Mother Seton Declared a Saint in Roman Catholic Church
Diocesan Press Service. September 15, 1975 [75319]
ROME, Italy -- Mother Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was declared by Pope Paul VI on September 14 the first United States-born saint in the Roman Catholic Church. Some 100, 000 people -- about 16,000 of whom had travelled to Rome from the U.S. -- heard the Pope say in his homily delivered in English, "Rejoice, we say to the great nation of the United States of America. Rejoice for your glorious daughter. Be proud of her."
Elizabeth Seton was a communicant of the Episcopal Church's Trinity Parish, whose building dominates the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street in New York City, before she became a Roman Catholic at the age of 31.
Representing the Episcopal Church and its Presiding Bishop, the Rt. Rev. John M. Allin, at the event, were the Rt. Rev. David K. Leighton, Bishop of the Diocese of Maryland; the Rt. Rev. J. Stuart Wetmore, Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of New York; and the Rev. Geoffrey R. Skrinar, rector of St. Andrew's Church, Staten Island, N.Y.
The Pope, in recognizing the presence of the delegation from the Episcopal Church, said that "it is a motive of hope and a presage of ever better ecumenical relations to note" their presence.
The invitation to send a delegation from the Episcopal Church came from the Most Rev. Joseph L. Bernardin, Archbishop of Cincinnati, and president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"We are deeply aware that Elizabeth Seton began her Christian life as a child of The Episcopal Church, " Archbishop Bernardin wrote to Bishop Allin, " and continued her membership in your Church until after the death of her husband and her decision to embrace the religious life of a nun. So our joy at her canonization would not be complete unless I shared with you our deep appreciation of The Episcopal Church and all it did to enrich and strengthen the life of one who, in time, became the source of so many blessings to us."
Mother Seaton, who will now be known as Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, was born on August 28, 1774, in New York City. She was baptized in St. Paul's Chapel, a part of Trinity Parish. She was married at Trinity in 1794 to William Magee Seton, a wealthy New York Merchant. They had five children before his death in 1803.
After she became a Roman Catholic in 1805, she worked within that Church for 16 years, until her death in 1821 at the age of 46. Often called the "mother of Catholic education, " she was also a pioneer in programs of social service and care for the sick. She established the first native American Catholic order, the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph's, in Emmitsburg, Md. "The apostolate of helping the poor and the running of parochial schools in America had this humble, poor, courageous, and glorious beginning," Pope Paul said in his address at her canonization.
A number of services in the U.S. were held on September 14 to mark St. Elizabeth Ann Seton's canonization, including a special eucharistic celebration at Trinity Parish. The Rev. Robert R. Parks, rector of Trinity, celebrated and the sermon was preached by Msgr. Myles Bourke, rector of Corpus Christi Church, New York City. Presiding Bishop Allin sent a message to be read at a dinner in Rome honoring the U.S. delegation, in which he expressed his "thanksgiving to God for the community and love growing between our two Churches. " He said that the participation of the Episcopal Church delegation " signifies the strong bond of baptism and faith in the Lord which makes us one in the Body of Christ despite our divisions."
"The presence of the representatives of the Episcopal Church at this event," he said, "and your gracious reception of them is a striking example of the power of Christian love and personal sanctity to overcome hostilities that appeared to be insurmountable barriers between us as recently as fifteen years ago. Only the Holy Spirit could bring about such a change of heart. "