St. Vincent de Paul ca. 1932 French-speaking Catholics from both France and its New World colonies were among the earliest Catholic settlers in New York and were some of the first parishioners of St. Peter's, New York's original parish. The French population tended to assimilate quickly into the larger society; however, bolstered by continued immigration, in 1841, they organized their own parish, St. Vincent de Paul, on Canal Street, in lower Manhattan, which later relocated to West 23rd Street.

From the 1870's-90's, approximately 20,000 French immigrants lived in South Village and SoHo area. By the end of the 19th century, most of that colony had relocated to the Chelsea area.