Altar of Relics

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s relics are entombed in the Altar of Relics at the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. In every Eucharistic liturgy, the intentions of those devoted to St. Elizabeth Ann are remembered. See “Prayer Requests” and “Prayer Sharing.”

Beneath the altar and enclosed in marble, St. Elizabeth Ann’s remains and treasured relics rest in a small copper casket. Her remains were transferred here under the altar in 1968.

Sculpted in Italy, the white marble statue of St. Elizabeth Ann depicts her dressed in the habit that she and her Sisters of Charity wore in 1809. The statue portrays her role as educator and religious Foundress.

Places Where St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Has Been Buried

St. Elizabeth Ann was not always buried in the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

• Before beatification, the remains of Elizabeth Ann Seton were exhumed on October 26, 1962, from St. Joseph’s Cemetery (a cemetery still on the grounds of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton today), in the presence of a small group of persons closely associated with her cause. This ecclesiastical procedure involved the identification of her remains in conjunction with her cause for canonization.
• After her beatification by Pope John XXIII on March 17, 1962, the Seton relics were placed in a copper casket and placed above the main altar at Joseph College Chapel, located at St. Joseph's Central House, on April 18, 1963 (now located on the grounds of FEMA, neighbors of the Shrine).
• The small copper casket containing the remains of Elizabeth Ann Seton was transferred to beneath the altar of the Blessed Elizabeth Ann Seton in the Daughters of Charity chapel of the new St. Joseph's Provincial House on January 4, 1968 (now known as the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton). A marble facade was installed at the base of the altar of relics of Elizabeth Ann Seton on August 1, 1975. See “St. Joseph’s Cemetery”

Art & Architecture

• Basilica: Art and Architecture
• Places where Mother Seton has been buried