By Jay Sorgi
(serie 50 por 50) When Roy Campbell was 27 years old, the Washington, D.C. native flew to the Vatican City to attend the canonization of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Little could he imagine that 32 years later, with Mother Seton’s gentle guidance, he would enter the priesthood at the age of 59. A decade later, he would become Bishop Roy Campbell, an auxiliary bishop in his hometown Archdiocese of Washington.
“Her intercession in my life was to make me open to hearing God,” Bishop Campbell said recently about his life journey.
“Mother Seton did play an important role, and not the one that maybe I thought it would be.”
Bishop Campbell said that after visiting the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, as a young adult, he found himself praying through Mother Seton for help with conflicts among family members.
“From an early time of knowing about her, what I knew was that she went through a lot to embrace the Catholic faith, realizing this was the faith that was handed on by Jesus to the apostles and to all of us,” he said.
“I prayed constantly for resolution of what was going on in my family.”
Eight years after that visit to the Seton Shrine, he made it a point to travel to Vatican City to be present on September 14, 1975 for her canonization as the first native-born American saint. Now, the Shrine is preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that momentous day in the history of the American Church.
“I still remember now Pope St. Paul VI saying, ‘Elizabeth Ann Seton is a saint,’” he shared. “I did not realize what 250,000 people in one place looked like until the time for Communion.”
Finding Christ on a Street in Baltimore
While that powerful experience and image planted powerful seeds within him, the understanding of his calling to the priesthood took a couple more decades.
“I was probably seven years old when I first thought about being a priest, but life gets in the way,” he said.
“It takes time to hear it, and I think that’s where she helped.”
Bishop Campbell graduated from Howard University in Washington with a degree in zoology but soon entered the banking field. God’s priestly pathway for Bishop Campbell opened in December 1996, while he was working in Baltimore.
“I passed by a man who was standing on the sidewalk and was asking for handouts,” he said. “I walked right past him and went down into the parking garage. Something said, ‘He really needs your help. Why don’t you go see what he needs?’
“What I think Mother Seton helped me to do is to ‘Do whatever He tells you.’ That’s what she did with her life. That’s what I remember when I think of her.”
Following her example, he offered the man a meal and some money.
“I was getting my wallet out and he said, ‘You’re a Christian, aren’t you?’” he said.
“That really struck me. All I could say was, ‘Well, I try to be.’ When I looked into his eyes, I saw Christ looking back at me. Shortly after, I realized that I would do that for Christ. That led me on the path.”
At first, Bishop Campbell believed the path led to the diaconate instead of the priesthood, so he entered that program in his late 40s.
But after four years, a retreat in 2003 led him to the recognition that God’s calling was even greater.
“I gave the Jesuit who was helping me in discernment all the reasons why this wasn’t something I should do. He kept debunking each reason and said, ‘Now what are you going to do?’ I said, ‘Well, I guess I’m going to go see the vocations director,’” Bishop Campbell said with a laugh.
He was ordained to the priesthood on May 26, 2007 by Cardinal Donald Wuerl in Washington. Almost 10 years later, Cardinal Wuerl ordained him as an auxiliary bishop after his appointment by Pope Francis.
‘The Fruits of Mother Seton’
Now, Bishop Campbell regularly takes groups to the Seton Shrine and shares Mother Seton’s impact on his life.
“I had gone up there so many times, I could give the tour myself,” he quipped. “People can see the fruits of Mother Seton. To me, it just constantly draws me back up there.”
Rob Judge, executive director of the Seton Shrine, said Bishop Campbell’s story was inspiring and shows the power of Mother Seton’s continuing intercessions in the lives of the faithful.
“Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s life showed how we can each find our way on the journey to sainthood,” Judge said. “With her help, Bishop Campbell found his path to the priesthood, and we are grateful for his friendship, leadership and inspiration.”
Bishop Campbell said that throughout his daily life, he still sees Mother Seton’s presence in many ways – everything from a picture of her on a table at his rectory, to the times at the Shrine when he sees the houses where she lived and worked, and in the Basilica at the Shrine where she is entombed.
“She interceded for me in my prayers to her,” he said. “Not in the way I expected, but she did. A lot of people go through a lot to witness their faith, and so she gives me the strength and grace to be able to see that in others as I see it in her.
“She’s just there.”
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.