For The Dialog
Ann Teresa O’Neill, the woman whose extraordinary healing as a child helped in the canonization of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and longtime SS. Peter and Paul parishioner in Easton, Maryland, died at age of 78 on July 17.
Born on October 7, 1947, she was the beloved daughter of the late Felixena (Phelps) O’Neill, of Catonsville and Old Ellicott City, and the late William Richard O’Neill, a U.S. Army World War II veteran who served in the Guadalcanal Campaign, also of Catonsville and Old Ellicott City.
Ann was a strong, loyal, hardworking and devout Catholic whose life was defined by her unwavering love for her family, friends and faith. She lived with quiet dignity and compassion and passed from this life as she had lived it — surrounded by the love of those who knew her.
To the Catholic faithful throughout the world, Ann will forever be remembered as the recipient of the miracle attributed to the intercession of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton that contributed to Mother Seton’s canonization. To her family, however, she was simply “Mom” — a faithful servant of God, a loving mother and grandmother, and a woman whose life reflected God’s mercy, grace, and the power of prayer. Her steadfast faith, humility, and devotion inspired everyone who knew her.
O’Neill’s miraculous life was detailed in a lengthy feature article in The Dialog in August 2025.
She defied medical expectations, healing in 1952 from acute lymphatic leukemia, an always-fatal disease in those days. She recalled the dreadful chicken pox that compounded her predicted fatal suffering, the desperate, yet hopeful trip to Emmitsburg, the prayers in the room where Mother Seton died, the dreaded and painful bone marrow testings to verify her cure.
At 15, she attended Mother Seton’s beatification ceremony over which Pope John XXIII presided on March 17, 1963. “Did you see the way the Holy Father smiled at me when they brought me to him?” Ann asked at the time. “I will never forget it.”
She was a 27-year-old mother of four when she witnessed the canonization of Mother Seton on Sept. 14, 1975. At this ceremony, Pope Paul VI presided.
“Pope Paul VI was nice – a very lovely guy,” Ann said.
She leaves behind a legacy of love and a witness to the enduring hope found in Christ. She will be deeply loved, forever remembered, and profoundly missed. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us. May God grant us comfort in our sorrow and the hope that, through His mercy, we may one day be reunited with our beloved mother in His eternal kingdom.
She was the devoted and loving mother of Joseph Hooe and his wife, Marianne; Gerard Hooe; and Mary Alice Zawodny and her husband, Gary. She was the cherished grandmother of Mikael Hooe, Maria Hooe, Robert Hooe, Christian Parsons, Sarah Dennis, Meg Parsons, Nikolas Zawodny, and Zachary Zawodny. She was the loving great-grandmother of Glen Dennis, Sarah Dennis, Ann Dennis, Suzanna Dennis, Joseph Dennis, Stacy Dennis, Leo Campbell, Cian Fox, and Donn Fox.She was the dear sister of Mary O’Neill, Celine O’Neill, and Theresa O’Neill. Ann was preceded in death by her son, Robert Eugene Hooe, Jr., and her sister, Jeanne Marie Cooper. She is also survived by many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family members, and dear friends.
Family and friends are invited to a public viewing at the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton on Saturday, July 25, 2026, at 9:00 a.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. in the Basilica of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.
All services will be held at National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, 339 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, Maryland. Interment will immediately follow on the grounds of the National Shrine.
