A History of The Basilica of Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral
By Richard Daniel McCann, Historian
The Basilica of Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral is the original Cathedral Church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. Since its opening over 200 years ago on the corner of Mott and Prince Streets in the Nolita section of lower Manhattan, its spiritual mission continues to be the great beacon for the Catholic Faithful and an American symbol of the triumph of religious freedom. Originally the worship center for a largely impoverished Irish community, St. Patrick's, over decades, expanded to provide for the spiritual and material needs of a diverse community, including Italian, African American, Chinese, and Vietnamese Catholics.
Catholicism in Colonial New York
Most formal histories of American Catholicism begin with the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Catholicism long predated this period, and its relationship with the Colonial authorities was not always easy.[1] Between 1642 and 1763, laws passed by colonial legislatures reflected a substantial number of prohibitions and impediments against Catholics and the practice of Catholicism. Religious freedom and toleration did not fully extend to the Church of Rome. For a good part of the colonial period in New York, the practice of Catholicism was virtually invisible. Primarily, this resulted from the imposition of Dutch Protestant and later English governmental prohibitions. Under the administration of Catholic governor Thomas Dongon, the New York colonial assembly passed the "Charter of Liberties and Privileges" in 1674. As a result of this landmark legislation, religious freedom was granted to all Christians, regardless of sect. The Glorious Revolution(1688-89) and the restoration of Protestant rulers William and Mary to the English throne ended any notion of religious freedom for Catholics in the American colonies. In New York, the fanatical Jacob Leisler wrestled political control away from Dongon, spreading sensational rumors that the Catholics of New York, working with their French co-religionists and Indian allies, were planning a Popish plot to attack the colony. Leisler declared himself commander-in-chief, and lieutenant governor, setting about removing Catholics from public office and stripping them of their right to vote.[2]
The history of anti-Catholicism in the United States was uniform and consistent until the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Catholics perceptibly contributed to the war effort against England, and this fact, along with the greater developing sense of "American" identity, ameliorated religious suspicion and persecution. Another method the small Catholic population used against Protestant wrath was to downplay the theological differences separating the two traditions.
Starting around 1756, a German-born and Jesuit-educated priest named Ferdinand Steinmeier began to visit New York City to celebrate Mass for the tiny Catholic community, which numbered only a few hundred persons. With the repeal of the anti-priest law in 1784, the Catholic Church, now part of the newly created United States of America, was embarking upon a new direction and shedding the vestiges of its colonial suppression. With the arrival of the Irish Capuchin friar, Charles Whelan, the beginnings of the first permanent Roman Catholic parish started taking shape. On June 10th, 1785, a group of Catholic laymen under the leadership of the French Consul General, Hector Saint John de Crevecoeur, officially established and incorporated the Roman Catholic Church in New York City. Shortly after, a plot of land was successfully purchased from Trinity Church, located on the corner of Barclay and Church Streets, measuring 100 X 125 feet. On this site was erected the city's first Roman Catholic Church, Saint Peter's. The simple red brick building was to occupy an area of 48 X 81 feet, with the remainder of the property set aside as a cemetery. As it turned out, Saint Peter's was the first Roman Catholic burial ground in New York State.[3] By 1796, however, Saint Peter's was already feeling the effects of its growing parish's outstripping of existing facilities. No less accurate of the cemetery, the trustees of Saint Peter's decided to purchase nine plots of land for cemetery purposes on May 23rd, 1801. From January 1803 until 1824, the trustees purchased 16 additional properties to facilitate the burial needs of the parish.
The New York Diocese Established, and its First Cathedral Church Built
While initially intended for cemetery land, the acquisitions of Saint Peter's provided the ground for building New York's first Cathedral Church, named in honor of Ireland's patron Saint Patrick. Sensitive to and appreciative of the needs of the growing Church in New York, Pope Pius VII formally established the Diocese of New York in 1808. The original Diocesan boundaries included all the state of New York and almost half of the state of New Jersey. Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore sent Alsatian-born Father Antony Kohlmann and several Jesuit priests to organize the new Diocese. It was during the tenure of Father Kohlmann (1808-1815), that the first Saint Patrick's Cathedral would be dedicated and built.
