She's Elizabeth Bayley Seton (1774-1821), a widowed New York City mother of five and a convert to Roman Catholicism, who became the first American-born saint. Her path to holy glory, traced in a Background article on page 10, is rendered dramatically in this 1980 "ABC Theatre" movies, an uplifting portrait of Mother Seton's faith and love that also retains secular credibility. 

For, as portrayed here by Kate Mulgrew, Elizabeth Seton is anything but the stereotype of a pious miracle worker. Instead, she emerges as an all-too-human, troubled yet deeply compassionate woman dedicated to a cause: the promotion of free education for America's youth. To this end, she serves as "spiritual mother" to the Order of Sisters of Charity, battling for her principles in the face of both religious prejudice and personal tragedy. 

Bishop Carroll: Lorne Greene. Father DuBois: Jean Pierre Aumont. Antonio: Leonard Mann. Postulator: John Forsythe. Father Brute: Jean Le Clerc. Fillipo: Rossano Brazzi. William Seton: Robin Clarke. Prefect: William Prince. Promoter: Dominic Chianese (2 hrs.)