In her short span of 47 years, Elizabeth Bayley Seton was a society belle and matron, a wife, a mother , and a religious foundress. She was a good Protestant and, following her husband's death while they were travelling in Italy, she became an exceptionally holy Roman Catholic. Her supreme characteristics were a deep capacity for friendship, which stemmed from her warm, emotional and affectionate nature; a profound love of the Blessed Sacrament, and an intense grasp of the concept of eternity. As Mother Seton she is one of the keystones of the American Church. Foundress of the American Sisters of Charity, she knew and worked intimately with the great ecclesiastical personages of the day.