A Time for Miracles
Encyclopedia
A Time For Miracles is a 1980
made for TV film
chronicling the life story of America's
first native born saint, Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton
. It was produced by ABC Circle Films for the American Broadcasting Company
and telecast December 21, 1980 as a Christmas
special. The film was created by Beverlee Dean and directed by Michael O'Herlihy. The script was written by Henry Denker
with collaboration with Sister Mary Hilaire and filmed in Georgia
. A Time For Miracles starred Ryan's Hope
and Star Trek: Voyager
actress Kate Mulgrew
as Elizabeth Seton. John Forsythe
and Lorne Greene
also star.
Episcopalian socialite
and mother of five whose life gets turned around after her husband, William Seton, dies of consumption
in Italy
after his shipping business went bankrupt
. As a widow of five children, she opens a small school in an effort to support herself and family.
She decides to convert to Catholicism
, much to the protest and distaste of her friends and family. As a social outcast, she is left with nothing so she and her daughters took refuge in Baltimore
. Under the wing of John Carroll, the first American Catholic bishop
, she opens a school, establishes a religious routine and takes religious vows
, thus becoming `Mother Seton.' Eventually she, her daughter, and a band of young women who have joined her rattle west in a covered wagon into the countryside, to Emmitsburg, Maryland
., where, on an initial diet of salt pork
and carrot coffee, she sets up a school
and a convent
for her growing sisterhood, Sisters of Charity
. She dies from consumption at 46.
Though not meeting the four miracle requirement to become a saint, Mother Seton was canonized
in 1975.
1980 in film
- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
made for TV film
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
chronicling the life story of America's
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
first native born saint, Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton
Elizabeth Ann Seton
Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church . She established Catholic communities in Emmitsburg, Maryland....
. It was produced by ABC Circle Films for the American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and telecast December 21, 1980 as a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
special. The film was created by Beverlee Dean and directed by Michael O'Herlihy. The script was written by Henry Denker
Henry Denker
Henry Denker is an American novelist and playwright.Denker was admitted to the New York Bar in 1935, at the height of the Depression, and he soon left law practice to earn his living by writing. His legal training is reflected in many of his works...
with collaboration with Sister Mary Hilaire and filmed in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. A Time For Miracles starred Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
and Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
actress Kate Mulgrew
Kate Mulgrew
Katherine Kiernan Maria "Kate" Mulgrew is an American actress, most noted for her roles on Star Trek: Voyager as Captain Kathryn Janeway and Ryan's Hope as Mary Ryan...
as Elizabeth Seton. John Forsythe
John Forsythe
John Forsythe was an American stage, television and film actor. Forsythe starred in three television series, spanning four decades and three genres: as single playboy father Bentley Gregg in the sitcom Bachelor Father ; as the unseen millionaire Charles Townsend on the crime drama Charlie's...
and Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene , was the stage name of Lyon Himan Green, OC, a Canadian actor.His television roles include Ben Cartwright on the western Bonanza, and Commander Adama in the science fiction movie and subsequent TV Series Battlestar Galactica...
also star.
Plot
Elizabeth Bayley Seton (1774-1821) is a happily married New YorkNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Episcopalian socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
and mother of five whose life gets turned around after her husband, William Seton, dies of consumption
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
after his shipping business went bankrupt
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. As a widow of five children, she opens a small school in an effort to support herself and family.
She decides to convert to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, much to the protest and distaste of her friends and family. As a social outcast, she is left with nothing so she and her daughters took refuge in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
. Under the wing of John Carroll, the first American Catholic bishop
College of Bishops
The term "College of Bishops" is used in Catholic theology to denote the bishops in communion with the Pope as a body, not as individuals...
, she opens a school, establishes a religious routine and takes religious vows
Religious vows
Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices and views.In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of religious vows are taken by the lay community as well as by...
, thus becoming `Mother Seton.' Eventually she, her daughter, and a band of young women who have joined her rattle west in a covered wagon into the countryside, to Emmitsburg, Maryland
Emmitsburg, Maryland
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,290 people, 811 households, and 553 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,992.9 people per square mile . There were 862 housing units at an average density of 750.2 per square mile...
., where, on an initial diet of salt pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
and carrot coffee, she sets up a school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
and a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
for her growing sisterhood, Sisters of Charity
Sisters of Charity
Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity as part of their name. The rule of Saint Vincent for the Daughters of Charity has been adopted and adapted by at least sixty founders of religious orders around the world in the subsequent centuries....
. She dies from consumption at 46.
Though not meeting the four miracle requirement to become a saint, Mother Seton was canonized
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
in 1975.
Cast
- Kate MulgrewKate MulgrewKatherine Kiernan Maria "Kate" Mulgrew is an American actress, most noted for her roles on Star Trek: Voyager as Captain Kathryn Janeway and Ryan's Hope as Mary Ryan...
.... Mother Elizabeth Bayley SetonElizabeth Ann SetonSaint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church . She established Catholic communities in Emmitsburg, Maryland.... - Jean-Pierre AumontJean-Pierre Aumont-Early life:Aumont was born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons in Paris, the son of Suzanne and Alexandre Salomons, owner of La Maison du Blanc . His mother's uncle was well-known stage actor Georges Berr. His father was from a Dutch Jewish family and his mother's family were French Jews...