Andrew Morris, Cornelius, Heeney, and Matthew Reid made generous donations for the construction of the new Cathedral Church. On Easter Monday, April 13th, 1809, the Board of Lay Trustees duly elected: Dominick Lynch, Andrew Morris, Thomas Stoughton, Michael Roth, Patrick McKay, John Hinton, James Walsh, Miles J, Clossey, and Bernard Dornin. At a meeting held in the vestry of Saint Peter's on May 24th, 1809, the trustees passed a series of resolutions, the first of which was that the Church's new name was in honor of the patron Saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick. Additionally, the dimensions of the Church building were 120 X 80 feet, with its highest point at 85 feet. The French architect Joseph Mangin designed the new Cathedral as one of the first Gothic Revival churches in the United States. Specifically, a resolution concerning the cemetery read as follows: "Whereby the building of the foundation would interfere with sundry graves in the aforesaid burying ground, be it resolved that Mr. Idley has removed with all possible care, decency and expedition, such graves as would be incommoded thereby, and their contents deposited in fresh graves, with the assistance of Reverend Mr. Kohlmann and the relatives to be invited to attend if they pleased."[4] Father Kohlmann dedicated the cornerstone of the first Saint Patrick's on June 8th, 1809. The Napoleonic wars prevented the arrival of New York's first bishop, the Irish-born Dominican R. Luke Concanen. Appointed by Pope Pius VII, Concanen died in Italy in 1810 before having the opportunity to take over the See of New York formally. In the interim, the administration of the Diocese remained in the hands of Vicar General Father Kohlmann. A second Irish Dominican bishop, John Connolly, was appointed by Rome and arrived in 1815 to assume control of the nascent New York Diocese. His arrival coincided with the completion and formal opening of the new Cathedral Church on Mott and Prince Street.[5] The early decades of the nineteenth century in New York saw the robust growth of the Catholic Church. Between 1815 and 1842, Catholics increased from 15,000 to over 200,000. While many of the newer Catholics were poor Irish immigrants, there were also German, French, and African American Catholics. Among the more noted members of the Saint Peter's and original Saint Patrick's Faith community was Haitian immigrant Pierre Toussaint. Born into slavery in Saint-Marc, Arrondissement de Saint-Michel, Artibonite, in the French colony of Saint Domingue (renamed Haiti in 1791), on June 27th, 1766, this devoutly holy man began his life in the household of Jean Berard, a liberal-minded master by the standards of the era. He took the name "Toussaint" to honor the great Haitian patriot and hero Toussaint Louverture. Brought to Manhattan Island in the late 1700s, Toussaint established himself as a society hairdresser earning an ample income, with which he purchased the freedom of other enslaved people. He also used his resources to alleviate the suffering of the poor of every background. A self-taught man, he avidly read the Holy Scriptures and works of various religious thinkers.
Additionally, Toussaint was the driving force behind establishing an orphanage and the first school for Black children. At the time of the first Saint Patrick's building, he made a generous financial donation toward its construction. Famous for his devotion to Catholic issues and philanthropic endeavors, Toussaint was often referred to as a "saint" in his lifetime, and laid to rest in the churchyard of Old Saint Patrick's in June of 1853, with daughter Euphemie and beloved wife, Marie-Rose Juliette Noel, who preceded him in death in 1851.[6] Since 1990, Pierre Toussaint's remains have been in the crypt under the main altar of Saint Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. Customarily reserved for bishops and archbishops, the place of honor accorded Toussaint reflects the recognition of his crucial role in aiding the growth and support of the early Catholic Church in New York City. John Cardinal O'Connor directed the reinterment effort and vigorously advocated Toussaint's cause for sainthood. In 1996, Pope John Paul II declared Pierre Toussaint Venerable the second step in canonization.
