Elisabeth Anna Bayley Seton

Statue of Elisabeth Anna Bayley Seton in Saint Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx

Elisabeth Anna Bayley Seton (born August 28, 1774 in New York City , † January 4, 1821 in Emmitsburg , Maryland ) is the founder of the Sisters of Charity and the first saint to be born in the United States .

Life

Elisabeth Anna Bayley was the daughter of Dr. Richard Bayley († 1801), a well-known New York doctor, and his wife Catherine Charlton († 1777). She grew up as a member of the Episcopal Church , a branch of the Anglican Church . On January 25, 1794, at the age of 19, she married the wealthy ship merchant William Magee Seton. The couple had five children together.

William ran into financial distress in the following years. When he fell ill with tuberculosis and died in December 1803, he left behind his young, destitute wife with five children.

Elisabeth then converted to Catholicism and became a teacher in order to give her children a suitable education. With the vision that all children, both boys and girls, have the right to free education, Elisabeth eventually founded her first Catholic school in Baltimore .

In March 1809, with the support of Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore, she founded the Sisters of Charity , a sisterhood modeled on the Rule of Saint Vincent de Paul . She presided over the community as Superior General for almost ten years , with a special love for people in need. She died of tuberculosis on January 4, 1821, at the age of 47.

Her beatification took place in 1963 by Pope John XXIII. , on September 14, 1975 she was appointed by Pope Paul VI. canonized . Her feast day is January 4th .

In 2015 an asteroid was named after her: (166944) Seton .

literature

• Ronny Baier:  Seton, Elizabeth Ann Bayley. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 21, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, ISBN 3-88309-110-3 , Sp. 1435-1438.

Web links

Commons : Elisabeth Anna Bayley Seton  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Sisters of Charity