Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton: Compassion and Willingness to Love God

Introduction: Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton’s most important element in her life was teaching young girls. The writer will explain to you how and why Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton is such a saintly figure not only in their life but in many other peoples lives as well. One will be more able to have a true sense of the many different obstacles that Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton had to overcome to come to the realization that she wanted to devote the rest of her live to God. The writer will focus on four main areas throughout. First, she will present a brief biography of Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton’s life as well as her many accomplishments. Then, there will be a discussion of her main thrust in her life of ministry, teaching. After that the writer will talk about the way in which the film, A Time for Miracles, portrays Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton as a saintly person and if the film does a good job at portraying her. Finally, the writer is going to take the time to discuss two different themes from Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton’s writings. A variety of different sources will be used throughout the paper and these sources will help to enhance my knowledge of Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton. The film, A Time for Miracles, which was discussed earlier, will be one of main sources. Another source that will be used heavily is a book of Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton writings, entitled Elizabeth Seton: Selected Writings, along with a number of other sources that have been located to help to develop this research paper.

Biography: Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was born in New York City on August 28, 1774 to Dr. Richard Bayley and Catherin Charlton. Seton’s mother, Catherin Charlton, passed away when she was three years old and her father, Dr. Richard Bayley decided to remarry. Elizabeth’s stepmother was Charlotte Amelia Barclay. Seton mainly was educated by her father and the primary subjects that she studied were French and music.

Bibliography: “Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice”. Vol. 9, No. 3. March 2006. Hall, Mary T. "Elizabeth Ann Seton [1774-1821]." Encyclopedia of Catholic Literature. 2 vols. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2004. Jones, Lindsay. “Elizabeth Seton (1774-1821).” Encyclopedia of Religion: Second Edition. 12 vols. Detroit, Michigan: Thomson Gale, 2005. Kelly, Ellin M., and Annabelle M. Melville, eds. Elizabeth Seton: Selected Writings. New York: Paulist P, 1987. A Time for Miracles. Perf. Kate Mulgrew, Lorne Greene, John Forsythe, Jean-Pierre Aumont. Videocassette. ABC Circle Films, 1980. http://www.emmitsburg.net. “St. Elizabeth Ann Seton”.