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
Does Someone You Love Need Prayers?
Enroll them in the Seton Shrine’s Annual Mass Enrollment Society.
They will be remembered in all our regular Masses for an entire year, and their names will be written in the Book of Prayer at Mother Seton’s altar. And with your offering you’ll receive a beautiful Mass card of your choice.
Easter Novena of Masses 2023
Click Below to Request Your Novena Mass Enrollment Cards
Give the gift of prayer this Easter. Send us the names of your loved ones you would like to enroll and they will be remembered in this series of Easter Masses.What's Coming Up View Full Calendar →
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Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross will be prayed every Friday during Lent following the 1:30pm Mass.
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“The Disturbing Demands of Charity” Retreat
Join Fr. Aidan Rooney, CM at the upcoming half day retreat.
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College Choir Festival
Four choirs will be performing a free concert at the Seton Shrine on April 1st at 7pm.
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Holy Week Schedule
Don't miss any of the liturgies at the Seton Shrine during Holy Week.
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Mother's Day Virtual Book Club
This spring the book club pick is, "Friendship of My Soul." Register today!
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Frederick Flute Choir Spring Concert
Join the Frederick Flute Choir Spring Concert at the Seton Shrine on Saturday, April 29th at 7pm.
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Academy Alive
This Living History program draws hundreds of students from around the area for this incredible immersive field trip!
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Wednesday Evening Extended Hours
The Shrine is open until 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings!
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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 →
Seton Shrine’s Book Club Fosters Friendships in Heaven and on Earth
A moving story from the Seton Shrine about a mother, a sister, a child, and a book club
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A Powerful Confession Experience at the Seton Shrine
Msgr. Charles M. Mangan shares his story
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Press Release: Seton Shrine Celebrates Mother Seton's Feast Day
A new year; a new museum
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Couple Credits Intercession of ‘Spiritual Friends’ Seton and McGivney with Healing
A life threatening situation with a happy ending
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Latest Reflections View All →
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The Annunciation: Saying Yes to God in Hard Times With Mother Seton
| A few weeks after her conversion, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton celebrated the Annunciation by receiving Holy Communion for the first time. Thereafter, even in moments of poverty, loss and death, Elizabeth would follow Mary’s example with grace, courage, and a mission to serve others.
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St. Oscar Romero, Mother Seton, and the Works of Mercy
| In their radical commitment to doing the will of God, St. Oscar Romero and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton gave their lives to serving the poor and marginalized of the earth.
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Embracing the Cross with Saint Lea and Mother Seton
| Saint Lea and Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton trusted that the reality of eternity was hidden within the crosses they faced in their lives.
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St. Joseph and Mother Seton: The Vocations of Spouse and Worker
| St. Joseph and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton teach us that God won’t make troubles go away, but he will protect us in the midst of them. They both found strength by responding to God’s call, even when it meant leaving everything behind.
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Saint Patrick’s Day and Mother Seton’s Heart for the Irish
| From the hardscrabble immigrants she worshiped with and whose piety she learned from, to the Irish clergy and bishops with whom she worked to build her religious community, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton always had a heart for the Irish.
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Saint Matilda and Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton: Two Widows Who Show Us The Power of Trusting in God
| When St. Matilda of Ringelheim and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton were widowed early, they wasted no time despairing, and instead focused on God’s will for their lives. Their legacies speak to the importance of trusting in God to do great things with us and through us, regardless of our circumstances.
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Embracing God Through Hard Times with St. Seraphina and Mother Seton
| As we journey through Lent, we can look to St. Seraphina and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton to strengthen our desire to follow God’s will for our lives. God was their all. Whatever the circumstances, they turned themselves over to Him, uniting all their sufferings to Christ.
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St. John Ogilvie and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton: Heroic Witnesses to Christ’s Church
| John Ogilvie and Mother Seton were courageous saints of Scottish heritage. Each in their own way, they witnessed to Christ in their native lands in the face of hostility to the Catholic Church.
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Two Remarkable Women, One Path: St. Frances of Rome and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
| Frances of Rome and Elizabeth Ann Seton were very different women who took similar paths to sainthood. They each received the grace to found religious communities, by praying without ceasing, and trusting in God’s plan for their lives, no matter the circumstances they encountered.
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Saint John of God, Mother Seton, and the Extraordinary Gift of Being Faithful in Ordinary Things
| Saint John of God and Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton show us that not all sacrifices have to be big and dramatic to be holy. Extraordinary sacrifice can be found in the ordinary events of life.
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Seeking Peace with Saint Colette and Mother Seton
| St. Colette and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton were great organizers of religious communities who found peace in the presence of God, no matter the trials they suffered or the challenges they faced.
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Letting Go and Trusting God With Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
| We say the words “Thy will be done” countless times, but do we really mean them? St. Elizabeth Ann Seton shows us how we can grow into our prayers – even the tough ones – by opening ourselves to God’s love, and learning to trust Him completely.
Seton & Culture View All →
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Translators of the Holy Spirit: Elizabeth Seton and Les Murray
| The saint and the poet lived and wrote to communicate God’s glory and intimacy with humankind.
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Children of the Church: Elizabeth Seton, Sofia Cavalletti and Gianna Gobbi
| Their boundless capacity for love, friendship and wonder deepened our understanding of the spirituality of children forever.
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In Praise of Holy Women
| Elizabeth Ann Seton was twenty-years old when the Blessed Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne were executed during the French Revolution. A century and a half later Francois Poulenc would tell the world their story in his sublime opera, Dialogues des Carmelites.
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Caring for the Poor: Frank Capra and Elizabeth Seton
| The mid-twentieth century immigrant film director and the early-nineteenth century saint born into Manhattan’s elite shared a deep concern for society’s poor and outcasts that was grounded in their Catholic faith.
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Georges Bernanos, Elizabeth Seton, and the Revelation of Hell
| The French Catholic writer and the American saint each knew that God’s light shines brightest in the deepest darkness.
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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.
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.