Elizabeth Ann Seton – America’s First Saint

Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (1774-1821) was canonized as America’s first native-born saint in 1975.  As part of the mission of the Archives of University of Notre Dame to collect and maintain records that document the life of the Catholic Church and her people as lived in the American context, the University Archives holds a number of collections containing material regarding Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton.  Most notably are the Robert Seton family papers.  Robert Seton, grandson of St. Elizabeth, was the titular archbishop of Heliopolis, founder of the American Sisters of Charity, and the founder of Seton Hall University.

Engraving of Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton around the age of 22, after a 1796 portrait


Letter from Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton to her daughter Anna, 12/31/1798


Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton’s prayer book with handwritten notes, 1812


Advertisement for the Masses in celebration of the canonization of Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton at the Novitiate Chapel of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy in LeRoy, New York, 1975.