As the Catholic population significantly increased, so did its people's worldly needs. In addition to starting new churches, Bishop Connolly founded an orphanage, and it opened in a wood-framed building at 32 Prince Street, across the street from Saint Patrick's, in 1817. The orphanage was staffed by three Sisters of Charity sent to New York by Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton. Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born into relative affluence. The daughter of a prominent New York physician, Elizabeth, came of age during the infancy years of the new American Republic. A member of the Episcopalian Church, she grew up with a burning desire to know and serve God. Marrying wealthy businessman William Seton at age 19, Elizabeth settled into a life of comfort, a gracious home at 27 Wall Street, and the joys accompanying raising a family. Even with these bounteous blessings, something was still missing. As a young wife and mother, Elizabeth became increasingly interested in the plight of people experiencing poverty and actively commenced working to alleviate their suffering. Drawn to Catholicism, Elizabeth, after the death of her husband, was received into the Catholic Faith through Saint Peter's Church.[7] After seeking the guidance of Bishop John Carroll, Elizabeth Ann Seton moved her family to Baltimore and established a Catholic girls' school in 1808. She also founded the Sisters of Charity, the first Roman Catholic religious order in the United States.[8] Not long after the orphanage's opening at 32 Prince Street, a Catholic school commenced operation in the same building, the second such school to open in the Diocese, Saint Peter's Free Catholic School being the first. Filled with the deep Faith and dedication exuded by Elizabeth Ann Seton, the Sisters of Charity continued to build upon their mission of service to the poor successfully and actively labor in running schools, orphanages, and medical facilities. Bishop Connolly experienced an acute shortage of ordained clergy. Connolly brought to New York Father Michael Gorman, ordained by Connolly while still in Ireland. In 1920, Connolly ordained another Irish priest, Father Richard Bulger. Bulger has the distinction of being the first priest ordained in New York. The two priests labored mightily in the vast and unwieldy Diocese, celebrating Mass, and administering the sacraments to the scattered Catholic community from New Jersey to the far northern reaches of New York. In this period, Connolly opened churches in Utica and Rochester, primarily to facilitate ministering to the needs of the many Irish laborers working on the Erie Canal. In November of 1824, both priests died from disease while in service ministering to the sick and needy. John Connolly, New York's second bishop, went to his eternal reward in February of 1825.
Internal Parish Strife and an Age of Bitter Anti-Catholicism
In the annals of New York Catholicism's illustrious history of diocesan episcopal leadership, no name reflects the trials and tribulations of leading a growing Catholic Church more than Jean DuBois, who became New York's third bishop in 1826. Raised in Paris and no stranger to violence and social disorganization, DuBois came of age as a priest during the worst excesses of the French Revolution; DuBois, through a letter of introduction by the Marquis de Lafayette, made his way to the United States, where in addition to his priestly duties, he became a tutor of French to the cream of American society.[9] Endowed with a well-equipped mind, he was equally at home with a pick and shovel. Traveling the long, lonely, and rutted roads of the American backcountry he may have been the only Catholic priest seen by Catholics in Maryland, Western Pennsylvania, and parts of Virginia. He vigorously contributed to the material needs of the small Catholic communities he encountered to help in planting, building, or whatever manual labor was required. As a tireless and tenacious minister of souls, DuBois aspired to create a seminary and established the College and Seminary of Mount Saint Mary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. This institution allowed students college-level study but was also a seminary for preparing young American men for the priesthood.[10] In his capacity as director of Mount Saint Mary, he also came to know Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton and her Sisters of Charity. DuBois was the superior of this premier American religious order and the order's spiritual advisor.
