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churches in lower New York have ties to the first native-born,
canonized American Saint — the Episcopal churches, Trinity
and St. Paul's, and the first Roman Catholic church in New
York, St. Peter's.
It
is believed that Elizabeth Ann Bayley was baptized in Trinity
Church, but as the original building was destroyed by fire
in 1776, no records remain of the baptism.
Elizabeth
Bayley Seton was a devout and faithful member of the restored
Trinity Church and also its chapel, St. Paul's.
After her
return from Italy, while struggling to make the decision to
become a Catholic, Elizabeth Seton spoke of kneeling in St.
Paul's Chapel, but looking through its windows to St. Peter's
Church on Barclay Street where the Blessed Sacrament was reserved.
Elizabeth
Seton made her declaration of faith in St. Peter's on March
14, 1805, her first confession on March 20, 1805 and received
the Eucharist for the first time on March 25, 1805.
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"I
have been to the church of St. Peter... Entering it, how
the heart died away, as it were, in silence before the
little Tabernacle and the great Crucifixion over it."
Elizabeth
Ann Seton |
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