Elizabeth Seton: American Saint by Catherine O'Donnell

Abstract

Reviewed by: Elizabeth Seton: American Saint by Catherine O'Donnell Sr. Judith Metz, SC Elizabeth Seton: American Saint. By Catherine O'Donnell. Ithica: Cornell University Press, 2018. Pp. xiv + 508. $23.50. In Elizabeth Seton: American Saint, Catherine O'Donnell has produced a comprehensive biography that stands as a worthy successor to Annabelle Melville's well-regarded 1951 Elizabeth Bayley Seton. O.'s coverage from Seton's childhood in a developing nation, to her happy marriage and delight in her role as mother, to her conversion to Catholicism, and ultimately her position as founding mother of the American Sisters of Charity provides many insights into the future saint's life. O.'s command of thousands of pages of letters and documents related to Seton's life is impressive, as is her bibliography. The manuscript is rich in context describing both the social, cultural, and religious milieu of the times, as well as providing an extensive exploration of the cast of characters so integral to Seton's life. O.'s illumination of Seton's early years in New York offers a rich description of her family life both before and after her marriage. The early loss of her mother and baby sister set the stage for Seton's unsettled early years. It was not until her marriage at the age of nineteen that she felt she had a real home of her own. The text describes well the depth of relationships that she enjoyed with her father, husband, and women friends as well as her involvement in benevolent work. One of the strong points of this portion of the biography is the in-depth exploration of Seton's intellectual and spiritual life. O. depicts Seton as a spiritual seeker who enjoyed English poetry and was enamored by the works of Rousseau. Later interest in the sermons of Protestant ministers led her to active participation in the Episcopal Church. A journal Seton wrote as an adult portrays her younger self as loving to read and think, a spiritual seeker who "walked among the Cedars singing hymns. Pleasure in everything, course, rough, smooth, or easy" (39)—enthralled by the Bible, poetry, hymns, and finding God in nature. O. asserts that Seton "was eager to shape the twists and turns of her life into a straight path toward the Catholic Church that others might follow" (24). This statement is troubling in that it is an example, among others, of the author's interpretation and assessment presented as "fact." This type of assertion requires documentation. Eventually family health and business problems led to a voyage to Italy where Seton's husband died and she was introduced to Catholicism. Following her return to New York, O. allows Seton's own words to describe her thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the unfolding events as she entered a long season of indecision before her conversion to Catholicism. Two years of economic and social floundering followed. Here, as elsewhere, O. draws insightful connections, noting that Seton was housed but homeless, just as she had been in her youth. O. here asserts that "Seton created a story of social martyrdom" (183), exaggerating the opposition she experienced due to her conversion. At the same [End Page 216] time O. highlights the climate of anti-popery in New York and documents both the active and passive resistance Seton experienced from family and friends. You can't have it both ways without more explanation or documentation. Seton's move to Baltimore and later Emmitsburg, Maryland, plunged her into both the joys and struggles of overseeing schools and founding a new religious community of women while continuing her role as mother to her children. O. provides a thorough treatment of Seton's circuitous route to the founding and establishment of the American Sisters of Charity. She delves into Seton's relationships with several priests involved with the Community, but also unveils the drama of complicated relationships among them as well as their competing spiritualities and visions for the new Community. Although this aspect of Seton's life is fully covered, the relationships between Seton and the women who joined her are not. This could have been an opportunity to explore the loyalty, trust and...