The clerical career of Jean DuBois took a prophetic turn in 1826 when he became bishop of the New York Diocese. Consecrated in Baltimore by Archbishop Ambrose Marechal, DuBois's administration was beset by internal and external problems. With John Connolly's death, the growing Irish population of the Diocese hoped that his replacement would be the very popular Vicar-General, John Power.[11] The Irish deeply resented appointment of a "foreign" bishop as their spiritual leader, even though in the Diocese, there were French, German, Spanish, and African-American Catholics as well. Bishop DuBois was a poor preacher. His sermons were often showcases of broken English. It was not unusual for Old Saint Patrick's people to get up in the middle of the bishop's sermons and walk out. In one of his sermons, he further alienated the Irish parishioners by stating how Saint Patrick came from France.[12] Aside from linguistic challenges, DuBois's most trying challenge was from the trustees. Trusteeism in early American Catholicism involved the pew holders of churches electing representatives who oversaw everything from priest's salaries to the day-to-day operation of the parish. The trustees of Old Saint Patrick's refused to vote a wage to their French bishop because of his uninspiring performance from the pulpit.
Some of DuBois's priests shamefully worked against him, including the parent of the first Catholic newspaper, Truth Teller, Father Thomas Levins, and DuBois's own Vicar-General, John Power.[13] Aside from internal problems at Old Saint Patrick's, it was an era that witnessed a marked increase in violent opposition to Roman Catholicism. An Ursuline convent in Boston had been burned to the ground by a Nativist mob in 1834. Similar anti-Catholic outbreaks took place in Philadelphia as well. In the minutes of their meeting of August 6th, 1834, the trustees of Old Saint Patrick's Cathedral directed the commencement of a "substantial brick wall"[14] around the cemetery and campus. The wall's purpose was to protect the Cathedral from Nativist attacks.
Meanwhile, the aging bishop started suffering a series of debilitating strokes, and a coadjutor bishop was appointed to assist him in running the Diocese. Despite his poor English, perceived aristocratic bearing, and lack of personal warmth, DuBois managed to affect an impressive record during his 16-year episcopal reign. He was the first bishop of the Diocese to undertake an extended visitation of the geographic area occupied by the Catholic souls in his pastoral care. Moved by the acute shortage of priests, DuBois worked tirelessly to procure priests from France and other Catholic European countries. The most notable cleric was John Neuman. Originally from what is now the Czech Republic, Neuman was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop DuBois in Saint Patrick's in 1836. He preached to the scattered German immigrant population in the upper reaches of New York State. Canonized by Paul IV in 1977, he is America's first male saint. Even with threadbare resources, by the end of the DuBois era, the number of priests had increased from eighteen to forty, and the number of parishes had grown from 8 to twenty-two. His attempt at establishing a seminary in Nyack, New York, on the Mount Saint Mary's model in Emmitsburg ended in catastrophic failure. While under construction, a fire destroyed the diocesan seminary for New York's young Catholic men desirous of following a priestly vocation. The building was uninsured.[15] By his death in 1842, DuBois, the "foreign" bishop had gained respect and affection from his priests and people alike. In his lifetime, he had accepted with grace the vicious slings and arrows of those determined to undermine his work. He faced his tormentors and critics within and without the Church with stoic and dignified resolve, executing the work called upon to perform. He wished to be buried under the main entrance of Old Saint Patrick's Cathedral so that, in his own words, "People could walk on me in death, as they wished in life."[16]
Hughes: Lion of American Catholicism
