The canonization of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in 1975 not only marked the establishment of the first American-born saint but also opened the door for other Americans to be honored for embodying the universal call to holiness.
“What made her canonization remarkable was that, after 200 years of history in the country, it was the first time that a native-born American was declared a saint of the universal Church,” said Rob Judge, executive director, National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland. “It was this validation, that you can come from these lands and obtain holiness.”
Today there are 87 American Catholics on their way to sainthood. To recognize these men and women, the shrine recent;y put together the “Saints on Their Way Village.”
It was displayed on Sept. 14 – the 50-year anniversary of Seton’s canonization – and was made up of nearly two dozen guilds, each dedicated to advancing the cause of an American on the path to sainthood.
Here are a few of their stories.
Dorothy Day
In 2000, Dorothy Day became a Servant of God after her cause for sainthood was opened by the Church.
Day worked as an activist and journalist, focused on social justice and aiding the poor. She influenced 20th-century American Catholicism by demonstrating the “preferential option for the poor,” which integrated faith and action.
“What I find hopeful is that she stayed the course her whole lifetime,” Dorothy Day Guild member Carolyn Zablotny said. “There were times where I’m sure she had her doubts, and she wrote so openly about her struggles. She’s not a cookie-cutter kind of person, she failed at times, but she persevered.”
Day is a “sign of hope,” Zablotny said. “She’s a radical alternative to militarism, racism and the selfishness that we’re all suffering from. I think she’s a real model for a different kind of holiness.”
Blessed Solanus Casey
Members of the Father Solanus Guild shared the message of Blessed Solanus Casey. Fellow Capuchin friar and guild member Brother Daniel said Casey’s “main goal” was to “thank God ahead of time” as a way to recognize what he is already doing in our lives.
Casey grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and was known as a “simple man” who dedicated his ministry to the sick and troubled. While the Church has attributed only one miracle to Casey, many people have shared stories of healing after asking for his intercession.
“When people come to [Solanus], he may not get rid of all the problems,” Brother Daniel said. “But when they go from him, they feel peace. They feel that someone is there to comfort them.”
Mother Mary Lange
Mother Mary Lange founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first African American religious congregation in the United States. In 1829, she founded the order despite the trials she knew she would endure. She believed that “if you put your faith in God, it’ll be OK,” said Phyllis Johnson, a member of her Guild.
The guild is advocating for her canonization because “she loved all people,” Johnson said. “Even the people who treated her shabbily, she still cared for them. She’s a saint for everyone. She took care of everyone. She didn’t discriminate … So if anybody should be a saint, it’s the person who says ‘all people are God’s people.’”
Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos
Francis Xavier Seelos was born in Germany in 1819 but lived much of his life in New Orleans. Now that city houses his national shrine, where people come daily “to ask for the blessing of Blessed Francis,” Father Steve, a priest advocating for his canonization, said.
Seelos was known “as a wonderful man,” he said. “He was totally self-giving – the type of person that makes a saint. When people were sick, he didn’t think about himself at all. He went to bless them and ended up getting sick himself, which is how he died.”
Blessed Michael J. McGivney
Several employees of the Knights of Columbus shared the cause for canonization of the organization’s founder, Father Michael J. McGivney.
“He’s a powerful intercessor,” said Alicia Mucha, manager of events. “He loves to answer prayers for unemployment, family conflict and any substance abuse.”
In 1882, McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus “to give men a better community, something that was rooted in their faith that would keep them away from drinking,” Mucha said. The organization started in Connecticut “to provide benefits for women and children, in case anything happened to the men. He would ensure that women and orphans were taken care of.” In 2020, McGivney was beatified after the Vatican recognized a miracle attributed to his intercession.
Judge said McGivney and the other potential American saints show “us that we, too, can draw closer to God and achieve great things.”
— Tessa Gervasini, Catholic News Agency
Doctors of the Church are great saints known for their defense and explanation of the truths of the Catholic faith. The original eight Doctors of the Church were named by acclamation, or common acknowledgment; the rest have been named by various popes, starting with the addition of St. Thomas Aquinas to the list by Pope St. Pius V in 1568.
