4 January 2022
Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious
Today we recognize the work of a Elizabeth Ann Seaton (1774-1821), the founder of the first parochial school in the United States. Her life makes for an interesting story: the death of her mother at an early age, constant moving, a life of advantage in higher social circles, then economic ruin and the death of her husband. She could have chosen despair, a life of ease and luxury but her conversion to Roman Catholicism and the becoming a foundress of a religious congregation perhaps surprised her most of all. Elizabeth Ann Seaton set the tone for so many women of faith who looked at the problems of society and made a choice that took them into health care, education, or both. When immigrants, came daily by the thousands, and not without criticism, religious women like Elizabeth Ann Seaton provided health care and education. Historians recognize that it was the sacrifice of these women that moved these immigrants into a body of literate middle-class workers. The debt owed to these religious women, such as Elizabeth Ann Seaton, is enormous, and it is time that more people recognize this achievement and identify the benefits Catholic education has given this nation.