Married Saints Too

Last time I talked about St. Anna-Maria and Domenico Taigi.  In this post I'd like to write about Venerable Pierre and Juliette Toussaint.

Pierre Toussaint is the patron saint of hairdressers because that was his occupation.  I wonder if he's the patron of women with alopecia.  He should be because at the time Pierre was hairdressing, men and women wore wigs.  He dressed their hair.

He actually was born a slave in Haiti.  He was lucky to have a good man as a master, who not only taught Pierre how to read and write but also his catechism.  Pierre grew in the Catholic Faith, as his master instructed him.  When the family moved to New York, the household went too; that included Pierre.

Pierre's master, Jean Berard apprenticed him to a hairdresser and that's where Pierre learned the trade.  Pierre was a natural, both because of his personality and also he had a talent.  It seemed he had an eye for what worked where, whether it was hair, dress, or a room in a house.  He became known and was popular.  When the master, Berard died, Pierre took care of his widow until she died.  Upon Mrs. Berard's death, Pierre was freed from slavery.

As a free man, and working for himself, he became wealthy.  He did work hard and had a substantial clientele, and he made enough money to be not only generous to others, but also to invest money in several ventures.  Eventually, Pierre married Noel Gaston.  She was only 15 and a slave, so he bought her.  Then he freed her and asked her to marry him.  She was perfect for Pierre.  They believed and thought alike.  The two of them were devoted Catholics.

Between the two of them, they helped many.  They turned their home into a shelter for orphans, a credit bureau, an employment agency, and a hostel for the poor.  Pierre even contributed to the construction of Old Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.

They never had any children themselves, but they did adopt his niece when her mother, Pierre's sister, died.  They loved and cared for this child as their own and  were heartbroken when she died at 14.

Pierre was to outlive his beloved wife.  Noel died a couple of years before Pierre in 1851.  He died in 1853.  It was edifying to read of this successful, and holy, black man in this time period of history.  That he could make it, was certainly a testimony to the grace of God.

h/t Fr. Thomas Kevin Kraft, OP