St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was born in New York in 1774 to an Episcopal family. At the age of three, she lost her mother.

Her father soon remarried, but, while he loved his daughter, he was a workaholic and most likely was unfaithful to Elizabeth’s stepmother. The unhappiness of the marriage made it difficult for Elizabeth’s stepmother to be a nurturing mother to Elizabeth, and also led her to become addicted to opium. Unfortunately, Elizabeth’s childhood was not happy, and at one point, she contemplated suicide. 

At the age of 19, Elizabeth married William Seton. He was a wealthy businessman, and they had five children together. Elizabeth found a brief moment of happiness in her marriage, before several hard years came. 

Soon, William’s father died, which put the couple in charge of William’s seven brothers and sisters and the family’s business. The business soon failed, forcing William to file for bankruptcy.

The stress of this time caused William’s health to go downhill. In a last-ditch effort to save his life, they sailed for the warmer climate of Italy. Unfortunately, William died there, leaving Elizabeth a young widow. 

While she was in Italy, Elizabeth discovered the Catholic faith. One thing that especially drew her to the faith was the Catholic devotion to Mary, because she had lost her mother at such a young age and had not had a mother figure in her stepmother. She asked for Mary’s guidance on her conversion journey, which led to her becoming Catholic two years later. 

Elizabeth faced a couple of years of persecution due to her newfound faith. Eventually, she moved to Maryland and founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, the first religious women community established in the US. Her work planted the seeds for Catholic school in the US. Today, her congregation works in many places to serve the poor and provide education.

Elizabeth’s early trials-from a troubled family to widowhood-were the ways God drew her heart to him in the Catholic faith. They also taught her how to be detached from this world so she could fully embrace God’s will. All of this God used to help Elizabeth found a religious order that continues to have a great impact hundreds of years later. Elizabeth is another example of how God uses everything- even our trials and trauma- to complete his mission for us.

To learn more about other saints who have faced trauma, please visit the Stories of Hope page.