The great state of Kentucky makes for a wonderful vacation destination. With its largest city of Louisville as your base, you are no more than an hour and a half away from all that makes the state famous – from the Mammoth Caves (the country’s largest underground caves) to the horse capital of America in Lexington or the world famous Bourbon Trail. In addition to bourbon, there are other famous Bluegrass delicacies to sample, including Beer Cheese and Kentucky Apple Stack Cake. In the midst of this, there are a number of historic Catholic sites that have gained recognition as part of “Kentucky’s Holy Land.”
Louisville
On the banks of the Ohio River, Louisville is a bustling city filled with many must-see attractions. For sports fans, it is the birthplace of the baseball bat (the Louisville slugger), the hometown of boxer Mohammed Ali and the venue for America’s most famous horse race, the annual Kentucky Derby. You can visit both the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory and the Muhammed Ali Center in the downtown, and tour Churchill Downs (site of the Kentucky Derby) and Kentucky Derby Museum just outside the downtown.
In the heart of downtown Louisville is the Cathedral of the Assumption. It became the seat of the bishop in 1842 and is the third oldest cathedral in continuous use in the U.S. Its steeple rises almost 300 feet above ground level and was once the tallest steeple in North America. After visiting the ornate interior of the cathedral, stop by the adjoining Patterson Education Center to tour the Archdiocesan History Center, which traces the history of the diocese from its earliest days in 1775 to the present.
Indeed, there is a long history that dates back to the nation’s founding, with Catholics from Maryland coming in annual waves between 1785 to 1812 to settle in Kentucky. When Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore established the first four dioceses in the United States in 1808, Bardstown was among them (alongside Boston, Philadelphia and New York). The bishop later moved the seat of the diocese from Bardstown to Louisville in 1841, where it remains to this day, symbolized by the bishop’s cathedra throne inside the church. The first bishop of the diocese, Benedict Flaget, the first “bishop of the west” in America, is buried below the cathedral.
Bardstown and the Bourbon Trail
The slogan of Bardstown – “Ageing since 1780” – says it all. This classic Kentucky small town is at the core of the state’s Bourbon Trail (it is the self proclaimed Bourbon Capital of the World) and was also the birthplace of the church in Kentucky, where one of the first dioceses in the United States was established in 1808. The town has a remarkably well preserved historic downtown district, including the original stagecoach stop from 1779 that remains a bed and breakfast and tavern. There are also 11 unique bourbon distilleries within 16 miles of town.
The town is full of a number of heritage sites linked to this historic Catholic diocese. First is the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto Cathedral. The church was the first cathedral in America established west of the Allegheny Mountains and from this cathedral in the wilderness, the bishop governed churches spanning all of the Northwest Territories, from Detroit to Tennessee (covering over 40 contemporary dioceses). While the church was built by the poor frontiersmen using local timber, clay and marble, it was furnished inside with precious treasures from Europe. This includes works of art donated by the King of France, the King of the Two Sicilies and Pope Leo XII. The cathedral was consecrated in 1819 by Bishop Flaget, but eventually became just another parish church in 1841 when the seat of the diocese was moved to Louisville.
Bishop Flaget first arrived in Bardstown in 1811 after travelling down the Ohio River and established the first small brick church, St. Thomas Church. The church still stands today, about four miles outside of downtown Bardstown and can be visited, alongside the log cabin which was Bishop Flaget’s residence and is now the Bishop Flaget Log House. The log house also served as the site of the St. Thomas Seminary, the first seminary west of the Alleghenies and also the oldest standing site associated with the Catholic Church in the entire U.S. Midwest.
On the north end of town is the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth campus. The Order was established in 1812 and has been a staple in Kentucky ever since. The Order was founded by Mother Catherine Spalding in 1812 and Father (later Bishop) John David, in response to an appeal from Bishop Flaget to help provide religious education to the families of the migrant families arriving in the region from Maryland. Mother Catherine oversaw the growth of the order over the next 45 years in both Bardstown and Louisville, operating over 6 orphanages and 12 hospitals. They were recognized for their ministry during the Civil War and in the twentieth century, expanded overseas to India, Africa, and Nepal.
The campus grounds are expansive and beautiful any time of year; you can explore the grounds on a self guided tour and even go fishing on the grounds. The church on the campus, St. Vincent de Paul, is a gem dating back to the 1850s. You can also see artifacts from the history of the order in the Heritage Hall, and also view a short film on the current work of the Order across 5 countries in the visitor center.
