St Elizabeth Ann Seton Feast Day - January 3, 2025

With hope of healing her husband William's illness, Elizabeth Ann Bayley left New York in the fall of 1803. They hoped that Italy’s warmer weather would help William's tuberculosis subside. They took their eldest daughter, Ana Maria, age 8, with them and left their other four children (ages 2-7) with relatives in New York. William did not improve and died within a few weeks of arrival in Italy. The Italian family who hosted them, the Filicchis’, were Catholic. Through them, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was introduced to Catholicism. The Real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist captivated her. Shortly after her return to New York, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton converted to Catholicism.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was born into eternal life 204 years ago on January 4, 1821. Saint Paul VI raised her to the altars on September 14, 1975. This coming September will be the golden anniversary of her beatification. 1975 was a Jubilee Year. This means that the important anniversaries of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton' beatification are always celebrated within the framework of a Jubilee Year. The central message of the 1975 Jubilee Year was Renewal and Reconciliation. The central message of this Jubilee Year is Hope.

A Jubilee Year is a beautiful practice of the Catholic Church. The idea is to go on pilgrimage to the City of the Apostles Peter and Paul and renew the faith. The Holy Doors of the most important Basilicas, St. Peter in the Vatican and St. Paul in Rome, are opened during the Jubilee Year. The intent is to promote transformation in the life of the pilgrim. One leaves the world of darkness, of sin, and passes through the door that leads to the light of faith and grace. The Door is a symbol of the Lord who said, "I am the gate of the sheep. Whoever enters through me will be saved" (John 10:7-8).

As I mentioned, the central theme of this Jubilee Year is Hope. "Hope does not disappoint" wrote St. Paul to the Romans (Romans 5:50). The Holy Father invites us to make a pilgrimage this Jubilee Year with hope. The pilgrimage doesn’t have to be all the way to Italy; it can be local. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton' life and example are a blessing for us parishioners who have her as our patron saint. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is an admirable example of hope. Her trip to Italy was not motivated by the faith of a Christian pilgrim. Her trip was motivated by the hope of healing for her husband. That hope did not materialize. In her suffering, God had other plans for her.

The Italian family served as a door for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton to glimpse the Catholic faith and the love of God in the Eucharist. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton suffered many difficulties in her life. She became a widow at the age of 29. She was rejected by her family and society for her conversion to Catholicism. She suffered poverty while saddled with the responsibility to provide for and raise her five young children. She suffered the illness and death of two of her children in her lifetime. She struggled to discern her religious vocation. She endured illness that led to her death at the age of 47.

She is on the altars now for her heroic virtues. Often, it is in difficulty that virtue is developed. It was in difficulty that her virtue shone. When reality is dark, it is where Christian faith and hope shine. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is one of the best examples of hope that we have today. We are entering this year 2025, which is both a Jubilee Year and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s golden anniversary. The Holy Father invites us to walk in hope. The anniversary of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton' beatification also invites us to follow her example of faith and hope. Many of us are going through times of trial in our lives. Perhaps it is us or a family member who is suffering in body or soul. The example of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the Jubilee Year invite us to have faith and hope. We are invited to go through the door. We are invited to walk in the direction of the light of the Lord.

Let us ask St. Elizabeth Ann Seton with faith today on her feast day to intercede for us so that we may be pilgrims of hope. The Holy Father wrote: “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door”” (Jn 10:7.9).