The Venerable Pierre Toussaint was a former slave from the French colony of Saint-Domingue who was brought to New York City by his owners in 1787. There he eventually gained his freedom and became a noted philanthropist to the poor of the city. Freed in 1807 after the death of his mistress, Pierre took the surname of "Toussaint" in honor of the hero of the Haitian Revolution which established that nation.
Background
Pierre Toussaint was born on June 27,1766, to slaves who were devout Catho-lics. The Toussaints belonged to the owners of a sugar plantation in Haiti, then a French colony known as St. Domingue. During the late 1700s the French Revolution touched off the beginning of slave insurrections that made Haiti the first independent black nation in the Western world. Toussaint's master, Jean Jacques Berard, accompanied by his wife and five of his slaves including Toussaint and his sister Rosalie fled to New York City. Described as a "kind and sensitive" master, Berard, on the advice of his wife Marie, apprenticed Toussaint to a hair-dresser with the intention of giving him a way to make a living.
Career
Because French was popular in New York at the time, the young hairdresser became an immediate success among the city's elite. In 1790 New York was the riation's capital and the site for George Washington's first inaugural ball. "Monsieur Pierre," then in his early twenties, was sought after by many of the women attending the festivities, who wanted Toussaint to be the one to fashion their hair in the stylish bouffant of the time. It has been speculated that Martha Washington herself was one of Toussaint's clients.
Meanwhile, Berard had fallen on hard times and returned to Haiti with the hope of rescuing the remains of his investments. Toussaint, still legally a slave, was left with the responsibility of guarding Marie during her husband's absence. Berard died of pleurisy while in Haiti, shortly after learning that all the family's assets had been lost during the insurrection. Although he had financial prosperity and independence, Toussaint refused to abandon the widow Berard, and remained legally a slave for the next 20 years. By this time he was earning enough money to be able to secretly support her socialite lifestyle. He took over the responsibilities of the home, paying bills as well as sending invitations for and sponsoring invitations to her parties. Routinely, Toussaint rescued black orphan boys from the city streets and gave them a place to stay until he found them employment, usually with one of the wealthy women whose hair he styled. His greatest wishes came true when he was able to buy freedom for his sister Rosalie and for Juliette, the woman he eventually married. On her deathbed in 1807, Marie Berard made all the legal arrangements for Toussaint's freedom.
In 1811, at the age of 45, Pierre married Juliette. They did not have any children, but adopted their niece Euphemie after Rosalie died from tuberculosis. With Juliette, he embarked on a life of charity to friends, strangers, the poor, and the sick. He founded one of New York's first orphanages and raised money for the original St. Patrick's Cathedral in the Wall Street area of Manhattan. Interestingly, he and his wife were once refused admittance to the cathedral because of the color of their skin. His biographers note that he never lost Iris temper and simply walked away thanking God "that Euphemie would never know his humiliation". Euphemie died in 1829 of the same disease that had killed her mother. He grieved this loss for a long time and sought comfort by intensifying his charitable works in the community. By the time of his death in 1853, he was a known personality within the community and his leadership and generosity were celebrated in obituaries in much of the New York press.
Religion
Pierre Toussaint overcame incredible odds to become one of America's first rich, black professionals. In 1996, the Catholic Church declared him "venerable" the first step in the realization of sainthood. Church biographies describe him an "ordinary man doing extraordinary things through the grace of God" and recount how he used the money he earned to buy freedom for many Haitian slaves. They tell how he risked his life during various plagues in New York City, where he went through barricades to nurse people afflicted with yellow fever, cholera, and other infectious diseases.
After Cardinal Cooke's death, the late Cardinal John O'Connor, who was entombed in St. Patrick's Cathedral near Pierre Toussaint in May 2000, was one of the main advocates for Toussaint's sainthood. Tire next step toward being declared a saint is "beatification," which requires the verification of a miracle. Presently, the Vatican is considering the case of a 5-year-old boy whose scoliosis (curvature of the spine) improved significantly after his family prayed to Toussaint. Strengthening the case was the surgeon's declaration that the improvement could not be medically explained. It will take years of documentation to satisfy the Catholic Church's Congregation for the Causes of Saints of the validity of this case, but many believe that this is not a question of if, but of when Pierre Toussaint will become the first African-American saint.
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
For some, his life is not without controversy. There are black Catholics who see him as having been too servile "a Catholic Uncle Tom" for not rebelling against slavery and for his devotion to Berard at the expense of his own freedom. His advocates, however, see him as decent, pious, and extraordinarily magnanimous. His business achievements and personal piety are an interesting combination of traits, and are uncommon in the Catholic tradition of saint canonization. In the 1950s Cardinal Terence Cooke formed the Pierre Toussaint Guild to champion Toussaint's canonization.
Connections
In 1811 Toussaint married Juliette Noel, a slave 20 years younger than he, after purchasing her freedom. For four years they continued to board at the Nicolas house. They adopted Euphemia, the daughter of his late sister Rosalie, who had died of tuberculosis, raising the girl as their own. They provided for her education and music classes. In 1815, Nicolas and his wife moved to the American South. Together the Toussaints began a career of charity among the poor of New York City, often taking baked goods to the children of the Orphan Asylum and donating money to its operations .
