ASK THE AVERAGE AMERICAN about the saints of New York, and you’re likely to elicit a puzzled look. In popular culture, the region is more commonly associated with sinners on a grand scale: organized crime bosses, corrupt political machines, rapacious robber barons.
Ask a New York Catholic, on the other hand, and you can expect a smile of instant recognition,
followed by a list of local favorites: Mother Seton. Mother Cabrini. Kateri Tekakwitha.
In the following pages, we profile some of the saints (and candidates for sainthood) associated with our region. Of course, that doesn’t mean they “belong” to us in any way; all of these holy figures can also be claimed by localities outside the Archdiocese of New York. Which is hardly a surprise: It’s not in the nature of sanctity to be delimited by geographic boundaries.
A saint’s light shines for all. Still, blessings reside in the places where they lived or worked or
died. Many of us feel a deep connection to God when we visit the physical location where a
saint walked or prayed. A strong local association with a saint is wonderful, and any association
is cause for joy.
For New Yorkers, there’s a lot of joy to be had in our own backyard.
Saints of New York
St. Isaac Jogues (1607 - 1646): Canonized in 1930.
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850 - 1917): Canonized in 1946.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774 - 1821): Canonized in 1975.
St. John Nepomucene Neumann (1811 - 1870): Canonized in 1977.
St. Kateri Tekikwitha (1656 - 1680): Canonized in 2012.
The process of declaring a saint in the Catholic Church usually takes decades, sometimes centuries. Along the way, a candidate must first be certified as a servant of God, then venerable, then blessed before canonization can be considered. These titles aren’t just milestones on the way to sainthood; each is a mark of glory in itself. We can pray to them, honor them – and as New Yorkers, we can be humbly thankful that our region has been blessed by the presence of even more great Catholics, listed below.
Servants of God
Dorothy Day (1897–1980): Co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement who tirelessly fought for the poor, the hungry and the homeless. Her cause was launched by John Cardinal O’Connor in 1990.
Terence Cardinal Cooke (1921–1983): Archbishop of New York from 1968 until his death in 1983, known for his work to protect the unborn and provide educational opportunities to the underprivileged. The Cardinal Cooke Guild was formed to promote his cause for sainthood in 1984.
Fr. Isaac Hecker (1819–1888): A native New Yorker and founder of the Paulist Fathers. In 2010, Cardinal Edward Egan launched his cause for sainthood.
Rose Hawthorne Lathrop (Mother Mary Alphonsa, OP, 1851–1926): A Catholic convert and founder of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, known for her devotion to the care of people with terminal cancer. The movement for her canonization was begun in 2003.
Fr. Vincent Capodanno (1929–1967): A Staten Island native and Maryknoll missionary who became a Marine chaplain in Vietnam and was killed while assisting soldiers in the heat of battle. His cause for sainthood was initiated in 2010.
Venerables and Blesseds
Venerable Pierre Toussaint (1766–1853): A prominent Black New Yorker and businessman of the 19th century whose charitable work and contributions supported orphans, immigrants and schools – and helped fund the construction of the original St. Patrick’s Cathedral in SoHo. Declared venerable in 1996.
Venerable Mother Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory (1893–1984): An Irish-born religious sister who founded the Carmelite Sisters of the Aged and Infirm in New York in 1929. Declared venerable in 2012.
Venerable Rev. Fulton J. Sheen (1895–1979): An auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of New York in the 1950s and ‘60s, later bishop of Rochester, who is widely known for his pioneering work in the use of radio and television for evangelization. Declared venerable in 2012.
Venerable Felix Varela y Morales (1788–1853): A Cuban priest and advocate for Latin American independence who went on to become vicar general of the Archdiocese of New York and a powerful supporter of immigrants. Declared venerable in 2012.
Blessed Solanus Casey (1870–1957): A Capuchin friar known for his speaking and counseling skills; served in Yonkers and New York City for two decades. Beatified in 2017.
And a Few More Saints
Though their connection to the Archdiocese of New York is less direct, these saints too had ties to our region.
St. Marianne Cope (1838–1918): A Franciscan sister from way upstate (Syracuse) who became legendary as Mother Marianne of Molokai, overseeing the care of people suffering from leprosy in Hawaii for three decades. Canonized in 2012.
St. Jean de LaLande (1616–1646) & St. René Goupil (1608–1642): Jesuit lay missionaries who worked alongside St. Isaac Jogues. Both canonized in 1930.
St. Pope Paul VI (1897–1978) & St. Pope John Paul II (1920–2005): Both popes visited the Archdiocese of New York – John Paul II visited three times! Canonized in 2018 and 2014, respectively.
Reprinted from Archways Magazine | Fall 2020