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Parish History

- Picture from the Mass celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Church on January 29, 2023.
  Pictured from Left to Right: Deacon William Kibler, Seminarian James Kimmel, Transitional Deacon John Enemuo, Former Pastor Rev. Roger DiBuo, Former Pastor Rev. Clem Manista, Catholic Diocese of Wilmington Bishop William Koenig, Former Pastor Msgr. Charlie Brown, Current Pastor Rev. Norm Carroll, Deacon Cruz Rodriguez, Deacon Jose Sanchez, and Seminiarian James Gebhart.
- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish was established on June 6, 1978 as a new parish in Bear, Delaware by Bishop Thomas Mardaga. The parish home was designated for positioning on a twenty-acre soybean field on the Bear-Christiana Road. Sunday Masses were initially held in the Pleasantville Elementary School, as the fledgling parish began to take shape. By late 1978, the rectory was built on the property. The living room served as the Daily Mass Chapel.
  
  Funds were steadily raised and in 1980, a multipurpose building was erected on the property. This building became the parish church and doubled as the parish hall. For eighteen years, parishioners diligently made best use of the building and were quite adept at staging a dinner or fundraiser event on a Friday or Saturday and then “magically” transforming the space back into a church for Sunday Masses. Daily Mass continued to be celebrated in the rectory chapel. Slowly, the original 110 families grew into nearly 400 and additional ministries, committees and services were added. The Religious Education program grew from the initial 97 children to several hundred, so the multipurpose building was expanded to add more space for classrooms.
- In 1985, Fr. Clemens Manista arrived with the goal of building a church. Finally, in 1992, a capital campaign was initiated to fund the new church building and architect, George Yu, was contracted to design the sacred space. After much prayer and work for funds, design challenges and two campaigns, groundbreaking for the church occurred on September 15, 1996. The new church was consecrated by Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli on February 1, 1998.
  
  Msgr. Charles L. Brown, III was named pastor in 1998. Over the years a saying, often spoken during the capital campaign that funded the church building, began to come true… “if you build it, they will come” and we continued to grow. Realizing the need for educational space, Msgr. Brown used the opportunity presented by the Diocesan Schools’ Campaign, to use the ‘funds over target’ for another building project. Successful fund raising produced the Christian Formation Center that opened in 2005. Projects to beautify the Meditation Hallway and the construction of a Baptistry in the church were added as well. Plans were also completed for the support and unique relationship with our parish school, Christ the Teacher.
  
  In 2002, Rev. Roger F. DiBuo, began his ministry as the associate pastor. In 2005, he became the parish administrator and then was appointed pastor on January 4, 2007, Mother Seton’s Feast Day. Fr. Roger served as the pastor with the assistance of Deacons Bill Kibler, Cruz Rodriguez and Jose Sanchez who were ordained to the permanent diaconate and assigned to the parish.
  
  One of Seton’s strengths has always been its hospitality to all people and all ethnicities. To that end, Fr. Roger encouraged many cultural celebrations centering on diverse parish groups, and several of these are celebrated annually.
  
  As a vibrant and still growing parish, many parishioners ventured overseas on pilgrimages together under the leadership of the pastor. These pilgrimages have fostered knowledge and experience with many ethnicities in Israel, Palestine, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Guatemala, Greece, Turkey, Ireland, England, Italy, Vatican City-State, Mexico, Kenya, six Caribbean Islands, Cameroon, South Dakota, Colorado, Arizona, Portugal, Spain, France, and an extensive pilgrimage to the Holy Land that included five days in Egypt.
  
  Perhaps one of the most vibrant and exciting events for the parish over the years is the Seton Family Carnival that grew from modest beginnings in 1988 to become recognized as the premier summer activity for the region as it featured amusement rides, a variety of traditional carnival food and ethnic specialties, a beer garden, and live music for six consecutive nights each June, until ending after the 2019 event. Most parishioners volunteered to make it not only the largest parish fundraiser, but also the most profitable for the parish. Working at the carnival was a social event in itself.
- Seton hosted international leaders including Christian Cardinal Tumi in 2012 from Cameroon and John Cardinal Njue in 2015 from Kenya.
- Within the building, shrines and places of prayer have been dedicated. The joy of the parish is also evident on the parish grounds, with beautiful spaces of prayer dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Pope John Paul II, the Angel of Remembrance and the Stations of the Cross.
  
  During the 2014 Diocesan campaign Sustaining Hope for the Future, the donation of ‘funds over target’ made it possible to renovate the parish hall (2016) into a beautiful space for parish social functions, and a much-needed Pole Barn was built for storage (2017) on the back property.
  
  2018 marked the 40th Anniversary of the parish. A full year of activities celebrated the various aspects of the parish which was capped off by a special Anniversary Mass celebrated by Bishop W. Francis Malooly. The social event of the year was a formal gala dinner dance held at the White Clay Creek Country Club attended by over 200 hundred former and current parishioners. The many celebrations and events during the year were documented by a picture book that included photographs of members of the more than forty ministries, clubs, and groups in the parish, as well as family portraits.
  
