Elizabeth Ann Seton and the Sisters of Charity
Elizabeth Anne Seton was born on August 28, 1774 in New York City. Seton was raised in the Episcopal Church, and her parents were well recognized in the New York area. At age 19, Elizabeth married William Seton. The couple had five children together. Seton helped to organize a group of prominent women in the community to complete service. Shortly after the beginning of the 19th century, Seton and her husband became bankrupt, and William fell ill and died. It was at this time that Seton was introduced to Catholicism. Seton converted to Catholicism and opened a school for young women in order to support her family. In 1809, Seton partnered with the Sulpician Fathers to open Saint Joseph’s Academy and Free School in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The school’s focus was the education of Catholic girls. On July 31, 1809, Elizabeth Ann Seton established the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph in Emmitsburg. The order dedicated itself to the care of the children of the poor. Although it was the first congregation of religious sisters to be founded in the United States, the order relied heavily on Irish nuns. The Sisters of Charity brought Irish nuns from Maryland (some of whom belonged to the Sisters of Mercy as well as the Irish Sisters of Charity) into the order. Thus, the early Irish members greatly shaped the vision of the Sisters of Charity with their Irish beliefs and values. Seton died on January 4, 1821. She was declared Venerable on December 18, 1959, beatified on March 17, 1963, and canonized on September 14, 1975. She is the first native born American to be canonized.
The Sisters of Charity have orders all across the United States. In 1928, a Sister of Charity foreign mission was established in Wuchange, China. The order left China in 1949 during Communist takeover. In the mid-1950s, the sisters ran an orphanage in Rome. The Sisters also have worked in Peru and Africa. They are dedicated to providing opportunities to the underprivileged, such as education and shelter. The women take part in the ministries of teaching, health care, social work, parish ministry, and administrative fields. In Cincinnati, 550 members exist currently.
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