Pierre Toussaint

Pierre Toussaint (* approximately June 1766, Port -au -Prince, Haiti, † June 30, 1853, New York City, United States ) was a Catholic layman and slave. On 18 December 1996 he was declared a Servant of God by Pope John Paul II.

Life

Pierre Toussaint was born around 1766 in what was then the French colony of Saint -Domingue (Haiti). Its owner, Jean Jacques Bérard, brought him to New York, where he trained him to the barber. He also learned to read and write. As a hairdresser, he made a name for himself and had many female clients from the upper class, so he made ​​good money. His owner died and impoverished. Pierre Toussaint supported financially from there secretly the widow. This gave him the freedom on July 2, 1807 shortly before her death. On August 5, 1811, he married a free slave he purchased. He bought a house for his family and helped there too impoverished women, African- American children and impoverished Catholic priests. He collected money for charitable purposes, including a home for orphans of the Sisters of Charity. He also raised funds for the construction of the Catholic St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, in whose crypt he is buried today. Later, he supported the establishment of the first Catholic school for African-American children and the Oblates of Providence, a sisterhood for African-American women. He died on June 30, 1853 in New York. In 1990, his relics were buried in the crypt of the Cathedral of New York.