DuBois's episcopal successor, John J. Hughes, was to have a profound effect on the New York Catholic Church and the broader American Church. Born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1797, Hughes had an early and strong desire to pursue the priesthood, but because of a lack of family resources, he had to hold his desire in abeyance. Following his father and an older brother, John sailed for America in 1817. Settling around Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Hughes started working in a variety of capacities to earn money to assist with bringing other members of his family over from Ireland. He would ride on horseback to nearby Maryland to the college seminary of Mount Saint Mary to attempt to gain admission as a student. Ironically, the rector was Father Jean DuBois, and neither man realized at the time nor foresaw what the impactful nature of their future relationship with the Catholic Church in New York would be. Hughes met rejection after rejection. It was the good fortune of Hughes to make the acquaintance of Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton. He enlisted her support to gain admission to the seminary, and largely through her relationship with Father DuBois, the rough-hewn Irish youth was accepted as a student while working as a gardener on the campus grounds. Hughes excelled in his studies and achieved his goal of becoming a priest. Ordained in 1826 as a priest for the Diocese of Philadelphia, Hughes achieved distinction as a young cleric. He perfected his writing and speaking abilities, vigorously arguing against all comers in defense of Catholicism and the Catholic Church. In the early 1830s, he engaged in written and oral debates with the Presbyterian theologian Dr. John Breckenridge. The encounter brought Hughes to broader attention within the small but growing American Catholic community. He won regard as the premier defender of the Faith, a mantle that, until then, no member of the Catholic clergy or hierarchy was anxious to assume. With a growing Church, the need for capable ecclesiastical leaders was prescient. In 1837, Hughes received notification that he had been appointed a bishop and was to be the coadjutor to New York's Bishop DuBois. His consecration occurred in Old Saint Patrick's Cathedral on January 7th, 1838.[17] Remembering the delicate situation of working and living with his now-failing former seminary rector, Hughes did not mistake sentimentality for action. The state of Bishop DuBois's health continued failing. In 1839, Hughes became the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese. When Hughes arrived in New York, the Diocese consisted of approximately 220 000 souls spread over the entire State of New York and half the State of New Jersey. There was a total of 40 priests serving 22 churches, most of whom were in acute financial distress. There was one religious order, the Sisters of Charity, one orphanage, and seven Catholic schools.[18] Hughes's first battle was with the trustees. He was determined to break the grip of trusteeism and reassert control of Church authority in the bishop and clergy. Hughes's use of the threat of the interdict to get his way proved an effective tool, and the sheer force of his indomitable will reestablished the appropriate relationship between laypersons and clergy. Hughes ignored trustee-mandated laws and any financial bailouts for strapped parishes conditioned on the understanding that the bishop retained absolute control, leaving trustee boards nothing but figureheads. With DuBois's death in 1842, Hughes became New York's fourth diocesan bishop. His assumption of the episcopal reins practically coincided with the catastrophic Irish potato famine, resulting in over 1,000,000 mostly impoverished Irish fleeing their native land and finding refuge in America, especially places like New York. Hughes was to transform the outreach of the Catholic Church in New York to one specializing in the needs of the immigrant poor. During the Hughes episcopacy, the number of new parishes increased by 53, and a first-of-its-kind Catholic parochial system commenced operation. Additionally, more immigrant aid organizations, Catholic hospitals, and a Hughes-sponsored bank (Emigrant Savings Bank) started fostering thrift and savings. With the purchase of the Rose Hill estate in the Bronx, Hughes moved the diocesan seminary from LaFargerville to the grounds of what was to become St. John's College, later Fordham University. In support of the massive number of destitute Irish immigrants viewed with suspicious contempt in Nativist quarters, Hughes battled anti-Catholic and anti-Irish bigotry with a ferocity unparalleled in American Catholic Church history. With attempts by anti-Catholic mobs to attack and burn the campus of Old Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Hughes, on more than one occasion, organized armed men with muskets and pistols stationed behind the wall to repel attackers. Most noted among these defenders were members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an organization founded in the 1500s in Ireland to protect the Mass, priest, and Church. The Hibernians came to America in 1836, with their headquarters (Hibernian Hall) located across from the Old Cathedral on Prince Street between Mott and Mulberry.
