Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (1774-1821) was the first native born citizen of the United States to be canonised by the Roman Catholic Church. She established the first Catholic school in the United States at Emmitsburg, Maryland and founded there the religious congregation the Sisters of Charity.

Elizabeth Ann Bayley was the daughter of a socially prominent New York family. Elizabeth’s father re-married after the death of Elizabeth’s mother Catherine in 1777 and Elizabeth’s stepmother Charlotte Amelia Barclay was active in the social action of the Church and would take young Elizabeth with her on her rounds visiting the poor in their homes and distributing needed items. After her father’s second marriage ended in separation due to marital conflict Elizabeth experienced a period of darkness reflected in her later journals. On 25 January, 1794, aged 19 Elizabeth married William Magee Seton, a wealthy businessman in the import trade. Socially prominent in New York the Setons belonged to the fashionable Trinity Episcopal Church. Elizabeth was active in nursing the sick and dying among family, friends and needy neighbours and was a founder member of The Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children. Elizabeth’s husband, William, died on 27 December, 1803, having suffered both from bankruptcy and from tuberculosis in the preceding years. Elizabeth was introduced to Roman Catholicism by her late husband’s business partner who had provided support to Elizabeth and her sister. On 14 March, 1805 Elizabeth was received into the Roman Catholic Church at St Peter’s Catholic Church the only catholic Church in the city of New York at that time. After struggling through difficult and trying years on 31 July, 1809, Elizabeth established a religious community in Emmitsburg, Maryland, initially called the Sisters of Charity of St Joseph and their first school was the start of the Catholic parochial school system in the United States. From that point on Elizabeth became known as ‘Mother Seton. The remainder of her life was spent in leading and developing the new congregation. Today,six separate religious congregations trace their roots to the Sisters of Charity.