Patricks priests. nuns. parishioners and students have contributed so very much to the betterment of New York City. Most famously. Saint Patricks parishioners and their erstwhile leader Bishop John Hughes helped define the course of American immigration in the 1830s when they refused to let nativists prevent Catholics. mostly poor Irish at the time. from establishing themselves in New York City. Their heroic efforts included an 1835 standoff in front of Saint Patricks in which an antiCatholic. antiimmigrant mob gathered to destroy the Cathedral. The Cathedral stood. and with it Americas first large immigrant population. Nearby. Saint Patricks Old Cathedral School has served as a lead model for many of New York Citys parochial schools. Founded by the Sisters of Charity. the schoolhouse on Mott Street has offered for 176 years the hope and opportunity of a strong education to tens of thousands of mostly poor. immigrant students. Recently. I had the good fortune to revisit Saint Patricks Old Cathedral and the Old Cathedral School and am delighted to report that these institutions remain remarkably unchanged in their caring mission and spirit.
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immigrant antiimmigrant immigration