This title indicates that the writings and preachings of such a person are useful to Christians "in any age of the Church." Such men and women are also particularly known for the depth of understanding and the orthodoxy of their theological teachings. While the writings of the Doctors are often considered inspired by the Holy Spirit, this does not mean they are infallible. It does mean that they contributed significantly to the formulation of Christian teaching in at least one area.
Today, there are 35 Doctors of the Church: 27 from the West and 8 from the East; four women; 18 bishops, 12 priests, one deacon, three nuns and one consecrated virgin; 26 from Europe, three from Africa, six from Asia. Who are they? (Follow the links below to read more about each doctor.)
Pictured: A stained-glass image of St. Hildegard of Bingen, the newest Doctor of the Church, depicting her at work composing hymns
LATIN (WESTERN) DOCTORS
1 – St. Ambrose, 340-397 (Pastoral Doctor): Archbishop of Milan, one of the most influential Church figures of the 4th century.
2 – St. Jerome, 345-420 (Doctor of Biblical Science): A Christian apologist, best known as the translator of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin, what's known as the Vulgate.
3 – St. Augustine, 354-430 (Doctor of Grace): Bishop of Hippo, philosopher and theologian, and one of the most important figures in the Church.
4 – Pope St. Gregory the Great, 540-604 (Doctor of Hymnology): The first pope with a monastic background.
GREEK (EASTERN) DOCTORS
5 – St. Athanasius, 295-373 (Doctor of Orthodoxy): Remembered for his role in the conflict with Arianism and for his affirmation of the Trinity. He argued against political leaders and errant theologians so much and was exiled so often that he earned the nickname "Athanasius Contra Mundum" (Athanasius Against the World").
6 – St. Basil the Great, 330-379 (Doctor of Monasticism): Noted scholar, lawyer and public speaker, he converted from paganism in a dramatic fashion: selling everything he had, giving the money to the poor, and becoming a monk. His Monastic Rule forms the basis of virtually all religious life in the Eastern Churches. He, his brother, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and his best friend, St. Gregory Nazianzus, are known as "the Cappadocian Fathers" after the region of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) from which they came.
7 – St. Gregory Nazianzus, 330-390 (Doctor of Theologians, Doctor of the Trinity): Archbishop of Constantinople who once was attacked during Mass by an Arian mob, which wounded him and killed a fellow bishop. Convened the Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in 381 to resolve questions about the Nicene Creed and help unify the Eastern and Western Churches, but got so frustrated that he resigned in the middle of it.
8 – St. John Chrysostom, 345-407 (Doctor of Preachers): Perhaps the greatest preacher in Church history. Known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, he was nicknamed "chrysostomos" (Greek for "golden tongued"). The themes of his talks were always practical, explaining how to apply the Bible in everyday life, and he lived a simple, unpretentious lifestyle even after being pushed into becoming archbishop of Constantinople. There he denounced the lavish lifestyles of local Church and political leaders – making him popular with the laity but causing his exile to a desolate area along the Black Sea, where he died from ill health.
EARLY CHURCH DOCTORS
9 – St. Ephraem, 306-373 (Doctor of Deacons and Poets): Died tending plague victims in 373.
10 – St. Hilary of Poitiers, 315-368 (Doctor of Christ's Divinity): Sometimes called the "Hammer of the Arians," so popular that he was unanimously elected bishop of Poitiers in Gaul (modern France) in about 353.
11 – St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 315-387 (Doctor of Faith and against Heresy): Bishop of Jerusalem who was deposed and exiled more than once by jealous opponents. Disagreed at first with the Nicene Creed's clause that Jesus is "consubstantial with the Father," but by the Ecumenical Council of 381 he voted for the wording, seeing no better alternative to unifying the Eastern and Western Churches.
12 – St. Cyril of Alexandria, 376-444 (Doctor of the Incarnation): Bishop of Alexandria when the city was at its height of influence and power within the Roman Empire. He wrote extensively and was a leading defender of Christ's identity as fully divine and fully human.
