By John Clark
(50 for 50 series) When my mother, Mary Kay Clark, took the helm of the fledgling Seton Home Study School in 1983, she quickly developed a great personal devotion to Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. Though my brothers and I prayed a litany of the saints every morning, I don’t think most of us had even heard of Mother Seton before that point; in fact, most Catholics had probably not heard her name. After all, Mother Seton had only been canonized eight years prior.
I don’t think my mom ever consciously thought to herself: “OK, I’m going to make it my mission to tell Catholic homeschooling families around the world about this great new saint.” Nevertheless, there is no doubt—as we stand on the shoulders of the year 2025 and look back on the past four decades—that is exactly what she has helped accomplish.
Since her first moment at Seton Home Study School, my mother’s unwavering goal has been to teach each and every subject through a Catholic lens. But in the early years, she faced a huge hurdle: it was impossible to locate all the necessary Catholic textbooks and workbooks for a K-12 program. Some of the largest Catholic academic publishers had gone out of business decades prior, which resulted in the fact that many Catholic schools were using non-Catholic or even anti-Catholic educational materials. So, my mom came to a rather quixotic decision: she would write her own.
Of course, in worldly terms, the notion of writing all these books was absurd. At that point, Seton operated out of an office that was less than one-hundred square feet in area. Seton’s budget was paltry, even by Catholic non-profit standards. The makeshift office of Seton Home Study School didn’t even own a copier. Nevertheless, in short order, she and her team at Seton began producing gorgeous textbooks, readers, and workbooks that gloriously illustrated the joy and beauty of the Catholic Faith.
And within Seton’s new books, a central character emerged: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. For instance, a page from Seton’s Handwriting Five book read: “Catholic history abounds in Emmitsburg. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, America’s first native-born saint, opened the nation’s first Catholic school here. Mount St. Mary’s Seminary housed Mother Seton’s sisters after their arrival. The shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, named a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II, contains her relics.” This is only one of countless references to Mother Seton throughout the K-12 curriculum.
For decades, my mom gathered the staff at noon every single workday to ask for Mother Seton’s intercession. And the walls of Seton are adorned with pictures of its patron saint. She has regularly counseled the students and their parents to ask for the saint’s intercession. Over the years, she has encouraged homeschooling families to make pilgrimages to the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Over 130,000 students have enrolled in Seton since those early days, and all of them know the name “Seton.” Of course, many more Catholics than that have come to know Elizabeth Ann Seton by recognizing the wonderful men and women who form the alumni of Seton Home Study School. Looking back at all these years, it is clear that Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton has prayerfully guided my mom and all the devoted staff at Seton to help Catholic families. On the 50th Anniversary of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s canonization, I’m very proud that my mom has helped her patron become a favorite household saint to thousands of families in America and across the world.
Happy Anniversary!
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.