(Editor's Note: This is the last of a three-part series on Mother Elizabeth Seton, the first American-born saint. The series was submitted by Sister Ellen Eisenberger of the Daughters of Charity. Sr. Ellen teaches first grade at St. Mary's School in Rome, GA.)

Elizabeth was almost 34 when she arrived in Baltimore in 1808 with her three girls -- the two boys were already in Georgetown. The widow and her children were taken to a new residence on Paca Street near St. Mary's College. This was her first Catholic school for girls; she had only seven pupils, three of whom were her own. The education, however, was first-rate because Elizabeth could and did ask for help from the masters of the college nearby.

In the spring of 1809, Elizabeth's sisters-in-law, Harriet and Cecilia Seton, joined her from New York. March 25, 1809, Elizabeth took her first vows and received the title Mother. "It is expected I shall be the mother of many daughters," she wrote to Julia Scott, a friend in Philadelphia. The infant community adopted a simple black habit to become the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph.

Samuel Cooper, a well-to-do 39-year-old seminarian was intrigued by Elizabeth's endeavor. Deeply concerned that "nothing had yet been done for the female sex which was so powerful an influence in regard to morals and religion," he offered $10,000 to purchase a farm in Emmetsburg to advance her efforts, noting: "This establishment will be made at Emmetsburg, a village 18 leagues from Baltimore, from whence it will spread over the United States."

In June 1809, Mother Seton started her historic trek, beginning the fulfillment of Samuel Cooper's prophecy. Walking most of the way over the dirt roads of rural Maryland to save the horses, a prairie wagon carrying few pieces of household furniture and personal belongings, the little group arrived in Emmetsburg four days later on June 24.

They moved into the old Fleming farmhouse, known today as the Stone House. Sixteen women and children occupied its four rooms. The two upper rooms were no more than a garret where winter snows often sifted through the roof and walls. Drinking water was drawn from a spring a hundred yards from the house, and the community's laundry was carried to the banks of Tom's Creek to be pounded on the rocks in the time-honored fashion.

Such physical discomforts left Elizabeth undaunted. She wrote to Julia Scott: "They tell me a hundred ridiculous stories are going about relative to our manner of living here, but I hope you will not listen to them a moment … I assure you that I have true peace and comfort in every way."

Two new arrivals to the community, and the Stone House literally overflowed. Construction on St. Joseph's House, known today as the White House, was begun. Its "parlor schoolroom" enjoys the distinction of housing the first parochial school in America. It was a free school opened to the children of the parish, and enrollment grew rapidly.

The Sisters had adopted the rule of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul with provision made for Mother Seton to continue to support her children and for her continuation in office until her death. By 1817, she had sent three sisters off to New York to establish a home for children. Other sisters left to staff St. Joseph's Asylum in Philadelphia. Within 50 years of her death, six separate communities of Sisters of Charity, all tracing their foundation to Mother Seton, had been established in the United States and Canada.

A deep faith, an indomitable spirit, courage, moral stamina, and a delightful sense of humor had carried Elizabeth through some of life's greatest trials. But her tiny frame -- only 5 feet tall and slender -- was no match for the physical onslaught of tuberculosis. Elizabeth Bayley Seton, age 46, died on January 4, 1821, in the room adjoining the chapel in the White House.

She will be canonized by Pope Paul on September 14, 1975. In this time of national crises, let us pray to her with confidence, saying with Pope John XXIII: "O Blessed Elizabeth Seton, who shines henceforth before the nations … cast a look of predilection upon your country which glorifies you as its first flower of sanctity."