Episode 257: Catherine O’Donnell, Elizabeth Seton An Early American Life

What was it like to live as a woman of faith in early republic America? What was it like to live as a Catholic in the early United States?

Catherine O’Donnell, an Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University and author of Elizabeth Seton: American Saint, helps us investigate answers to these questions by taking us through the life of the United States’ first saint: Elizabeth Ann Seton.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Each episode features a conversation with a historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.

Ben Franklin’s World is a production of the Omohundro Institute.

Episode Summary

Catherine O’Donnell, an Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University and author of Elizabeth Seton: American Saint, takes us through the life of the United States’ first saint: Elizabeth Ann Seton.
During our conversation, Catherine reveals details about Elizabeth Seton’s life and accomplishments; Information about Seton’s search for faith and her decision to convert to Catholicism; And, what Elizabeth Seton’s life can show us about what it was like to live as a Catholic and a life of faith in the early United States.

What You’ll Discover

  • Elizabeth Seton’s life and accomplishments
  • The archive about Elizabeth Seton’s life
  • How sainthood is a process of memory making
  • Why Seton wanted to destroy some of her letters and papers
  • Elizabeth Bailey Seton’s early life and childhood
  • Seton’s interest in religion and Catholicism
  • Catholicism in the early United States
  • Elizabeth Seton’s voyage to Italy and her return to the United States
  • Seton’s journey to Baltimore
  • The establishment of a Catholic community in Emmitsburg, Maryland
  • The Sisters of Charity
  • The St. Joseph’s Academy and the Sisters of Charity orphanage in Philadelphia
  • Elizabeth Seton’s death at age 46
  • The canonization of Elizabeth Seton

 

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Time Warp PlainTime Warp Question

In your opinion, what might have happened if Seton had never visited Italy? Do you think she would have converted to Catholicism?

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