St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral – from Cathedral to Church to Basilica
The facade of the St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral on Mott Street is surprisingly plain. While Catholic churches usually welcome visitors with their elaborate entrances, this one lacks the usual statuary and decorative details. But it’s part of its story…
St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral was completed in 1815 as the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, so it was not just another church but the main Catholic Church of the city – a Cathedral. It was designed by Joseph-François Mangin, one of the leading architects whose work included such important structures as New York City Hall.
While three sides of the Cathedral are original, the main facade was rebuilt later after a fire. If the modest structure seems as if to avoid attracting attention, it was definitely by design. The Cathedral’s appearance reflects the status of the Catholics in early 19th-century New York – they were not only a minority but also a very oppressed one.
New York City was built by Protestants who had a massive historic ship on a shoulder against the Catholics – mistrusted and not welcomed here. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the 19th century, with the arrival of the Irish, the Catholic presence was becoming an indisputable reality. The Catholics were newcomers, mostly poor and often uneducated. Besides the socioeconomic differences, there was always a mistrust of the Catholics regarding their allegiance to the Pope rather than their new country. The tensions between nativists and newcomers led to conflicts, and in 1836, the Cathedral was attacked. As a result, came a protective surrounding wall. Another threat came in 1844 when the nativists plotted to burn all the Catholic churches in the city.
Stronger than the stone wall and hotter than fire was the new Catholic archbishop, John Hughes, known as Dagger John, who firmly stated that “if a single Catholic Church were burned in New York, the city would become a Moscow,” aka would be burned down.
Not only did Dagger John prevent the destruction of Catholic churches in the city, but he was also the figure behind building the new spectacular St. Patrick’s on Fifth Avenue. When it opened in 1879, St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral was demoted to a parish church.
The Old St. Patrick’s changed its status again in 2010 when Pope Benedict XVI declared it a basilica. In Roman Catholic churches, the title of the basilica is given to church buildings that are distinguished either by their association with a major saint or have an important historical role.
The Old St. Patrick’s, the oldest Roman Catholic Building in the city, with its history of survival, went from a Cathedral to a church and, finally, to a basilica.
Even though it’s much less known than its Fifth Avenue successor, its interior is world-famous. Martyn Scorsese, who grew up nearby and was an altar boy here, and Francis Coppola used the Cathedral’s sanctuary for the Baptism scene in Godfather 1.
- Completed – 1815
- Architect – Joseph-François Mangin
- Was attacked in 1836 – protective wall
- Declared a basilica – 2010
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