Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton or “Mother Seton” (1774-1821) was the first native-born American to become a saint in the Roman Catholic Church.
Born into a wealthy Episcopalian family in New York City, Seton converted to Roman Catholicism after her husband died.
She founded the American Sisters of Charity, an order dedicated to helping the poor and teaching in parish schools.
At her canonization ceremony in 1975, Pope Paul VI noted Seton’s contributions as wife, mother, widow, and nun.
Her feast day is January 4.