me, I look for courage to the lives of the saints, who embraced the certainty of new life in the risen Christ, who lives among us still in the Eucharist, and in the Church.
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Out of the Darkness with Louise de Marillac and Elizabeth Ann Seton
| Meditating on the trials and struggles of St. Louise de Marillac and Mother Seton gives us hope in these uncertain times. We learn that holiness is found not in flashes of glory, but in the messy spaces where one watches, prays, and waits.
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The Power of Motherhood in the Mission of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
| Mother Seton’s extraordinary legacy of doing good in the world contradicts the story told by our secular culture, which says that children are an obstacle to women’s achievement.
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Answering the Nudges of God with St. Rose Venerini and St. Ann Elizabeth Seton
| If we knew God’s plan for our lives ahead of time, we may feel too scared or overwhelmed to trust Him. But we have the example of St. Rose Venerini and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton to show us how to give God one faithful “yes” at a time.
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The ‘Secret’ of the Saints: Servant of God Takashi Nagai and Mother Seton
| When faced with adversity, saints don’t aim for heroism. They have only one goal: to follow and be transformed by Jesus. This is the radical way of holiness as gift that we see in the lives of Elizabeth Seton and the Nagasaki mystic Takashi Nagai.
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The Greatest Idea of Saint Athanasius and Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
| What attracted Mother Seton to the Catholic Church was the closeness of Christ, from the intimate scenes of the nativity, to His presence in the Eucharist. Like the great saint Athanasius, she proclaimed the truth of the Incarnation to all—“God is so infinitely present to us that he is in every part of our life and being.”
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The Eucharistic Fervor of St. Catherine of Siena and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
| From our modern perspective, how St. Catherine of Siena and Mother Seton went to extremes for the sake of the Eucharist can seem absurd. But their devotion to the real presence of Christ was as essential to their lives as breathing is to ours.
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Through Mary and Joseph to God Alone: St. Louis de Montfort and Mother Seton
| Louis de Montfort and Elizabeth Ann Seton were ahead of their times in showing how true devotion to our Blessed Mother will always lead us to her son.
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Saint Gianna and Mother Seton Teach Us That Love Requires Sacrifice
| In their lives St. Gianna Beretta Molla and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton witnessed to the truth that love and sacrifice are inherently linked, like the sun and the light.
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St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the Lightness of Divine Mercy
| For humans, finding a balance between justice and mercy is always difficult. But St. Elizabeth Ann Seton understood that God’s grace transcends earthly limits, and allows mercy to fall lightly from heaven on our hearts and minds.
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Facing Our Battles With Saint George and Mother Seton
| Saint George was a man who abandoned one army for another. He gave up the rank of tribune to enlist as a soldier for Christ. Like Saint George, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton shows us how to face our spiritual battles, confident in Christ’s victory on the cross.
Seton & Culture View All →
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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.