Fifty years ago, on September 14, 1975, Pope Paul VI proclaimed Elizabeth Ann Seton a saint — the first native-born American to be canonized. For American Catholics, it was a moment of pride and recognition: one of our own, a woman shaped by the struggles and hopes of this young nation, was formally declared a model of holiness for the universal Church.
As we mark the golden anniversary of her canonization this September at the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, we are reminded of the enduring relevance of Mother Seton’s story — a uniquely American story. She grew up in a prominent Episcopalian family in New York, where she received an excellent education and at nineteen married William Seton, the love of her life. In the span of just seven years, she became the mother of five children. Surrounded by friends such as Alexander Hamilton and his wife Eliza, she enjoyed an active social life. The Setons were prosperous, and Elizabeth even founded a society to aid poor widows and orphans.
Yet alongside these joys came many crosses. Elizabeth lost her mother at the age of four. Soon after her marriage, her father-in-law died, leaving her and William responsible for his six younger siblings. Financial hardship struck, leading to bankruptcy, and was followed by the illness and early death of her beloved husband.
Through every trial, Elizabeth sought God and ultimately found Him in the Catholic Church, especially in the Eucharist and the confessional. Her conversion brought social rejection at a time when she was most vulnerable as a poor widow. Yet she persevered with faith and courage — raising her family, founding the first American community of religious sisters, opening a pioneering Catholic girls’ school, and leaving a legacy that marked the arrival of American Catholicism.
Her life was, in many ways, ordinary. She nursed her children through illness, grieved her husband’s death, worried about providing for her family. And yet, through those ordinary circumstances, she lived an extraordinary faith — throughout her life she believed that God could be sought and found in this life and the next Her journey — and all that it entailed — makes her relatable to the people today who seek her intercession in their daily lives. She is proof that holiness is not reserved for a select few but is within reach of us all.
A Pathway for All
This truth lies at the heart of what the Church calls the Universal Call to Holiness. In the Papal Bull that declared Mother Seton a saint, Pope Paul VI referenced this call to holiness that was defined in Lumen Gentium.
“The Lord Jesus, divine teacher and model of all perfection, preached holiness of life (of which he is the author and maker) to each and every one of his disciples without distinction: You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5, 48) ... . It is therefore quite clear that all Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love “
Pope Benedict XVI echoed this during a General Audience in 2011:
“We are all called to holiness: it is the very measure of Christian living.”
Holiness, in other words, is not an impossible standard — it is the daily response of love in the ordinary tasks of life. That is why Mother Seton’s canonization 50 years ago was not only historic; it was a deeply personal reminder that the saints are not distant figures but fellow travelers showing us the way.
An American Saint and an American Pope
It is also fitting that this golden anniversary coincides with another historic moment in the historic of the Catholic Church in the United States: The election of the first American pope, Leo XIV. Just as Elizabeth Ann Seton embodied the universality of the faith in her own time, Pope Leo now leads the Church with an American voice at a global moment. Together, they remind us that holiness transcends borders, backgrounds, and circumstances.
In his first homily after his election to the papacy, Pope Leo urged us to venture forth without fear on the path to holiness.
"Even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent — settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure,” he said.
"These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied. Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed.”
This is the spirit of Elizabeth Ann Seton.
In honoring Mother Seton, we are not only remembering a remarkable woman of the past. We are acknowledging the truth she embodied — that sainthood is not an abstract ideal but a lived possibility for every Christian. The mother struggling to raise children faithfully, the teacher forming young minds, the nurse caring for the sick, the young person seeking purpose — all are called to holiness, here and now, in the very circumstances of their lives.
Fifty years ago, Pope Paul VI called Elizabeth Ann Seton “a saint for our times.” Half a century later, her witness is perhaps more necessary than ever. In a world fractured by sin and division, distracted by noise, and weary from uncertainty, her life tells us what holiness looks like: a firm resolve to seek and love God in the people and circumstances of everyday life, a quiet, steadfast trust in God’s providential care in this life and into the next, a firm belief in the sacramental life of the church, and finally a life lived out in service to others especially those less fortunate.
As we celebrate this Jubilee, we remember her not simply as the first American saint but as a companion on the journey, one who shows us that holiness is not beyond our reach. It is, as the Church teaches, our universal calling. And like Mother Seton, we too can answer it.
Rob Judge is the executive director of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
