St. Elizabeth Ann Seton | January 4

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Feast Day: January 4 Patron Saint: Catholic schools

The patron saint of Catholic schools, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (August 28, 1774 – January 4, 1821) was born in New York City to a prominent family of the Episcopal faith. When she turned 19, she married a wealthy businessman with whom she had five children. He later died of tuberculosis in 1803, leaving her a young widow. After discovering the Catholic faith in Italy, where her husband had died, she returned to New York and converted to Catholicism in 1805.

After several years struggling as a single mother, Elizabeth moved in 1809 to Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, the first community for religious women established in the United States. She also began St. Joseph’s Academy and Free School, which started a chain reaction of Catholic-based education in the United States that continues today.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was canonized September 14, 1975 in St. Peter’s Square by Pope Paul VI and was the first citizen born in the United States to be given the title of “saint.”