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Greenwich Village Gazette
by Robert Sheedy
On June 8, 1809 the cornerstone of the
original St. Patrick's "Old" Cathedral‚ was laid . On May 14,
1815, it was dedicated and the New York Gazette described it as "a
grand and beautiful church, which may justly be considered one of the
greatest ornaments of our city...."
St. Patrick's Old Cathedral was New York's first Cathedral, at the
start of this Country, the first Roman Catholic Cathedral in America named
for the Patron Saint of Ireland. St. Patrick's has dignity and character
in its stark simplicity. The side walls are 75 feet high, the inner vault
is 85 feet high. The church measures over 120 feet long and 80 feet in
width. the huge marble altar near the western wall, surrounded by ornately
hand-carved, gold leaf reredos, containing some of the finest religious
statuary in the United States.
On the very same grounds you will find New York City's only Russian
Catholic Church - St. Michael's - still celebrating its ancient liturgies
every week. The complex includes six buildings, all listed on the National
Register of Historic Places - including St. Patrick's school, which served
as a Revolutionary War hospital and was called "Dead House"
Later it was transformed into an orphanage where America's first Saint,
Mother Elizabeth Seton, established her order- the Sisters of Charity. The
building was gifted to the church by Cornelius Heeney, an early 19th
century philanthropist who loved children. An 18th century graveyard
surrounds St. Patrick's. The Rectory is located in the Bishop's former
residence at 263 Mulberry Street, not far from the church.
At the other end of St. Pat's is the choir loft and the historic 1868
Henry Erben pipe organ. Henry Erben was the most well known organ builder
not in New York City and America, in general.
Underneath the church there is a labyrinth of mortuary vaults and the
cemetery outside contains old graves and tombstones. Buried here is the
Venerable Pierre Toussaint, a Black New Yorker, born a slave in Haiti,
whose elevation to sainthood is now under study in Rome.
St. Patrick's is also the original burial site of Bishop Hughes -
"Dagger John" and New York's first Bishops. Founders of the
Emigrant Savings Bank have family plots in the crypt; Andrew Carrigan,
Peter Hargous and others. Also interred here are Dominic Lynch, first
President of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and a ratifier of the
Constitution. Countess Annie Leary, the first woman in America to be made
a Papal Countess, also rests below the cathedral.
St. Patrick's Old Cathedral has been the site of many important events
in American history. In1835, Bishop John Hughes was forced to assemble the
parishioners to defend the Cathedral against anti-Catholic and
anti-immigrant mob violence that threatened the Cathedral. Chanting
epitaphs such as "Paddies of the Pope..." these vigilantes were
determined to "burn her to the ground." The need to defend the
Cathedral against mob-violence wasn't uncommon. The "Know Nothing
Party" organized Protestants to march on St. Patrick's. Hughes wrote
to New York Mayor James Harper saying "Should one Catholic come to
harm, or should one Catholic business be molested, we shall turn this city
into a second Moscow."
Archbishop Hughes' decision to arm the Ancient Order of Hibernians and
position them on the walls surrounding the Cathedral, prevented these
attempts, but the anti-papist mob did stone the beautiful stained glass
windows of both the church and the Bishop's residence. Hibernian Hall was
located across the street from St. Patrick's in the 1800s continued to
defend the church and its priests during times of both turbulence and
peace.
Not all of the Cathedral's history was troubled. St. John Neuman was
ordained to the priesthood at St. Patrick's. Archbishop Hughes was the
first priest elevated to the Episcopate in St. Patrick's and on Tuesday,
April 27th, 1875, Archbishop John McCloskey received the zucchetto rosso,
the red-skull cap, in St. Patrick's, Pope Pius IX having made him the very
first American Cardinal. Attending the auspicious occasion were future
U.S. President Chester Arthur, Mayor William H. Wickham, and other leaders
of the day.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, President Lincoln invited
Archbishop Hughes to represent America as his envoy to France, Spain and
England, hoping to dissuade them from aiding and abetting the Southern
Confederacy. Shortly after President Lincoln called for troops, the
"Fighting 69th" Regiment, lead by Colonel Michael Corcoran,
Thomas Francis Meagher and former Congressman, U.S. Attorney and
Abolitionist - Captain John McKeon, headed off to what would be the Battle
of Bull Run - and they were the only Union regiment that did not flee. The
New York Irish Brigade, mainly men of the parish, fought heroically for
the Union and the abolition slavery. Many of those soldiers lie in the
cemeteries surrounding St. Patrick's.
Seventy-five-percent of the Irish Brigade died in battle. War's end
left with many widows and orphans. A few years later, with the emigration
of the Italians to America the neighborhood changed from Irish to Italian
, giving the neighborhood its new name - Little Italy. The Italian
community soon made St. Patrick's theirs and have contributed some of the
finest stained-glass work in North America to the church, as well as many
vocations.
 On May 25, 1879 The Old Cathedral role as the seat of the Archdiocese
of New York ended and it became a parish church . This change resulted
from building of our present day Cathedral of St. Patrick on 50th Street
and Fifth Avenue.
St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral is a church of the people, generations
after generations, built modern day America. This church nurtured the
Irish, Germans, French, and Italian communities as they arrived in this
new world. Italian-Americans and Dominicans comprise today’s parish .
The Chinese community is served at the church on Broome Street - Most Holy
Crucifix, established in 1925.
St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral is in “The Heart of Old New York”,
Little Italy - on the edge of the Bowery and SoHo, just north of
Chinatown. St. Pat's parish is robust, regularly celebrating liturgies in
English, Spanish and Chinese.
Serving this community for almost 200 years, St. Patrick’s Old
Cathedral looks forward to serving for many years to come.
The
Irish Potato Famine
by J. O'Connor
The
First Saint Patrick's Cathedral
by Robert Sheedy
The Fighting 69th
by Joe Hourigan
www.hourigan.com
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