John Hughes became its first archbishop when New York became an archdiocese in October of 1850. His combative personality, eloquent defense of the Catholic Church, and unyielding effort on behalf of the Irish Catholic poor cast him in a national light. He was a fierce supporter of Americanism, Assimilationism, and Patriotism. Among his many admirers and friends were James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Henry Clay, William Seward, and ultimately, Abraham Lincoln, who called upon Hughes during the Civil War to travel to the Catholic countries of Europe to enlist support for the cause of the Union. The 22-year Hughes episcopacy changed the New York Catholic Church and the broader American Church. By Hughes's death in 1864, the first-generation Irish famine immigrants were slowly but steadily achieving their place on the socioeconomic ladder of their adopted land. The number of Catholic churches and parishes and the infrastructure of Catholic Church services increased exponentially. Catholicism was no longer a marginalized religion but, on the road, to becoming the largest single religious denomination in the United States. Though denounced by critics as a demagogue, indifferent to the other Catholics within his Archdiocese, a poor administrator, and a political opportunist, there is no denying that John Hughes directed every ounce of his being to the raising up and advancement of his Catholic Faith and Church. Perhaps most significantly, no matter how authoritarian, high-handed concerning trustees, or ruthless he was in dealing with the enemies of his Church, nobody could ever question the impeccable nature of his morality or integrity as a human being. He died on January 3rd, 1864.[19]
Home to America's First Cardinal
John McCloskey was the first native-born American named to the College of Cardinals. He succeeded Hughes as Archbishop of New York upon the death of the former in 1864 and presided over the Archdiocese until 1885. John was born into modest means in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1810. At age 15, John's father died. He became the ward of Cornelius Heeney, a prominent Irishman who was an early lay leader and philanthropist of the New York Catholic Church. Because of Heeney, McCloskey attended Mount Saint Mary's in Emmitsburg for college studies and returned to study for the priesthood. He was ordained in 1834 and initially served as an instructor in the seminary. Again, mainly through Heeney's influence, he was allowed to go to Rome, where he continued his studies.[20] Upon his return to the United States, McCloskey served as rector of Saint Joseph's Church in Greenwich, Connecticut. Subsequently, he served as president of Saint John's College in 1841 and then as rector of Saint John's Seminary.
In 1844, McCloskey became a coadjutor bishop to John Hughes. McCloskey was a sophisticated, educated, and soft-spoken man. He conversed fluidly in several languages and offered the perfect counterweight to the more combative and outspoken Hughes. With the opening of the Diocese of Albany, McCloskey was named its first bishop. He succeeded Hughes as Archbishop of New York in 1864. McCloskey presided over an archdiocese where the Irish grew in numbers and political power. With the replacement of Tammany Hall's Boss Tweed with "Honest" John Kelly, the dominance of the Irish reached its apex. McCloskey's niece was married to Kelly, and William E. Grace was elected the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City in 1880.[21]
McCloskey was named a member of the College of Cardinals by Pope Pius IX. He received the Cardinal's red hat in a ceremony inside the sanctuary of the newly rebuilt Old Saint Patrick's Cathedral, gutted by fire in 1866. During the reign of Cardinal McCloskey, John Hughes's great Cathedral on 5th Avenue opened for worship on Sunday, May 25th, 1879.[22] McCloskey continued building on the success laid down by Hughes concerning the growth and strengthening of the Catholic Church's position. McCloskey created an additional 88 parishes. Among these was the first parish specifically for Black Catholics and new parishes for the increasing number of Italian Catholics. Thirty-seven thousand children attended the parochial schools, and the first-of-its-kind hospital for the mentally ill opened its doors to receive patients. After the official dedication of the new Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Old Saint Patrick's on Mott Street reverted to a parish church.
