Venerable Pierre Toussaint

Month of Saints - Day  12

I normally limit my daily Saint posts to those individuals who have been canonized or beatified by the Catholic Church - and God knows there are enough of those to keep me busy for a good long while.  However, this man's story is so inspiring that I have chosen to make an exception.

Pierre Toussaint was declared Venerable by Pope St. John Paul II in 1996 - his cause for canonization continues to be investigated by the Archdiocese of Ney York.

Pierre was born into slavery in the colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) in 1766. He was educated as a child by his owner's tutors and trained as a house slave.  He was brought to New York City in 1787, and apprenticed to one of the city's leading hair dressers.  When his master died while on a visit to Haiti, Pierre voluntarily took on the support of his widowed mistress. She in turn allowed him to keep much of his earnings as a hairdresser and arranged for his emancipation upon her death. He was freed at the age of 45.  He took on the surname of 'Toussaint ' in honor of the hero of the Haitian Revolution which established that nation.

In 1811, Pierre married Juliette Noel, a slave 20 years younger than himself, after purchasing her freedom. When Pierre's sister died, they adopted her daughter, raising her as their own and providing for her education and music classes.  Together the Toussaints began a career of charity among the poor of New York.  They took baked goods to the Orphan Asylum and donated money to its operation.  They also sheltered orphans in their own hope and took in boys to foster, educate and help find employment. They also organized a credit bureau, an employment agency, and a refuge for priests and destitute travelers. Many Haitian refugees went to New York, and because Toussaint spoke both French and English, he frequently helped the new immigrants.

Toussaint also helped raise money to build a new Roman Catholic church in New York, which became Old St. Patrick's Cathedral on Mulberry Street. He was a benefactor of the first New York City Catholic school for Black children at St. Vincent de Paul on Canal Street.  Pierre died at the age of 87 and was buried in the cemetery of Old St. Patrick's Cathedral along side his wife and adopted daughter, who had preceded him in death.