Gethsemani
Twelve miles south of Bardstown is the famous Trappist monastery, the Abbey of Gethsemani.
In the rolling countryside sits Gethsemani Abbey, a Trappist Monastery. The scenic grounds provide a wonderful place for prayer and contemplation, just as it has for generations of Trappist monks. One member of the Trappist community here drew international renown: Thomas Merton. He was a cosmopolitan bachelor and Columbia University professor who had the most unexpected of conversions, reading a random book he had picked up on medieval philosophy while riding the crowded New York City subway. This set in a motion a chain of events that would eventually lead to his conversion into the Catholic Church in Manhattan and his departure from the world of academia to the reclusive lifestyle of a hermit in the back country of Kentucky.
Removed from society, Merton had a truly incredible influence on the Catholic world. Indeed, he is the closest approximation that American Catholics have to the great Catholic mystics of Church history like St. John of the Cross or St. Theresa of Avila. He spent over 25 years in isolation here, for many years in a special hermitage that was built for him on the grounds as he moved deeper and deeper into contemplative prayer. His spiritual writings became quite influential and his spiritual biography, the Seven Story Mountain, a very influential book in mid-twentieth century America.
After visiting the monastery grounds, be sure to stop in the gift shop to purchase some of the hand crafted delicacies made by the Trappists at Gethsemani, particularly their fruit cake.
Covington and northern Kentucky
Covington is located directly across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. In fact, you can walk across the suspension bridge high above the Ohio River from Cincinnati to cross into downtown Covington, Kentucky. The Roebling Suspension Bridge, built in 1867, is actually older than the more famous Brooklyn Bridge. From here, you can embark on a journey across one of the great religious centers of America.
In Covington itself, take time to stroll through Mainstrasse Village, which has the appearance of a storybook German village, with its one hundred foot bell tower (mechanical figures of the Pied Piper and children pop out of the tower) and the photographic Goose Girl Fountain. At the restaurants in the village, you can sample hand crafted pizza, beer cheese, and German pretzels.
Further along Madison Avenue into the Madison District is the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption. If you are going to visit one church in the Cincinnati region, this is the one. The exterior facade is a replica of the great cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, complete with the three portals and gargoyles. The interior is modeled on the interior of the Abbey of St. Denis and its 82 stained glass windows from Munich bring alive the New Testament with series on the life of the Child Jesus, the conversion of St. Paul and some of Christ’s most famous parables. The stations of the cross that line the walls are in the mosaic style; commissioned in Venice, with each containing between 70,000-80,000 pieces of glass enamel. There are beautiful side chapels throughout the cathedral, including a special chapel to the Blessed Sacrament, as well as a quaint garden behind the church.
One of the highlights of a visit to the Basilica is the opportunity to pray before the exposed relics of many great saints of the church at the St. Paul Relic Shrine. Located under the Basilica’s baldacchino, it contains over 300 relics. Included in the reliquary are Pope St. John Paul II, St. Maximilian Kolbe, Bl. Solanus Casey, Bl. Stanley Rother, Bl. Miguel Pro, Bl. Carlo Acutis, St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. Damien of Molokai, St. Oscar Romero, St. Katharine Drexel, Bl. Anna Maria Taigi, Bl. Clelia Merloni, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Edith Stein, and the last Hapsburg Emperor and Catholic hero, Blessed Karl of Austria.
From Covington, it is a short drive to the Creation Museum and the life size re-creation of Noah’s Ark.
At the Creation Museum, located in Petersburg about 30 minutes from Covington, you can walk through a life size re-creation of the Garden of Eden, one of the best preserved Allosaurus skeletons (“ebenezer”), and instructive exhibits with rock and fossil exhibits to tell the story of the Great Flood and subsequent events in the early history of the world, and a new exhibit on Israel at the time of Jesus. The museum also boasts a botanical garden, three acre lake, waterfalls and trails; Eden Animal exhibit (zoo), and stargazer planetarium; and an outdoor zip line course. Kids ten and under are free.
In Williamstown, about 40 minutes from Covington, is the Ark Encounter. This is a full size replica of Noah’s Ark, built according to the specifications in the Bible. The interior is fully re-created Ark, with exhibits on the life of Noah, the Flood, the pre-flood world, lifelike sculpted animals. There is also a lovely timber restaurant on-site, as well as a small zoo.
Clearly, there is no shortage of options for a fun filled Catholic adventure through Cincinnati and northern Kentucky!
CATHOLIC CONCIERGE 
Leave a comment