In The Present Time
Old Saint Patrick's Cathedral, then as now, continues to carry out its mission of serving the spiritual needs of the culturally diverse Catholic community it serves. In the late nineteenth century, the parish became home to many immigrants who flooded into the area between 4th Street and Hester Street and from Bowery to Wooster Street. Large numbers of Italian immigrants made the focal point of their new Mulberry Street community, "Little Italy." Many Hispanic and Chinese Americans also found refuge and a new home on the teeming streets of Old Saint Patrick's parish. More recently, the transformation of the areas immediately north and south of Houston Street from previously commercial to residential areas has brought an influx of younger residents, particularly those associated with the arts and media. With the commencement of the 200th Anniversary of Old Saint Patrick's starting in 2009, pastor, Monsignor Donald Sakano, brought together the entire parish community to devise a bicentennial celebration highlighting the great history of the Church and encapsulated in the theme of "Embracing the future, as we celebrate the past." At the Mass celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the laying of the Cathedral's cornerstone held on June 7th, 2009, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, 10th Archbishop of the New York Archdiocese, announced forwarding of the application to Rome to designate Old Saint Patrick's Cathedral as a Basilica. Pope Benedict XV conferred the honor effective on March 17th, 2010.
Though the once time-honored ritual of burial in the parish graveyard of New York City Catholic churches may be a remnant of the past, The Basilica of Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral is once again at the forefront of making provisions for the final resting place of beloved deceased. Cremation now assumes a superior alternative to traditional burial. In 2011, Monsignor Sakano tasked his Parish Manager Christopher Flatz to identify someone who could do a feasibility study and execute a plan to revive the tradition of Christian burial on the grounds of the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral. They engaged Revenue Works Inc., a revenue consulting firm, to develop and execute a plan to construct and sell niches in columbaria on the Old Cathedral’s historic grounds. This self-funded project is thriving and expanding as new columbaria are constructed to provide an eternal resting place for urns containing the cremated remains of the faithful departed into niches both in the graveyards adjacent to and the catacombs below the Old Cathedral. Under the direction of Revenue Work’s Frank Alfieri, today as in the past, Saint Patrick's remains faithful in the execution of its vibrant mission of providing for spiritual well-being and sustenance not only in this life but in the next life as well.
End Notes:
Below are a few of the many important historical points regarding the Old Cathedral and its connection to Catholic life, the City of New York and the nation.
First cathedral church for the Diocese of New York (created 1808 by Pope Pius VII), second Catholic church in Manhattan, and third Catholic church in all of New York State
Designed by the same architect who designed New York City Hall, Joseph Francois Mangin
Largest Catholic church in the United States when completed in 1815
Sufficiently in rural location in New York City then that a fox was caught in the churchyard not long after completion
Campus complex was the site of the first classical school for boys in New York, the New York Literary Institution, founded by Anthony Kohlmann, S.J., in 1808
32 Prince Street, the former St. Patrick’s School, was the site (1817) of the first mission in New York of the Sisters of Charity, founded by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first United States-born saint; site of NYC’s oldest existing Catholic grammar school (circa 1826)
Dominick Lynch, a member of The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in the City of New York, is buried in the crypt beneath the Old Cathedral. Lynch was a founding Trustee of St. Peter’s Church and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, as was Andrew Morris, the first Roman Catholic to be elected to public office in the City and State of New York. Morris is buried in the Cathedral’s Cemetery
Rev. Richard Bulger in 1820 became the first priest ordained in New York City
Graveyard underwent its final expansion to its present size in August 1824. Prayers were offered in the Irish Gaelic language by Rev. Michael O’Gorman at a public Vespers ceremony in the graveyard
Revs. Bulger and O’Gorman die in November 1824 within a week of each other of illnesses contracted while performing their parochial duties to the ill and infirmed of the Parish. John Connolly, the first resident Bishop of the Diocese, dies the following January, after contracting an illness while ministering to Bulger and O’Gorman, his former roommates and indispensible assistants.
The Garcia Italian Opera Company, brought to New York by Dominick Lynch Jr., performed a benefit concert for the Orphan Asylum in 1826, one of the earliest opera performances in the United States
Second co-ed free school in New York (after St. Peter’s), laying the roots for the public school and, later, the parochial school systems
The Board of Trustees in 1834 “RESOLVED that a wall shall be built around the Cathedral and churchyard [to protect both the graveyard and the church from rioters bent on destruction].”
