We Celebrate Black Catholics This Month
Pierre Toussaint was born a slave in 1766 in present day Haiti. He travelled to New York and became a hairdresser. Pierre helped and cared for his “owner’s” wife and she granted him his freedom when she died. He bought the freedom of his wife, Juliette Noel. They opened their home to orphans. He was a devout Catholic, although he was looked down upon both for being a freed slave and a Catholic. He gave money to the poor and to the construction of the original Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. He is the only lay person buried in the cathedral in New York. All others buried there are cardinals or bishops.
