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.
What's Coming Up View Full Calendar →
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Virtual Book Club
This month's read: "Nothing Short of a Miracle: God’s Healing Power in Modern Saints."
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Corpus Christi Procession
The annual Corpus Christi Procession will start at St. Joseph's Catholic Church at around 11:30am and will process down Main Street to the Seton Shrine.
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Divine Mercy Retreat
Learn more about this upcoming full day retreat here at the Seton Shrine.
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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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Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Mother Seton – As a Mother
Every saint had a mother, but Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s own motherhood might surprise you…
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Young Interpreters Brings History to Life
A look at the Junior History Interpreter Program
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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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Through the Lens of the Cross: Saint Joan of Arc and Mother Seton
| Saint Joan of Arc and Mother Seton are two fiery souls with one shared devotion to Christ. Both unwilling to back down, they each offered all “in the ambit of that one ‘everlasting’ sign, the cross.”
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Four Reasons Paul VI was the Perfect Pope to Canonize Elizabeth Ann Seton
| When Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was canonized in 1975, it was Pope Paul VI who declared to the world her sainthood. 43 years later, Paul VI was canonized a saint, joining Mother Seton in inspiring the world to live bold and authentic Catholic lives.
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On the Winds of Pentecost with Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
| At Pentecost, we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church through imagery of divine wind and fire. For Mother Seton—and for Catholics today—it’s within the storms and wreckage of life that grace is encountered, and new paths are revealed.
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Saint Philip Neri and Mother Seton: Feathers on the Breath of God
| Both St. Philip Neri and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton joyfully allowed the winds of the Holy Spirit to lead them wherever He desired. They each followed the path set for them by God, until they reached their crowning glory in Heaven with Him forever.
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St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi and Mother Seton Show Us That Everyone Can Be a Saint
| The lives of St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton remind us that no matter how ordinary or extraordinary our lives might be, there isn’t only one way to please God.
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Living in Christ’s Wounds with Saint Rita of Cascia and Mother Seton
| Saint Rita of Cascia and Mother Seton both experienced tragedy and loss in their lives. Each saint found salvation in God’s love by uniting their suffering to the wounds of Christ.
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Witnesses to the Freedom of Christ: Mother Seton and St. Cristóbal and Companions
| All in their own ways, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Cristóbal and Companions were witnesses to the religious freedom that flows from the Cross ofChrist.
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The Ascension: What Mother Seton Found in the Sky
| What does the Ascension of the Lord mean for the world and for our own lives? The answer can be found in the faith journey of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who kept her gaze firmly fixed on Jesus, through time and eternity.
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St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and Devotion to the Scapular of St. Simon Stock
| St. Simon Stock’s brown scapular was popular in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s time, a sacramental bestowed by our Blessed Mother that reminds us to always look to Jesus and offer him our lives.
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Getting Back to Basics with St. Isidore the Farmer and Mother Seton
| Those who have left large cities in search of a simpler life can be inspired by St. Isidore the Farmer and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Their compassion for the poor was no doubt nurtured by their closeness to God in the natural beauty and simple work of rural living.
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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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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.
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.