by Bernardette Zappala, Ormond Beach FL
(50 for 50 series) My name is Mary Bernardette Johnson Zappala. My mother, Mary Isabel Cassidy Johnson, my aunt, Sr. Francis Maria Cassidy of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth in Convent Station NJ, and my uncle Father Joseph Cassidy were very involved in promoting the life of Elizabeth Seton, and one could say fully supported her canonization.
My husband and I were married in 1970 and had no children. Sunday, September 14, 1975, at mass I had a long conversation with Elizabeth. Quite boldly I told her, “My family has worked hard for you. Do you think you could do something for us?” Reading those words embarrasses me now. What cheek!
Nine months to the day, June 14, 1976, our daughter Sarah Elizabeth Mary Zappala was born. Both my aunt and my uncle were there for her christening, with Fr. Joseph presiding. March 4, 1978, our son Alfred Bernard Seton was born. He has used Seton as his name since college.
My brother’s family lives in Chantilly VA, and I drive from there up to see Sarah in New York each summer. I have had a number of opportunities to take the back road to Emmitsburg. I continue to chat with St. Elizabeth, sharing my life (but less boldly). I too became a teacher.
My mother, aunt, and uncle have passed. Please pray for them as well as my family.
PS — I almost forgot… something from my past. I recall, probably around my first communion in 1947, I received a gift which stayed with me for a number of years. It was a picture book of St Elizabeth’s life in black and white. Don’t know what happened to it, but I remember reading and rereading the pages a zillion times.
50 for 50 is a series of stories, quotes, clips, photos, and/or devotional statements from ordinary people to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the canonization of Elizabeth Ann Seton as the first native-born American saint.