Faith, Hope and Love: The Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Museum

When we think about the saints of the Catholic Church, we usually imagine mystical figures - like St. George and his dragons - or sadistically tortured adherents such as St. Catherine, who died on a spiked wheel.  Most of these figures lived a long time ago, and it's easy to think that sainthood is a dying tradition.  But in fact, more modern figures are being canonized even up to this day.  One of these newer saints, Elizabeth Ann Seton, is the subject of a small online museum.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton has the distinction of being the first native-born American citizen to be granted sainthood.  During her short lifetime she made religious pilgrimages, founded of the first Catholic school in the United States, set up missions to help the poor, and created America's earliest Catholic women's religious order.  She was made a saint in 1975, and her legacy includes three American colleges:  Seton Hall University, Seton Hill University, and the College of St. Elizabeth.

How did I learn all this?  From the museum, which is highly informative without being boring.  Most of the pages contain no more than a few short paragraphs of text with images interspersed.  Rather than present tons of material all at once, the different periods of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton's life are broken down into sections and subsections that are well-labeled and easy to navigate.  The result is that you can learn a lot without being overwhelmed.

The only downside to this museum is its size - it's doesn't have very much content, and you can probably view everything in fifteen minutes or less.  There are educational resources offered - specifically, a CD with more information and activities - so you could potentially get more out of the museum.  But I think I'd rather the museum keep its size and its manageable content than expand and lose some of its charm along the way.  This museum just goes to show that it doesn't take mountains of information or flashy graphics to make an interesting virtual museum - just a well-crafted site and interesting material.


The Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Museum
Website:  www.scny.org/setonmuseum