A biography of the first American saint, focusing on her deeds and contributions to American Catholicism.

Biography of Elizabeth Bayley Seton, 1774-1821, who spent her childhood in New York City during the Revolutionary War and founded the first native sisterhood in America.

In August 1870, Mother Aloysia Lowe and five Sisters of Charity from Cincinnati arrived in Altoona, Pennsylvania, to found a new community of sisters for the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Western Pennsylvania, with its throngs of newly immigrated Catholics and burgeoning industry, witnessed the growth of parishes and quality schools. Mother Aloysia purchased a 200-acre property in Greensburg in 1882 to accommodate the growing community. It became known as Seton Hill. The Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, following in the footsteps of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Vincent de Paul, and St. Louise de Marillac, have dedicated their lives in service of others. From the establishment of groundbreaking educational institutions, including Seton Hill University, to the operation of advanced health-care facilities and vital social service programs, the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill influenced the lives of thousands of Americans. The pioneering spirit of these Sisters of Charity, evidenced in their expansive mission work in Arizona, California, and Louisiana, culminated in 1960 with a mission to Korea. The Korean Province and the United States now unite the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill as an international congregation.

In this riveting biography of Elizabeth Seton critically acclaimed and bestselling author Joan Barthel tells the mesmerizing story of a woman whose life featured wealth and poverty, passion and sorrow, love and loss. Elizabeth was born into a prominent New York City family in 1774. Her father was the chief health officer for the Port of New York and she lived down the block from Alexander Hamilton. She danced at George Washington's sixty-fifth Birthday Ball wearing cream slippers, monogrammed. Catholicism was illegal in New York when she was born; Catholic priests seen in the city were arrested, sometimes hung. When Elizabeth and her wealthy husband Will sailed to Italy in a doomed attempt to cure his tuberculosis, she and her family were quarantined in a damp dungeon. And when Elizabeth later became a Catholic, she was so scorned that people talked of burning down her house. American Saint is the inspiring story of a brave woman who forged the way for the other women who followed and who made a name for herself in a world entirely ruled by men. Elizabeth resisted male clerical control of her religious order, as nuns are doing today, and the publication of her story could not be more timely. Maya Angelou has contributed the foreword.

Fully revised and expanded, this new work is the first major revision of the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church in more than 40 years! It is the official revision of Lesser Feasts and Fasts and authorized by the 2009 General Convention. All commemorations in Lesser Feasts and Fasts have been retained, and many new ones added. Three scripture readings (instead of current two) are provided for all minor holy days. Additional new material includes a votive mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, many more ecumenical commemorations, plus a proper for space exploration. For years the oft revised volume, Lesser Feasts and Fasts (LFF), has served parishes and individuals mark part of the holiness of each day by providing Scripture readings, a collect, a Eucharistic preface, and a narrative about those remembered on the church's calendar that day whose lives have witnessed to the grace of God. Holy Women, Holy Men (HWHM) is a major effort to revise, but also to expand and enrich LFF. Where LFF provided two readings (gospel and other New Testament) plus a psalm, HWHM adds an Old Testament citation. Where LFF was limited to few non-Anglicans in the post-reformation period (and few non-Episcopalians after 1789), HWHM dramatically broadens appreciation for other Christians and their traditions. Over-emphasis on clergy is redressed by additional laity, males by females, and "in-church" activities by contributions well beyond the workings of institutional agendas. These almost daily commemorations occupy over 600 of the book's 785 pages, by far the lion's share of its content. Remaining sections address: principles of revision and guides for future revision; liturgical propers for seasons (Advent/Christmas, Lent, and Easter); and new propers for a miscellany of propers usable with individuals (or events) not officially listed in the formal calendar. Two cycles of propers for daily Eucharist are also included, one covering a six week period, the other a two year cycle.

A fictionalized young adult biography of Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821), New York socialite, wife, mother, convert and foundress of the American Sisters of Charity and the first U.S.-born saint.Ages 11 and up.

Here are the rules, conferences and writings of these two Vincentian founders who, through service to the poor, left an indelible mark on the church in France in the seventeenth century and beyond to the present. Louise (1591-1660) first came to Vincent (1581-1660) for spiritual direction and they became coworkers and friends for the rest of their lives.