St. John Neumann, the first United States Bishop to be canonized, was ordained at the Old Cathedral by Bishop Dubois in 1836
A school building constructed in the campus in 1837 was the first building designed and built as a Catholic school in the city (previous schools having used church basements or repurposed buildings), on site later occupied by the school run by the Christian Brothers
Requiem mass for Lorenzo Da Ponte, librettist of Mozart and the first Professor of Italian Literature and Language at Columbia University, took place in 1838 at the Cathedral
John Hughes was created Bishop of Basileopolis in 1838, the first episcopal ordination in New York Hughes was a pioneer, during the waves of Catholic immigration in the 1840s, in establishing Roman Catholic social outreach organizations, helping to establish the tradition of charitable organizations in the U.S.
Anti-Catholic rioting in 1844 poses a grave physical threat to the church, which Bishop John Hughes meets with the assistance of armed Irish organizations like the Ancient Order of Hibernians (whose headquarters were adjacent to the campus at 42 Prince Street)
Pope Pius IX created the Archdiocese of New York in 1850, elevating John Hughes to the status of Archbishop
The Archdiocese of New York became the spiritual hub for maintaining total allegiance to the Holy See that came to characterize the U.S. episcopacy, largely due to the leadership of Bishop Hughes
Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Haitian slave-born Catholic philanthropist, dies in 1853 and was buried in the churchyard at SPOC (his remains are transferred in 1990 to the “new” Cathedral of St. Patrick)
Isaac Hecker founded the Paulist Fathers in 1858; he was an adult convert to Roman Catholicism, and had been baptized by then Bishop John McCloskey in 1844 at the Old Cathedral
Blessing of the colors of the “Fighting” 69th Regiment by Archbishop Hughes before the regiment set off for active duty in the Civil War, April 23, 1861; this “Irish Brigade” unit, lead by Colonel Michael Corcoran, Thomas Francis Meagher and former Congressman, U.S. Attorney and Abolitionist, Captain John McKeon – and whose ranks were filled with many Old Cathedral parishioners, distinguished itself during the Civil War for its unsurpassed valor and heroism at the Battle of Bull Run, among many other battles
Funeral and burial at the Old Cathedral of Bishop “Dagger John” Hughes in January, 1864 attracted thousands, including many prominent New York City and New York State figures (his remains are transferred later to the “new” Cathedral of St. Patrick)
Fire destroyed the interior of the Old Cathedral on October 6, 1866; the Old Cathedral is rebuilt and re-opened on St. Patrick’s Day in 1868
John Cardinal McCloskey was installed as the first American cardinal, April, 1875; he received his cardinal’s hat in the parlor of the rectory, 263 Mulberry St. (and, then again, in second ceremony in the Old Cathedral across the street)
St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral was supplanted as the seat of the Archdiocese of New York by the “new” Cathedral of St. Patrick, May 25, 1879
The debt of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral was finally paid off, and the church was consecrated, March 17, 1885
Brig. Gen. Thomas Eckert, personal friend and confidant of President Lincoln, was buried in an elaborate vault in the crypt beneath the Old Cathedral in 1910
Funeral of “Big Tim” Sullivan, famed Tammany Hall politician, attracted 25,000 to the streets surrounding the Old Cathedral, 1913
Philanthropist Annie Leary, the first Papal Countess, died in 1919 and is buried at the Old Cathedral
St. Michael’s Russian Catholic Church is established in 1936 in the Old Chancery building; this is the first chapel to serve the Russian Catholic expatriate community in New York which fled the Russian Revolution
The Old Cathedral and associated buildings are among the first sites to be designated as New York City landmarks (1966)
Campus complex listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1977
The Old Cathedral was designated a Basilica by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on March 17, 2010