13 – Pope St. Leo the Great, 390-461 (Doctor of Doctrine): First pope to have been called "the Great," reaffirmed papal authority, perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun in 452 and persuading him to turn back from his invasion of Italy.
14 – St. Peter Chrysologus, 400-450 (Doctor of Homilies): Made Bishop of Ravenna, Italy, in about 433 by Pope Sixtus III, after Sixtus had a vision of St. Peter and St. Apollinaris (the first bishops of Rome and Ravenna) showed him a young man and said he would be the next Bishop of Ravenna. When Sixtus met Peter shortly afterwards, he recognized him as the young man in his vision and consecrated him as bishop even though he was only a deacon at the time.
15 – St. Isidore, 560-636 (Doctor of Education): Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades. At a time when the remnants of the Roman Empire were crumbling and aristocratic violence and illiteracy were spreading, he helped convert the royal Visigothic Arians to Catholicism and played a prominent role in developing Visigothic legislation – regarded by historians as having influenced the beginnings of representative government.
16 – St. Bede the Venerable, 673-735 (Doctor of English History)
17 – St. John Damascene, 676-749 (The Icon or Image Doctor, or Doctor of the Assumption): A Syrian Christian monk and priest, and the last of the Church Fathers. Wrote extensively on the Assumption of Mary.
18 – St. Peter Damian, 1007-1072 (Doctor of Reform and Renewal)
MIDDLE AGE CHURCH DOCTORS
19 – St. Anselm, 1033-1109 (Doctor of Scholasticism)
20 – St. Bernard of Clairvaux, 1090-1153 (Devotional and Eloquent Doctor)
21 – St. Anthony of Padua, 1195-1231 (Evangelical Doctor)
22 – St. Albertus Magnus, 1200-1280 (Doctor of Science)
23 – St. Bonaventure, 1217-1274 (Seraphic Doctor)
24 – St. Thomas Aquinas, 1225-1274 (Angelic Doctor)
25 – St. Catherine of Siena, 1347-1379 (Doctor of Unity)
COUNTER REFORMATION CHURCH DOCTORS
26 –Teresa of Avila 1515-1582 (Doctor of Prayer): The first woman to be named a Doctor, in 1970.
27 – St. Peter Canisius, 1521-1597 (Doctor of Catechetical Studies)
28 – St. John of the Cross, 1542-1591 (Mystical Doctor)
29 – St. Robert Bellarmine, 1542-1621 (Doctor of Church State Relations)
30 – St. Lawrence of Brindisi, 1559-1622 (Doctor of Conversions and Missions)
31 – St. Francis de Sales, 1567-1622 (Doctor of Authors and the Press)
MODERN ERA CHURCH DOCTORS
32 – St. Alphonsus Liguori, 1696-1787 (Morality and Marian Doctor)
33 – St. Thérèse of Lisieux, 1873-1897 (Doctor of Confidence and Missionaries)
34 – St. John of Avila, 1500-1569: Missionary, preacher, and reformer of clerical life in Spain. Pope Benedict said he was a "profound expert on the sacred Scriptures ... a man of God, he united constant prayer to apostolic action. He dedicated himself to preaching and to the more frequent practice of the sacraments, concentrating his commitment on improving the formation of candidates for the priesthood, of religious and of lay people, with a view to a fruitful reform of the Church."
35 – St. Hildegard of Bingen, 1098-1179: German Benedictine nun who was a named composer when most music was anonymous, a visionary who wrote three books describing the mystical visions she had since the age of 3, a preacher at a time when canon law forbade women to preach, prolific letter-writer to popes, and early scientist, botanist, herbalist, physician and healer. Even invented her own coded language.
— Sources: The Catholic Encyclopedia, www.catholiconline.com
More online
At www.annusfidei.va: Read Pope Benedict XVI's take on Doctors of the Church including St. Augustine, St. Thérese of Lisieux, St. Jerome, St. John Chrysostom, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Ambrose and others. (Click on "We Believe.")