.... Father DuBoisJohn DuboisBishop John DuBois was the third bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of New York. He was the first presiding bishop to reside in the diocese.... - Rossano BrazziRossano Brazzi-Biography:Brazzi was born in Bologna to Adelmo and Maria Brazzi. He attended San Marco University in Florence, Italy, where he was raised from the age of four...
.... Fillipo Fillici - John ForsytheJohn ForsytheJohn Forsythe was an American stage, television and film actor. Forsythe starred in three television series, spanning four decades and three genres: as single playboy father Bentley Gregg in the sitcom Bachelor Father ; as the unseen millionaire Charles Townsend on the crime drama Charlie's...
.... PostulatorPostulatorThe person who guides a Cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Roman Catholic Church is known as the postulator. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the Norms to be Observed in Inquiries made by Bishops in the... - Lorne GreeneLorne GreeneLorne Greene , was the stage name of Lyon Himan Green, OC, a Canadian actor.His television roles include Ben Cartwright on the western Bonanza, and Commander Adama in the science fiction movie and subsequent TV Series Battlestar Galactica...
.... Bishop John CarrollJohn Carroll (bishop)John Carroll, was the first Roman Catholic bishop and archbishop in the United States — serving as the ordinary of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He is also known as the founder of Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic university in the United States, and St... - Jean LeClercJean LeClerc (actor)Jean LeClerc is a Québécois actor. In the original French, his name is spelled Jean Leclerc. He is best known for his work in the United States as Jeremy Hunter on the American daytime soap operas All My Children and Loving in the 1980s and 1990s.LeClerc first started his career in Quebec on the...
.... Father BruteSimon BrutéSimon William Gabriel Bruté de Rémur, the first bishop of the Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana, was born on March 20, 1779, at Rennes, France. His father was Simon-Guillaume-Gabriel Bruté de Remur, Superintendent of the Royal Domains in Brittany; and his mother, Jeanne-Renee Le Saulnier de Vauhelle... - Leonard Mann .... Antonio Fillici
- Robin Clarke .... William Seton
- William PrinceWilliam Prince (actor)William LeRoy Prince was an American actor who appeared in numerous soap operas and made dozens of guest appearances on primetime series as well as playing villains in movies like The Gauntlet and Spontaneous Combustion.-Biography:Prince was born in Nichols, New York, the son of Myrtle , a nurse...
.... PrefectPrefectPrefect is a magisterial title of varying definition.... - Dominic ChianeseDominic ChianeseDominic Chianese is an American film, television and theatre actor, perhaps best known for his role as Corrado "Junior" Soprano on the HBO TV series, The Sopranos.-Early life:...
.... Promoter - Timothy Patrick MurphyTimothy Patrick MurphyTimothy Patrick Murphy, born in Hartford, Connecticut, was an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as "Mickey Trotter" on the popular CBS prime time soap opera Dallas during the 1982–83 season....
.... Will - Hoolihand Burke .... Maria
- Sherrie Wills .... Veronica
- Everett McGillEverett McGillEverett McGill is an American actor, best known for mostly playing villains in films like Licence to Kill, Silver Bullet, Dune, Yanks and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory.-Life and career:...
.... The Farmer - Fred Rolf .... Goldsmith
- Leonardo CiminoLeonardo CiminoLeonardo Cimino born 1918, is an Italian film and television and stage actor who in 1937 appeared in the original stage production of Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock...
.... Italian Priest - Chiara Peacock .... Anna
- Nan Mason .... Rose White
- Penelope Allen .... The Farmer's Wife
- Ellen Barber .... Amabilia Filicchi
- Roy CooperRoy CooperRoy Asberry Cooper, III is the current North Carolina Attorney General. He is a member of the North Carolina Democratic Party.-Personal life and education:...
.... O'Connoway - George MurdockGeorge Murdock (actor)George Murdock is an American actor.Known for frequently playing judges, , he also performed the role of "Big Daddy" in Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with the Arizona Theater Company during the 1988...
- Milo O'SheaMilo O'Shea-Early life:He was born and raised in Dublin and educated by the Christian Brothers at Synge Street, along with his friend Donal Donnelly.He was discovered in the 1950s by Harry Dillon, who ran the "37 Theatre Club" on the top floor of his shop The Swiss Gem Company, 51 Lower O'Connell Street...
- Michael Higgins
- Diane Kagan
- Danny Moran
- Jon Adams
- Doug Johnson
- Sharon Foote
- Erica Katz
- Amy LinkerAmy LinkerAmy Linker is a former child actress. Her most notable role was perhaps as co-starring as Lauren Hutchinson on the TV show, Square Pegs, in which she wore fake braces and a fatsuit.-Career:...
- Todd Fine
- Travis FineTravis FineTravis Lane Fine is an American actor, writer, director and producer, perhaps best known for his roles in Girl, Interrupted and The Young Riders.-Personal life:...
- Don Devendorf .... Ship Owner (uncredited)
External links
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081634/fullcreditsA Time For Miracles on the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
] - A Time For Miracles on Amazon.com
- A Time For Miracles on Totally Kate
- A Time For Miracles on marianland.com
- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Article about both Seton and A Time For Miracles