# Juliette Toussaint

Part of a series on :
Black Catholicism :
1892 Colored Catholic Congress :
Overview :
Pope: Francis
History
Black Catholic Movement
National Black Catholic Congress :
Background
African Christianity
African Catholicism
Kongo Catholicism
Black Christianity
Catholicism and race
Age of Discovery
Catholic Slavery
U.S. Catholicism
Haitian Revolution
Stono Rebellion
San Miguel de Gualdape
Fort Mose :
People
Saints
Moses the Black
Augustine
Monica
Benedict the Moor
Martin de Porres
Peter Claver
Katharine Drexel
On the way to sainthood
Pierre and Juliette Toussaint
Mary Elizabeth Lange, OSP
Henriette Delille, SSF
Augustus Tolton
Samuel Henderson
Julia Greeley
Mary Theodore Williams, FHM
Thea Bowman, FSPA
Martin de Porres Ward, OFMConv
Cardinals
Wilton D. Gregory
Archbishops
Eugene A. Marino, SSJ
James P. Lyke, OFM
Bishops
James Healy
Joseph O. Bowers, SVD
Harold R. Perry, SVD
Joseph L. Howze
Priests
Patrick Healy, SJ
John R. Slattery, SSJ
Charles F. Uncles, SSJ
Cyprian Davis, OSB
Clarence Rivers
Paschal Salisbury, OP
Seminarians
William Augustine Williams
Families
Healy family :
Institutions
Churches
Basilicas
Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception (Norfolk, Virginia)
Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica
Other
St Augustine (New Orleans)
St Augustine (D.C.)
St Francis Xavier (Baltimore)
St Benedict the Moor (NYC)
Most Pure Heart of Mary (Mobile)
Religious communities
Oblate Sisters of Providence
Sisters of the Holy Family
Franciscan Handmaids of the Most Pure Heart of Mary
The Josephites
Society of African Missions
Fraternal orders
Knights of Peter Claver
Schools
Xavier University of Louisiana
Claver College
St. Augustine High School (New Orleans)
St. Augustine Seminary (Bay St. Louis)
St. Anthony's Mission House
Organizations
Colored Catholic Congress
Federated Colored Catholics
National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus
National Black Sisters' Conference
National Black Catholic Seminarians' Association
National Black Catholic Lay Caucus
The National Office for Black Catholics
National Association of Black Catholic Administrators
National Black Catholic Congress
Black Catholic Theological Symposium
Institute for Black Catholic Studies
National Association of Black Catholic Deacons :
Literature
History of Black Catholics in the United States (Davis) :
Worship
Gospel Mass
Black Unity Mass
Prayer
Sacraments :
Rites
Roman
Ordinary Form
Zaire Use :
Controversies
Jesuit Bend Incident
George Stallings (Imani Temple) :
Miscellaneous
Anti-Catholicism
Ecumenism
Relations with:
Protestantism
Islam :
Societal issues
U.S. Catholic politics :
Links and resources
Index
Outline
Glossary
Category
Media
Templates
WikiProject
Vatican City portal :
Catholic Church portal :
vte :
Juliette Noel Toussaint (c. 1786 – May 14, 1851) was a formerly enslaved Haitian-American philanthropist who collaborated closely with her husband Pierre Toussaint in helping the poor and doing charitable works in downtown New York. Her husband was declared a Venerable in 1996 by Pope John Paul II.
Her name is listed among the donors of the New York African Society for Mutual Relief.

## Life
### Early life

Little is known about Juliette's early life. She was born into slavery in the former French colony of Haiti in the year 1786. The Noel family came to Baltimore with their slave owners at some point during the Haitian Revolution. There she labored as a housemaid, assistant cook and nanny.

### Marriage and family

In the wake of the Haitian Revolution, Pierre Toussaint's master went into exile in New York City with him, granting them the opportunity to meet one another. Juliette was 20 years younger than him. While still working for her master, Pierre saved enough money to purchase her freedom. They were married privately on August 5, 1811. For four years, they boarded at the house of Pierre's master before finally settling on Franklin Street. Pierre worked as a hairdresser while Juliette focused on household needs and volunteered for the local church activities.
They adopted Euphemia, the daughter of Pierre's late sister Rosalie, who had died of tuberculosis, raising the girl as their own. They provided for her education and music classes.

### Philanthropy

The couple attended daily masses and began a career of charity for New Yorkers experiencing poverty regardless of color and creed. They often brought baked goods to the children of the Colored Orphan Asylum and donated money to its operations. They sheltered and fostered numerous street children, travelers, and homeless people in their own house.
Together, the Toussaints organized a credit bureau, an employment agency, and a refuge for priests. Many Haitian refugees went to them, and they helped them find jobs. They often arranged sales of goods so they could raise money to live on. With the Oblate Sisters of Providence, they established a school for Black children.
They also helped raise money to build a new Roman Catholic church in New York, which became Old St. Patrick's Cathedral on Mott Street. Pierre was also a benefactor of the first New York City Catholic school for Black children at St. Vincent de Paul on Canal Street.

### Later years

On May 14, 1851, Juliette died of natural causes. Two years later, Pierre Toussaint died on June 30, 1853. They were buried alongside Euphemia in the cemetery of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral.