(50 for 50 series) As the daughter of a president, Luci Baines Johnson’s life has been intertwined with American history, so she was especially attuned to the canonization of Elizabeth Ann Seton as the first native-born American Catholic saint in 1975.
“Getting your own American-born saint was a big deal,” she said in an interview in 2021. “It was an exciting thing, especially when you thought about all of the discrimination that had existed in the United States when John Fitzgerald Kennedy ran for the presidency. It’s hard to measure what that meant to so many young women who were members of the Catholic Church or interested in the Catholic Church.”
Luci Baines Johnson was first introduced to Mother Seton and her national Shrine in Emmitsburg when as a teenager, she dated a young man at nearby Mount St. Mary’s University. In many ways, her life would track that of the saint she came to revere and then serve as the chair of the Shrine’s National Leader’s Council.
“The question for me is not why I identify with Elizabeth Ann Seton, but how on earth could I not?” she says. “She resonates with me.”
Like Mother Seton, Johnson is a Catholic convert, wife, and mother. She’s a successful businesswoman and philanthropist. Along the way, she has experienced triumph and tragedy, joy, and heartbreak – similar to some degree to the real-life experiences of Seton. Through it all, she says she has relied on her deep faith and a devotion to the saint.
“We all want somebody to identify with,” Johnson says. “We all want to have our religion have a more personal connection for us.”
Over the years, Johnson developed close relationships with the Sisters and Daughters of Charity, who trace their lineage back to Seton and remain committed to serving those in need.
“Mother Seton tried very hard to help us,” Johnson says. “I think, really, what’s especially important is for us to look at how important she felt that people on the margins were and how we need to love them.
“I’m just looking to do my part to help, and Mother Seton is a great help.”
(This is adapted from a story posted in 2021. Read the original story here: https://setonshrine.org/the-intertwined-lives-of-the-presidents-daughter-and-st-elizabeth-ann-seton/)
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.
Pictured above: Luci with her husband Ian and Visitatrix Sister Teresa George, D.C