  Most prominent were the gifts presented to the parish in honor of the 40th Anniversary. A very significant milestone was achieved when the parishioners contributed to pay off the parish debt. For the first time in its forty-year history, Seton became debt-free. A family donated a new tabernacle for the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. A group of parishioners worked together with a commissioned artist from Philadelphia to design, construct, and install sacred stained-glass windows in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and the daily Mass chapel which was named St. Pope John Paul II Chapel as part of the anniversary events.
  
  A Time Capsule was placed in the Seton Garden on May 20, 2018 for the 40th Anniversary as a gift to the future to be opened in 2053, the 75th Anniversary of the Parish. Parishioners will be surprised to learn that the “capsule” is a full-sized burial coffin brimming with memorabilia of our first forty years. Major construction equipment will be needed to retrieve it.
  
  In 2019 a group of parishioners donated a complete set of sacred vessels.
  
  In January of 2020 a parish-wide campaign was initiated to purchase an organ for the church which is custom built by the Allen Organ Company of Macungie, PA.
  
  On March 16, 2020 the Corona Virus started to receive major attention as it was recognized as a serious health threat and declared a pandemic. The bishop dispensed the obligation to attend Sunday Mass for health reasons and suspended all physical contact during Mass. As the pandemic spread, the suspension of all in person Mass and liturgical services were suspended as the Catholic Churches were literally shut down. The shutdown expanded was worldwide. The churches reopened for daily Mass on June 1, and for Sunday Masses on the weekend of June 6.
  
  The pastor took advantage of the down time to implement several positive changes in the parish. A parish Facebook page was established and the Sunday Mass was live streamed. In addition, the Holy Hour and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and other spiritual programs were broadcasted. The Mass schedule was also adjusted. As the live streamed Mass became more and more popular with over 600 viewers, it was retained after the pandemic ended. A technology group was formed, and a video recording station was constructed in the church.
  
  On June 22, 2022, Fr. Norm Carroll was appointed the new pastor of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. On January 29, 2023, the 25th Anniversary of the church building was celebrated by Bishop William Koenig, along Fr. Carroll, Deacons, and the prior pastors of the parish.
  
  St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish continues to grow, and the number of parish families now exceeds 2,100.
Inside Our Church
- Our Gathering Space provides a very warm environment for fellowship before and after worship. The area in front of the Route 7 entrance was designed to be an outside Gathering Space.
  
  In the Church, begin your visit at the Baptismal Font; as you look to the sanctuary, you will see the rose granite Altar; the same material supports the Ambo (pulpit) and the Tabernacle within our Eucharistic Chapel. Behind the Altar note the Presider’s Bench and the large Jerusalem Cross on the reredos (back wall) and the surrounding grid. Fish symbols are contained within the grid pattern. (Hint: look at the longest pieces of the cross to see these early Christian symbol for Christ.) Notice the source of light falling on the back wall from the large skylight at the highest point of our Church.
- Turn left and begin your walk about in the Church by the Choir area, pass the Grand Piano and come to the Way of the Cross. Stop to admire our striking statue of Mary. Continue around until you come to the Eucharistic Chapel; note the seating along the walls within the Chapel as well as seating all around the walls of the Church.
- Leave the Eucharistic Chapel by the wooden door leading to the Meditation Walkway. Stop to visit the Daily Mass Chapel. Notice again the wall seating and the individual seats with kneelers. This seating allows us to rearrange the chapel for prayer events, small weddings and funerals. When you leave the chapel, you will pass the Reconciliation Chapel and Prayer Room.
  
  After you pass the large hallway doors you are in the Meditation Walkway. This area provides a quiet reflective place for reading and contemplation during the week. It is also home to our Mother Seton Relic. On the weekends, it serves as a quieting area for children.
  
  The last door you pass before getting back to the Gathering Space is the entrance to our Sacristy work areas. This door leads to our Priests’ Sacristy, and Liturgy, Music and Associate’s offices. As the tour is completed, remember that our Church represents the fulfillment of our dream. It celebrates our faith and desire to share the Good News with the world.
- Iron Hill Deanery
  
  Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton parish is a member of the Iron Hill Deanery of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington. The Iron Hill Deanery includes:
  
  Holy Family, Newark, DE;
  
  St. John the Baptist / Holy Angels, Newark, DE;
  
  Immaculate Conception, Elkton, MD;
  
  St. Joseph, Middletown, DE;
  
  Resurrection, Wilmington, DE;
  
  St. Margaret of Scotland, Glasgow, DE;
  
  St. Thomas More Oratory at the University of Delaware at Newark, DE; and
  
  Good Shepherd, Perryville, MD.