Tonight on “Currents,” urban historian James Sullivan took us on a tour of downtown Manhattan, where Venerable Pierre Toussaint lived and worked. In that tour, we saw three churches.

The first church is St. Peter’s, at the corner of Barclay and Church Streets. Perhaps it’s appropriate that it’s the first church in the piece, as it’s also the oldest Catholic parish in New York state. We also saw Trinity Church, an Episcopal Church on Broadway, where that street intersects with Wall Street.

Finally, we saw Old St. Patrick’s Church on Mott Street in Little Italy. Venerable Pierre donated money to help build that church, and its cemetery was his original resting place. In 1990, he was exhumed and moved to the crypt in St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue where the deceased archbishops of New York are buried.

James Sullivan leads the Pierre Toussaint tour only once a year through the Municipal Arts Society. You can arrange for a private tour, though, by contacting him: jamessulivan02@yahoo.com.

— Christopher Iasiello, Writer, Currents