Letters from our First American-Born Saint

In a special commemoration of our country’s 250^th anniversary, the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati Archives is sharing their rich collection of original writings and letters from Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born Saint recognized by the Catholic Church. Elizabeth’s life mirrors the birth and expansion of the United States in many ways. Born August 28, 1774 to a prominent Episcopalian family in New York City, Elizabeth would go on to marry a businessman, William Magee Seton, and have five children. When her husband became stricken with tuberculosis in the early 1800s, some of the family traveled to Italy in the hopes that the change in climate could help his condition. On their arrival in Leghorn (Livorno), they were placed in quarantine; soon after, December 27, 1803, William died. Elizabeth and her daughter Anna Maria were taken in by Antonio and Amabilia Filicchi, who were business associates of her husband. It was during this darkest time in Elizabeth’s life that she felt a spiritual calling, which led to the formation of the first American-founded Women Religious Community, the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph.

The letters in the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati archives were donated by the Filicchi family in 1949. They highlight the crucial role of Antonio and Amabilia Filicchi in nurturing her faith and offering moral and financial support through the many hardships she faced as a widowed mother after her return to the United States in June 1804. The collection spans the years 1804 to 1820 and gives deeper insights into Elizabeth Seton’s faith journey, finding a supportive environment for her family, her growing call to service, and the challenges she faced with the formation of the Sisters of Charity.

Among the 55 letters included in the collection, the earliest examples demonstrate how important Elizabeth’s time with the Filicchi family was in her spiritual conversion: “I cannot think of my Soul without remembering you…God will not forsake me, Antonio, I know that he will unite me to his flock.“

By 1808, Elizabeth found a supportive home on the grounds of St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland where she had the freedom to begin pursuing her dreams of opening a school and forming a religious community: “The gentlemen of the Seminary have offered to give me a lot of ground to build on, it is proposed…to begin on a small plan admitting of enlargement if necessary in the hope… that there will [be] ladies to join in forming a permanent institution—but what can a creature so poor in resources do? I must trust all to Divine Providence.”

In 1809, Elizabeth formally founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. This collection includes the first instance where the term “Sisters of Charity” is used: “Six more postulents are daily waiting till we move in a larger place to recieve them, and we might be a very large family if I received half who desire to come, but your Reverend Mother is obliged to be very cautious for fear we should not have the means of earning our living during the Winter. Yet as Sisters of Charity we should fear nothing.“

The last letter from October 19, 1820 was written just months before Elizabeth’s death and affirms the enduring legacy of the Filicchis’ support: “This then is the earthly fruits of your goodness and patience with us these 20 years but happily – all is written in heaven…could you but know what has happened in consequence of the little dirty grain of mustard seed you planted by God’s hand in America, the number [of] orphans fed and clothed…”

For more information about the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati archives or to schedule an appointment to view more materials from the collections, visit https://www.srcharitycinti.org/who-we-are/archives/contact-us/.

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Thank you to Veronica Buchanan, Archivist for the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, for this week’s post!