Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton led a remarkable life and became the first native-born American to be canonized a saint in the Catholic Church. The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton is leading a year-long national celebration of the 50th anniversary of her canonization, which occurred on Sept. 14, 1975.
The events began on Mother Seton’s Feast Day, Jan. 4, with the opening of a new special anniversary exhibit devoted to her canonization in the Seton Shrine’s museum and a mass celebrated by Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori. Four hundred thirty-eight worshipers attended the feast day mass.
The new exhibit, named “One of Us — The Making of an American Saint,” takes up two full rooms and tells the backstory of her canonization, one of the monumental days in the American Catholic Church during the 20th century. The exhibit transports visitors to 1975, giving them an understanding of the magnitude of Mother Seton’s influence then and her relevance today as a saint people can relate to in profound ways. Visitors will see artifacts, including the canonization decree from Pope Paul VI, now St. Paul VI, and peruse personal scrapbooks of those who attended the proceedings in Rome or watched them in Emmitsburg.
An original mural by Frederick, Md., artist Ellen Byrne depicts Mother Seton’s long road to sainthood, with a separate wall dedicated to information about other Americans in various stages of the canonization process. A fun replica of a 1975 living room rounds out the exhibit.
“One of Us” will be open to the public throughout 2025.
Photo|Left to right: Rob Judge, Executive Director, Seton Shrine; Barbara Bozzuto, member of the National Leaders Council; Sister Teresa George, D.C., Visitatrix, Daughters of Charity Province of St. Louise; Beau Higginbotham, CEO, Ascension Saint Agnes; Archbishop William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore
Photo credit | Mike Miller Photography