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St. Patrick's Old Cathedral Review

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St. Patrick's Old Cathedral

Address: 263 Mulberry St., corner of Mott and Prince Sts, Little Italy, New York, NY, 10012 | Map It
Phone: 212/226-8075

Category: Religious Sites
Location: SoHo and Little Italy

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Fodor's Review:

If you've watched The Godfather, you've peeked inside St. Patrick's Old Cathedral—the interior shots of the infamous Baptism scene were filmed here. The unadorned exterior of the cathedral gives no hint to the splendors within, including a 1868 Henry Erben pipe organ. the enormous marble altar surrounded by hand-carved niches (reredos) housing an extraordinary collection of sacred statuary and other assorted Gothic exuberance. There's a maze of mortuary vaults underneath the Cathedral (older residents of Little Italy recall playing hide and seek in the vaults), and the outdoor cemetery is the final resting place for notable New Yorkers including the Venerable Pierre Toussaint, an African-American who was born a slave in Haiti, made his fortune as a hairdresser in New York, and whose many charitable works have resulted in his consideration for sainthood. Also interred here is Bishop Hughes—better known during his time as "Dagger John," a nickname he earned for the distinctive pointed cross he always scrawled after his name and his fiery temperament.

Open: Hours may vary, usually open 9AM-5PM
Subway: N, R to Prince St.; 6 to Bleecker St.

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