The baptism
St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral — Little Italy and Nolita, Manhattan
In the New York guidePlan a day here
On screen
Michael stands at the font as godfather to Connie’s baby. The priest asks whether he renounces Satan and all his works, and Michael quietly answers that he does. In those very minutes, across the city and in Las Vegas, his men are wiping out the heads of the rival families. The cross-cutting, with the church organ playing, is among the most famous in cinema.
The place today
New York’s first Catholic cathedral, from 1815, enclosed by a brick wall and a small cemetery. It became a basilica in 2010. It is open for visits and services, with paid guided tours that include the catacombs. Both the baptism in the first film and the ceremony in Part III were filmed here, 18 years apart.
Did you know? According to Scouting NY, it was shot in a side chapel. The exterior, as the family leaves, was filmed at a different church, on Staten Island.
Also filmed here
Sources: movie-locations · Scouting NY · Slashfilm