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Elizabeth Ann Seton
first native-born American saint of the Roman Catholic Church (1774-1821)
Feast: 4 January (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Elizabeth Ann Seton was born in New York on 28 August 1774. She was received into the Catholic Church at St Peter's Church in Manhattan on 14 March 1805.
She founded the Sisters of Charity, the first religious congregation of women in the United States, and died on 4 January 1821. She was the first native-born American saint.
The miracles
A religious sister — about 1934
A nun suffering from cancer of the pancreas recovered after prayers for Mother Seton's intercession.
Ann Theresa O'Neill — February–April 1952
A four-year-old girl was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. A Sister of Charity gave her mother prayers for Mother Seton's intercession, and a cloth that had touched Mother Seton's remains was pinned to the child's gown. During a novena she began to improve, and she left hospital on 27 April 1952. Her bone marrow tests stayed normal in the years that followed.
A man with encephalitis — 1963
A man in a coma and dying from encephalitis brought on by meningitis recovered after prayers for Blessed Elizabeth Ann's intercession.
The two cures for her beatification were approved in 1961. The sources checked describe the 1963 encephalitis cure as the third miracle, but do not name the man or say where he lived.
Why that counted as sanctity
On 18 December 1959 the Church declared that this life showed the Christian virtues to a heroic degree, and gave the title Venerable. The case of a religious sister was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle, opening the way to beatification. Beatification followed on 17 March 1963 by John XXIII. The case of a man with encephalitis was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle, opening the way to canonisation. Canonisation followed on 14 September 1975 by Paul VI.
- Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati - the canonisation of Elizabeth Seton
- Journal article (PMC) - The approved miracle of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
- Wikipedia - Elizabeth Ann Seton
- Wikidata Q459032 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Elizabeth Ann Seton (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.