The apostolic delegate to the United States, Amleto Giovanni Cardinal Cicognani (1883-1973), recommended that the spiritual daughters of Elizabeth Bayley Seton collaborate to further the cause for canonization of this convert, who was a wife, mother, widow, sole parent, foundress, and spiritual leader. Despite growth pains the Sisters of Charity continued to develop and blossom into independent new congregations in North America: New York (1846), Cincinnati (1852), Halifax (1856), Convent Station (1859), and Greensburg (1870). The conflict-ridden circumstances surrounding the initial separations from Emmitsburg were a source of pain for all involved, especially after French émigré priests belonging to the Society of Saint Sulpice (Sulpicians) of Baltimore arranged for the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph's to join (1850) the Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul (D.C.) of Paris, France.

In a spirit of reconciliation, Sister Isabel Toohey, D.C., (1893-1979), provincial of the Eastern Province of the Daughters of Charity in the United States, visited the major superiors of the congregations which developed historically from the 1809 Emmitsburg foundation. Sister Isabel asked pardon of them for any role the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph's and the Daughters of Charity at Emmitsburg may have had in contributing to strained relations among the spiritual daughters of Elizabeth Bayley Seton over the years. She invited them to meet and discuss collaborative strategies for the Seton cause for canonization.

Historical Perspective. The historic first meeting of the Conference of Mother Seton's Daughters, held at Emmitsburg, Maryland, October 28-29, 1947, proposed: “to strengthen the bond of union among the member congregations and to work together in advancing the cause of Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton.” John Michael McNamara (1878-1960), auxiliary bishop of Baltimore (1928-1948) and Washington, D.C. (1948-1960), served as moderator and invited attendees to work together “through a unity of charity in the spirit of Christ.”  A zealous supporter of the Seton Cause, McNamara presided during future sessions as long as his health permitted.

Superiors who attended represented the congregations which were the charter members of the Conference of Mother Seton's Daughters: Mother Mary Josephine Taafe, S.C. (New York), Mother Benita Kane, S.C. (New Jersey); Mother Mary Zoé Farrell, S.C. (Cincinnati); Mother Maria Benedict Monahan, S.C. (Greensburg); Mother Mary Evaristus Moran, S.C. (Halifax); Sister Isabel Toohey, D.C. (Emmitsburg), and Sister Caroline Collins, D.C. (Saint Louis). The latter two represented the Eastern and Western Provinces of the Daughters of Charity in the United States. Attendees not only shared their congregations’ founding stories and historical roots, but they also agreed on some practical plans to promote the Seton cause. Eventually, members of the general councils of the Sisters of Charity also attended the meetings which were held at the motherhouses in rotation.

Beginning with the third meeting of the Conference, when possible, the vice-postulators for the cause, who were Vincentian priests (Congregation of the Mission), also participated in the meetings: Reverend Salvator M. Burgio, C.M., (vice-postulator, 1939-1959); Reverend John P. McGowan, C.M., (vice-postulator, 1959-1968); and Reverend Sylvester A. Taggart, C.M., (vice-postulator, 1968-1975). The vice-postulators, appointed by the Postulator General of the Congregation of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity, updated members about reported miracles and issues regarding the Seton cause.

Purpose. The Conference of Mother Seton's Daughters functioned (1947-1965) with minimal organizational structure until it became the Federation of the Daughters of Blessed (later Saint) Elizabeth Ann Seton (1965). This change responded to the directive of Vatican II (Perfectae Caritatis, §22) that congregations possessing the same general spirit and origin should form a federation for mutual support and development. Members shortened the name of the organization to The Elizabeth Seton Federation (1990), which remained its legal title when incorporated in the state of New York (1995). They adopted the following purposes and a new name, the Sisters of Charity Federation in the Vincentian and Setonian Tradition (1996):

To support the commitment of its members to the mission of Charity expressed through the diversity of their specific congregational charisms.

To foster ongoing study and reflection on the Tradition of Charity.

To facilitate collaboration in projects related to ministry and other areas of common concern.

To foster ongoing study and reflection on the charism and Tradition of Charity in its seventeenth-century origin and in its flowering in many congregations founded in North America.

The Federation focused almost exclusively on promoting the Cause of Elizabeth Bayley Seton for sainthood until 1975. Among the numerous strategies were contests (essay, art, and oratorical), plays, pageants, and various methods to foster devotion to Elizabeth Bayley Seton among students and laity. Other projects included the selection of the official Seton portrait, designation of Emmitsburg as headquarters for canonization efforts, and revision of the first Seton biography, The Life of Mrs. Eliza A. Seton by Reverend Charles Ignatius White (1853). Members also reproduced and exchanged copies of original Seton papers. Other promotional efforts included obtaining signatures on petitions for the Vatican, a petition circulated by Francis Cardinal Spellman (1889-1967) at the annual bishops meeting supporting the Cause, and national television programs. Many of these projects were publicized by the Mother Seton Guild, an organ of the Postulation, which helped to spread devotion to Elizabeth Bayley Seton and raise funds to advance the cause.

Cause. The Seton cause was introduced in Rome in 1940. Blessed John XXIII declared Mother Seton venerable December 18, 1959, and also presided at her beatification March 17, 1963. Pope Paul VI canonized her as Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton September 14 during the Holy Year of 1975 and the International Year of the Woman. The Holy See accepted three miracles through her intercession: the cures of Sister Gertrude Korzendorfer, D.C. (1872-1942), of Saint Louis, of cancer; a young child, Ann Theresa O’Neill (b.1948), of Baltimore, from acute, lymphatic leukemia; and Carl Kalin (1902-1976), of New York, from a rare form of encephalitis. Exhumed prior to the beatification, the remains of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton repose in the Basilica of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Emmitsburg, Maryland.

After Pope Paul VI announced Elizabeth Seton's canonization December 12, 1974. At that time, Sister Hildegarde Marie Mahoney, S.C., major superior of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth (1971-1979) and Chair of the Federation of Blessed Elizabeth Ann Seton, remarked that “Elizabeth Seton now belongs to all people. Her life speaks to all those who seek sincerely to follow God's Will--in whatever faith; to all who have known human love of husband, wife, family and friends--and the inevitable suffering that is part of that love.” Sister Katherine O'Toole, S.C., (1935-1990), then superior general of the Sisters of Charity of Halifax (1972-1980), reflected on Elizabeth's final admonition to her sisters, “Be children of the Church,” with the comment: “When there are so many questions and such confusion . . . the words are a timely reminder of the solidarity that is needed among all of us . . . religious, priests and lay people . . . who are involved in the ongoing process of redemption.”

In planning for the event, Federation members, keenly conscious of the needs of the starving people of the world, desired that the canonization festivities be marked by simplicity. Among the gifts the Federation presented to Pope Paul VI on this occasion was a contribution of $200,000 to a World Hunger Fund, drawn on the Bank of New York with which Elizabeth's husband William Magee Seton (1768-1803) and his father William Seton (1746-1798) had been associated, and a calligraphy manuscript of Saint John's Gospel. Sister Hildegarde Marie had the honor of being a lector at the liturgy of canonization, the first woman to ever read at a papal Eucharistic celebration. Lectors representing the various stages of the life of Elizabeth Bayley Seton read the general intercessions. International media covered the event and United States President Gerald R. Ford, in accordance with Senate Joint Resolution 125, designated Sunday, September 14, 1975, as National Saint Elizabeth Seton Day, and he called for such memorials and other observances as are appropriate to the occasion. She was the first person born in the United States to be canonized a saint.