St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Novena – 9 Days of Prayer
Novena to the wife, widow, mother, and founder who became the first native-born American to be canonized
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was a wife, mother, widow and the first native-born American to be canonised. She founded a school for girls and a religious community. This novena is for teachers, widows and anyone who has faced loss. Her feast is January 4. Born in New York, she became a Catholic after losing her husband, raised five children, and founded the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Canonised in 1975, she shows how faith can grow in grief. Pray it for your children's school, your classroom or your own recovery after loss.
A novena is nine consecutive days of prayer. Begin nine days before the feast (January 4) and finish on its eve. You can pray this novena at any time of year.
Pray this novena with daily reminders in the Sacred Novenas app
Open in the app App StoreGoogle PlaySt. Elizabeth Ann Seton Novena – prayer for all nine days
Intention: For Teachers, Mothers, Widows, Converts, and Catholic Education
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, first native-born American saint, your life is a story of the grace that meets us in the hardest places. You were a wife, a widow, a mother, and a convert — and through each loss and change, God shaped you into a saint.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, I come to you knowing that you understand loss. You buried your husband and two of your daughters. You were rejected by your own family for becoming Catholic. You started a school with almost nothing. And yet you persevered, trusting that God was working in all of it.
You wrote: 'We must be resigned to the will of God. We must not repine, but adore.' Help me to adore God's will even when I do not understand it.
(Pause here to mention your intentions)
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for all teachers who pour themselves out for their students. Pray for mothers raising children alone. Pray for converts finding their way in the faith. Pray for all who grieve. And obtain for me the grace I seek in this novena — the grace to trust God's plan even when the road is hard.
Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory Be...
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us.
Pray this prayer once a day for nine days in a row.
Traditional Catholic Devotional Prayer · Feast Day: January 4. Canonized September 14, 1975 by Pope Paul VI
More novenas
- St. Jude Novena
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena
- St. Joseph Novena
- St. Therese Novena
- St. Anthony of Padua Novena
- St. Rita Novena
Frequently asked questions
When should I start the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Novena?
Begin on December 26 to end on January 3, the eve of her feast on January 4.
How do I pray the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Novena?
Pray the daily prayer once a day, offering your teaching or caring work.
Who is the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Novena for?
It is for teachers, widows, single parents and converts.
Pray this novena with daily reminders in the Sacred Novenas app
Open in the app App StoreGoogle Play