St Patrick’s Cathedral: What to See and How to Visit

St Patrick's Cathedral is a Manhattan icon you should make time for. Popes, kings and dignitaries from all over the world have passed through this church right on Fifth Avenue.

Why St Patrick's Cathedral matters

St Patrick's Cathedral is the Catholic parish church of New York and one of the largest Catholic churches in the United States.

It sits in the heart of Manhattan, across from Rockefeller Center and a few blocks from Central Park. It is also known for the beauty of its Gothic lines and its delicate facade.

It is one of the best examples of the contrasts of New York: Gothic arches surrounded by luxury stores and modern buildings, right across from Rockefeller Center.

The cathedral organs

Its pair of organs are enormous, with close to 10,000 pipes in total. Try to catch a concert, because the sound is sublime.

The seasons begin in October each year. You can check the concert schedule on the St Patrick's website.

Art inside St Patrick's Cathedral

Take a look at the Pietà sculpture, a replica of the one Michelangelo carved for St Peter's Basilica, but three times bigger!

Another interesting detail is the altar of St Louis and St Michael. It was made by the stained glass and lamp company of the celebrated artist and manufacturer Louis C. Tiffany.

Tiffany was the leading figure of the Art Nouveau movement in the United States, and his most important collection is at the Queens Museum, which is well worth a visit.

St Patrick's Cathedral by the numbers

• It takes up a whole block, between Fifth and Madison avenues and 50th and 51st streets
• Its spires rise 101 meters, and when it opened it was the tallest building in New York.
• It seats 2,500 people and holds up to 3,000 standing.
• It has 19 bells, each named after a saint.
• Its huge rose window, above the great organ, is 8 meters in diameter
• The bronze doors at the Fifth Avenue entrance weigh almost 9,000 kilos

Guided visit of St Patrick's Cathedral

If you want to dig into the architecture and history of the cathedral, you can take the official self-guided tour. To do it, you need to buy the Spanish-language audio guide and install it on your phone.

With this audio guide you can walk the church at your own pace and learn about its history, its architecture and its role in New York City.

St Patrick's Cathedral is full of New York anecdotes and stories, and it is worth hearing them in the very place where they happened.

History of the church

It was built between 1858 and 1879 thanks to donations from Irish immigrants, who dedicated it to their patron saint. They wanted to evoke the Gothic cathedrals they had left behind in Europe.

Keep in mind that the Irish are one of the communities that have contributed most to the culture of this melting-pot city, and the massive St Patrick's Day Parade is proof of it.

The Cathedral of St John the Divine in Uptown Manhattan

If you have read this far, you will probably want to know about the other cathedral in New York: the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

This cathedral is in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in Uptown Manhattan, very close to Columbia University. You will notice that it is enormous and still unfinished.

Although it follows the Anglican tradition, it welcomes people of any faith. It is a church for the city's residents more than for one particular creed. I felt the cosmopolitan spirit of New York alive in there.

It took me several trips to decide to visit, because I had not understood its historical, architectural and symbolic importance. Now that I have been, I really do urge you to go. I find it even more impressive than St Patrick's Cathedral.

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Address
Fifth Avenue, between 50th and 51st streets

Getting there
Subway lines E and M. 5 Av/53 St station
Subway lines 4 and 6. 51 Street station

Hours
Daily 6:30 am to 8:45 pm

Map