Our daily tours operate rain or shine five days a week Thursdays through Mondays. We have 8 time slots per day beginning at 10:30am with the last tour at 4:15pm. Starting point is at the Old Chancery building at 266 Mulberry Street between Houston and Prince Streets in Little Italy (Nolita). This 90 minute group tour is led by one of our professional Tour Guides and will begin with the two walled graveyards that are normally off-limits to the public. From there we will enter the church to view the recently restored Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral. The second portion of this experience will be spent exploring the Catacombs beneath the Basilica. We ask that all guests dress appropriately for a visit to the Basilica and to always be reverent and respectful to anyone that may be praying in the Church or that may be visiting loved ones that may be interred in the graveyards and/or Catacombs.
For over 200 years, the grounds of the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral have been used as the final resting place for the faithful departed. The Basilica’s historic cemetery and underground catacombs have been a silent witness to the many struggles and accomplishments of prominent New York Catholics. It is where bishops rest beside noteworthy New Yorkers who have played important roles in New York, American, and Catholic history. They rest peacefully in crypts beneath the nave of this historic landmark church in the catacombs. This labyrinth of vaults belong largely to bankers, lawyers, captains of industry, merchants, and even to Civil War-era generals. The church built in 1809-1815, was the first Cathedral of New York and the original Saint Patrick’s until 1879 when the Bishop’s chair was moved to the new Cathedral on Fifth Avenue.
The Secrets of a Sacred Underground
A New York Times Article by Helene, Stapinski, photos by Devin Yalkin
We were honored to be featured on the front page of the Weekend Arts I section of the New York Times On Friday April 19th, 2019 we were featured on the front page of the Weekend Arts I section of the New York Times. Click here to read this compelling story about our Catacombs by Candlelight Walking Tour.