St. Patrick's Basilica on Mulberry Street, commonly referred to as the old cathedral. New located on Fifth Avenue - a world famous St. Patrick's Catholic Cathedral. It opened in 1879, and the old, no longer housed the faithful, the remaining steps of the temple.

In 2010 he was given the title the Basilica as the temple, the game and still play a significant role in the history of the Catholic Church.

Of course, it is not as big and luxurious as the new cathedral, but, nevertheless, very good. When it opened in 1815, the newspaper wrote that it was one of the greatest ornaments of New York. Designed by Joseph Francois Mangin, in neo-Gothic style, the cathedral and the truth is beautiful - with delicate bindings lancet windows, sirenevato finished walls. Splendor and its interior: elegant columns, carved wooden statues of the Virgin Mary and the saints in the aisles, an organ of 1868, a huge marble altar and behind it - some of the finest religious sculptures in the United States, the carved gilded figures of the Apostles.

Moviegoers know how to look inside the cathedral - it was here that Francis Coppola shot the famous scene of baptism in the movie "The Godfather."

The most dramatic episode in the history of St. Patrick's associated with the explosion of anti-Catholic sentiment in 1836. After the publication of libelous books about how the Catholic priests murdered children Protestants conceived revenge. Slander unmasked anti-Catholic magazine, but even that did not help. The anger of the crowd warmed leaders of the political movement to cleanse America of immigrants (especially from Catholic immigrants).

In the end, we decided to burn the Protestant Cathedral of St. Patrick. This was learned Archbishop of New York, John Hughes and began to act decisively - not for nothing that his nickname was "Dagger John." It has caused several thousands of Irish Catholics, told them to arm themselves and take up positions in the churchyard to protect the cathedral. The crowd smashed the stones a few stained glass windows, but the type of weapon in the hands of many men chastened attackers - they fled. More attack the Temple did not try, and he continued to minister to the Irish, Italian, French, German immigrants.