Pierre Toussaint

Jean-Jacques Bérard returned temporarily to Saint-Domingue to try to save his properties, but he died there of pleurisy in 1801, leaving his wife a widow and ruined in New York. Pierre Toussaint, who had permission to keep a portion of his earnings as a hairdresser, decided then to provide entirely for the needs of his mistress and the other slaves of the household, thus sparing them from destitution. Even after Madame Bérard's remarriage to Gabriel Nicolas, Pierre continued to support the household financially.

Shortly before her death, on July 2, 1807, Madame Bérard-Nicolas manumitted Pierre as a sign of deep gratitude. Having become free at the age of 41, he chose to take the name "Toussaint," likely in tribute to the Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture.

On August 5, 1811, Pierre married Marie Rose Juliette Noel, a slave whose freedom he had purchased himself. He also bought the freedom of his sister Rosalie. After her death in 1816, Pierre and Juliette adopted her orphaned daughter, Euphémie, whom they raised with love until her premature death in 1829 at the age of 14.

The Toussaint couple dedicated their lives and fortune to charity. In their home on Franklin Street, they welcomed orphans, homeless children, and visiting priests. They established a credit bureau to help new immigrants, an employment agency, and a shelter. Pierre was also one of the primary donors for the construction of the first Old St. Patrick's Cathedral on Mott Street and actively supported the creation of the first Catholic school for Black children in New York. He also provided financial aid to the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first religious congregation of Black women in the United States.

The life of Pierre Toussaint is marked by a deep and daily piety. For more than sixty years, he attended Mass every morning at St. Peter's Church on Barclay Street, the oldest Catholic church in New York.

Despite the constant racial discrimination of the era, Pierre showed no bitterness. During the yellow fever and cholera epidemics that struck New York, while many inhabitants fled the city, Pierre and his wife remained to care for the abandoned sick and those in quarantine, without distinction of race.

When it was suggested that he retire to enjoy his fortune, he replied: "I have enough for myself, but if I stop working, I will not have enough for others." Pierre Toussaint passed away peacefully on June 30, 1853, at the age of 87, two years after his wife Juliette. His death sparked immense mourning throughout the city of New York. He was initially buried in the cemetery of the Old St. Patrick's Cathedral.

The reputation of Pierre Toussaint's holiness has spanned generations. In 1968, the Archdiocese of New York officially opened his cause for canonization.

In 1990, under the impetus of Cardinal John O'Connor, Archbishop of New York, the mortal remains of Pierre Toussaint were transferred to the crypt of the current St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. He is the first and only layman to be interred there, resting alongside the archbishops and cardinals of New York.

On December 17, 1996, Pope John Paul II promulgated the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, conferring upon him the title of "Venerable." His cause for beatification is still ongoing, supported by the Pierre Toussaint Guild.

The spirituality of Pierre Toussaint rests upon a serene and joyful faith, nourished by the daily Eucharist and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. He knew how to embody the inner freedom of the Gospel long before obtaining his legal freedom, transforming his condition as a former slave into a service of universal love.

Considered the founding father of Catholic Charities of New York, his legacy remains alive. In 1983, the Archdiocese of New York created the Pierre Toussaint Scholarship Fund to support students from minority backgrounds. He is also recognized as the patron saint of hairdressers and barbers.