6. There Are Two St. Patrick’s Cathedrals

St. Patrick’s Cathedral is the second New York City church to bear that name. At the turn of the nineteenth century, New York City had only one Catholic Church, St. Peter’s. The City’s burgeoning Catholic population necessitated a new church, one that could serve as the center of the newly formed See. Between 1809 and 1815, St. Patrick’s Cathedral was constructed on Mulberry Street. Within a few decades, the City’s Catholic population had outgrown St. Patrick’s Cathedral and a new site was chosen a few miles north for a new cathedral. Except for two years (1866-1868) when a fire gutted the old Cathedral and the new one had not been completed, New York City has not been without a St. Patrick’s Cathedral in over two hundred years. Today, there is still some confusion between the two churches. Since 2010, the Mulberry Street location is officially known as the Basilica of Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral.

Check out some of the secrets of the Crypt of Old Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.

Did you know the Godfather was filmed at Old Saint Patrick’s Cathedral?