Memorial Service for Saints Catherine Tekakwitha and Elizabeth Ann Seton

Becoming American Saints: Catherine Tekakwitha, Elizabeth Ann Seton and the Quest for Sainthood

On Tuesday 16 January 2024, the University of Notre Dame of Rome, together with the organising committee of the International Inter-University Congress "Women in the Church: Artificers of Humanity", organised an event focusing on the figures of Saints Catherine Tekakwitha and Elizabeth Ann Seton. The aim of the conference was to highlight the aspects in which the "builder" character of these two saints, acting in the context of the universal Church, is manifested.

The lecture was given by Professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings, Professor of American Studies and History at the University of Notre Dame, who presented the life and challenges of the two American saints. "When I received this invitation I was very happy and surprised because it seemed like a dream to talk about two American saints right in Rome. I believe that saints are ambassadors, they establish connections between people, even between cultures. I believe that these two saints can also be considered as two ambassadors of our faith," Ms Cummings stressed.

His Excellency Ambassador Joseph Donnelly (US Ambassador to the Holy See) and Professor Silvia Mas (Pontifical University of the Holy Cross) also spoke during the event as moderators of the panel.

The event is part of a series of conferences that will precede the International Inter-University Congress "Women in the Church: Artificers of Humanity", scheduled for 7-8 March 2024, to be held at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome (www.womenchurch2024.com). The scientific committee of the international inter-university congress is composed of representatives of the Catholic University of Avila (UCAV), the Pontifical Urbaniana University, the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, the Institute for Advanced Studies on Women of the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum and the Pontifical Theological Faculty Teresianum in Rome.

Text: Alina-Maria Balaj
Photo: Alina-Maria Balaj