Catholic Educator And Saint

A Charitable Woman.

Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton is well known today as the first Roman Catholic saint born in the United States. Her pioneering career in Catholic education and her role in founding the Sisters of Charity, as well as her own spiritual life, are the achievements behind this singular honor. Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born in New York City on 25 January 1774. Bayley's mother died soon after, and she was raised by her father, Richard Bayley, a prominent physician and later the first professor of anatomy at Columbia College. Bayley gave his daughter a broader education than most early American girls received, one that encouraged a sense of moral responsibility toward society. In 1794 she married William Seton, a businessman, and began a family that would eventually include five children. Despite her domestic duties, her earlier education prompted Seton...