By Andrew Fowler<\/p>\n
EMMITSBURG, Md. _ In the Book of Tobit, Anna is in agony. Her son, Tobiah, has been sent to Media to retrieve funds for his ailing and now blind father, Tobit. She is convinced, however, that Tobiah is dead; and in her grief, she weeps aloud and keeps watch at the road, waiting for his return (Tobit 10:7).<\/p>\n
This striking image of a mother\u2019s pain deeply impacted Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native-born American to be canonized, so much so that her Bible, gifted to her by friend Antonio Filicchi after entering the Catholic Church in 1805, still retains her pen\u2019s underlining of \u201cher son coming\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Bible stayed close to her as the widow and mother moved from New York and eventually settled in Emmitsburg, Md., where she founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph\u2019s, the first community for religious women to be founded in the United States, as well as one of the first Catholic schools in America<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this period when she had this Bible, Mother Seton was desperate to see her son William come back from overseas,\u201d where he was serving as a Naval officer, said Tony DiIulio, programs director at The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Md. \u201cShe undoubtedly saw herself in Anna.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bible shows a great love for the Word of God through many underlined passages and occasional annotations, particularly in the Psalms and \u00a0a striking interest in both the Old and New Testament.<\/p>\n
And now, through early November this relic will be on public display in the Shrine\u2019s new $4 million museum, which is attached to the Basilica where Mother Seton is entombed. The Bible was loaned to the museum by the University of Notre Dame\u2019s Hesburgh Library.<\/p>\n
The priceless Bible offers pilgrims and researchers unique and personal insights into how one of the most important figures in the history of the American Church read Scripture, revealing the dramatic effect that certain passages had on her and the timelessness of its drama.<\/p>\n
For DiIulio, Mother Seton\u2019s Bible is a great means to \u201cintroduce people to God and get them closer to God.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was ahead of her time with loving Scripture, reading Scripture and really making it her own,\u201d he said. \u201cShe was inspired by it in a way that the Church challenges each of us to be inspired.\u201d<\/p>\n
An Avid Reader<\/strong><\/p>\n There are actually two Bibles in existence with Mother Seton\u2019s annotations. \u00a0One is owned by Notre Dame and now at the Shrine. The other \u00a0is currently housed at the Old Cathedral Library in Vincennes, Ind., presented by the Rev. Simon Gabriel Brut\u00e9, SS: a French Sulpician missionary priest, friend of Mother Seton, and eventual bishop<\/a> of the Diocese of Vincennes (1834-39).. Both were published by Matthew Carey \u2014 an Irish immigrant to Philadelphia, Pa., who produced the first<\/a> Catholic Bible in the United States. The Notre Dame Bible \u2014 the one temporarily displayed at the Shrine \u2014 is a second printing.<\/p>\n Before her conversion to Catholicism on March 14, 1805, Mother Seton \u201cread<\/a> the bible avidly\u201d and often with \u201cpen in hand,\u201d according to Elizabeth Bayley Seton: Collected Writings, Volume IIIb<\/em>. At the time she received the Bible now on display, she was a \u201cwidow trying to determine a future course for herself and her children,\u201d as the Volume states. It would take her several more difficult years<\/a> to discover her religious vocation until, in 1809, she founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph\u2019s.<\/p>\n In this Bible, she marked more than fifty Psalms and extensively annotated the Old Testament. But one word that appears in her handwriting often in the margins is \u201ceternity,\u201d as it did after this passage, Genesis 24:67: \u201cWho brought her into the tent of Sara his mother, and took her to wife: and he loved her so much, that it moderated the sorrow which was occasioned by his mother\u2019s death.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe get out the magnifying glass for the students to look at because they\u2019re not used to cursive, but it\u2019s incredible her tiny, beautiful handwriting,\u201d said Jean McManus, Librarian for Catholic Studies and Archives Engagement at the University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Library.<\/p>\n McManus, who handled the delivery of the Bible to the Shrine, added that the markings are \u201cevocative of her inner spiritual life.\u201d<\/p>\n Mother Seton focused<\/a> on several themes when underlining passages: \u201cPeace\u201d and \u201cpeaceably\u201d are underlined 44 times; \u201cbless,\u201d \u201cblessed\u201d and \u201cblessing\u201d 42 times; \u201cweep,\u201d \u201cwept,\u201d \u201cweeping\u201d and \u201ctears\u201d 27 times; \u201cexceeding\u201d and \u201cexceedingly\u201d 10 times; and \u201csilence\u201d and \u201csilent\u201d 10 times, according to the Volume.<\/p>\n Additionally, Mother Seton wrote little notes, remarking on Scripture\u2019s wonder like commentating \u201cOh how beautiful\u201d after Exodus 31:6 (when God has \u201cput wisdom in the heart of every skillful man, that they may make all things which I have commanded thee\u201d.)<\/p>\n The fact the Bibles survived is a testament to not only Brut\u00e9 and her grandson, Robert \u2014 who gifted the edition on display to Notre Dame \u2014 but also Prof. James Edwards, an archivist and librarian at the university in the late 19th century. His preservation work laid the foundation for the Hesburgh Library\u2019s rare book collection, of which Mother Seton\u2019s Bible has been studied by countless students for nearly 150 years.<\/p>\n \u201c[Edwards] had a vision to collect materials about American Catholicism from all over the country,\u201d McManus said. \u201cHe did that by a letter campaign, connecting with bishops and dioceses and other prominent Catholics, and essentially solicited their collections to come to Notre Dame.\u201d<\/p>\n An Eye to Eternity<\/strong><\/p>\n DiIulio said he hoped to display this Bible at the Seton Shrine from \u201cday one,\u201d when he became the Shrine\u2019s director of programs in 2015. However, prior to the new museum and visitor center\u2019s opening last September, the Shrine did not have the facility to properly house the relic.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of the state-of-the-art environmental controls that we\u2019ve been able to build out, we were able to do things like displaying the Bible, and this inspired the confidence of a place like Notre Dame, a world-class institution, to loan us something of priceless value,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The conversation between the Shrine and Notre Dame began in 2022, with the latter agreeing to loan the relic to the Shrine after the Museum opened in September 2023. The Bible finally arrived in April, as the university\u2019s spring semester ended.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re so happy that we\u2019re able to make this loan happen and get closer to the Shrine, especially with the 50th anniversary of her canonization approaching next year,\u201d McManus said. When asked what she hopes pilgrims to the Shrine receive when viewing the displayed Bible, McManus emphasized a \u201cprofound sense of connection with Mother Seton\u201d and \u201cknowing how much it speaks to her relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n For the Shrine, the Bible is another avenue to invite people into Mother Seton\u2019s story, DiIulio said. The Shrine offers a wide range of activities, including its Junior History Interpreter program, in which volunteers \u2014 ages 8-16 \u2014 portray real 19th<\/sup>-century students of St. Joseph\u2019s School who share \u201ctheir\u201d lives and interact with guests.<\/p>\n \u201cWe invite visitors to see themselves in that story so that, hopefully, their faith grows and that they understand what God can do for them \u2014 and what He did for Mother Seton,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The Shrine is expected to receive thousands of visitors throughout the summer, particularly on June 6 when the Eastern pilgrimage of the National Eucharistic Revival<\/a> \u2014 a movement to re-catechize U.S. Catholics on Christ\u2019s real presence in the Eucharist \u2014 passes through Emmitsburg. One of the four pilgrimage trails is named in the saint\u2019s honor.<\/p>\n