The Basilica of Saint Joseph Proto-Cathedral is a Catholic parish church at 310 West Stephen Foster Avenue in

Bardstown, Kentucky Bardstown is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 13,567 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the list of counties in Kentucky, county seat of Nelson Count ...

. It is the original

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the present

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville The Archdiocese of Louisville () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in central Kentucky in the United States. The cathedral church of the archdiocese is the Cathedral of the Assumption in Louis ...

, originally erected as the Diocese of Bardstown — "proto-cathedral" means the original cathedral of a see that has transferred or moved. During its years as a cathedral, the

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

was

Benedict Joseph Flaget Benedict Joseph Flaget (November 7, 1763 – February 11, 1850) was a French-born Catholic Church, Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Diocese of Bardstown, Bishop of Bardstown from 1808 to 1839. When the Episcopal see, see was transfer ...

, the first bishop of Bardstown.

Construction

The cornerstone was laid on July 16, 1816, with construction beginning thereafter. Materials used for its construction were found in the immediate area. The architect and builder was John Rogers of Baltimore. By 1819 it was sufficiently completed for Mass to be held. The interior was fully complete by 1823. Many of the paintings and interior decorations were donated by

Pope Leo XII Pope Leo XII (; born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiorre Girolamo Nicola della Genga; 2 August 1760 – 10 February 1829) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 28 September 1823 to his death in February 1829. ...

, King

Louis-Philippe of France Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his thron ...

and others. The gift from the King of France included paintings by Murillo, Van Dyke and others. Gifts of royal embroidered vestments—the handwork of the queen and her court—and sacramental vessels were also made.

Paintings from King Louis

* ''The Crucifixion'', Phillippe Van Bree * ''Descent of the Holy Ghost'',

Van Eyck Van Eyck or Van Eijk () is a Dutch language, Dutch toponymic surname. ''Eijck'', ''Eyck'', ''Eyk'' and ''Eijk'' are all archaic spellings of modern Dutch ("oak") and the surname literally translates as "from/of oak". However, in most cases, the fam ...

* ''The Winged St. Mark'',

Van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of Frans van Dyck, a wealt ...

* ''St. Peter in Chains'',

* ''St. John the Baptist'',

* ''The Coronation in Heaven of the Mother of God'', Murillo * ''The Annunciation'',

* ''Teaching the Boys'', artist unknown On November 12, 1952, nine of the paintings were stolen. Thieves entered the church in the middle of the night and cut the paintings from their frames. The stolen paintings were: “The Flaying of St. Bartholomew,” “The Coronation,” “The Descent of the Holy Ghost,” “St. Anne,” “The Blessed Virgin,” and four Stations of the Cross. The paintings were recovered by the F.B.I. in April 1953. Four were found rolled up in the trunk of a car in Chicago, and five had been purchased by a New York buyer. The paintings remained in good condition. Twelve men were arrested in connection with the robbery, but only one, Norton Kretske, was sentenced. His conviction was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court due to lack of evidence. The paintings were returned in 1957 and were rehung in the church in 1958.

Painting from King Francis I of the Two Sicilies

The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew,

Mattia Preti Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John. Life Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Ca ...

, was painted in Naples around 1650. In the early 19th century, King Francis I of the Two Sicilies made a gift of the picture to the Saint Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, Kentucky, where it remains to this day. After suffering many years of neglect and misguided restorations (including complete over-painting of the surface in the 1950s), the picture was sent to the Getty for study and development of a plan for treatment. Two years of difficult work have restored the picture, and the exceptional character and quality of the original is once again visible. The painting was returned to Bardstown in time for re-consecration of the Proto-Cathedral as a Basilica in August, 2002.

Historical significance

The proto-cathedral is the first Catholic Cathedral west of the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

. On January 9, 1974, the proto-cathedral was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. On June 3, 1976, the listing was expanded to include the adjacent

Spalding Hall Spalding Hall is a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Bardstown, Kentucky. It was built in conjunction with the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral. The hall was originally built in 1826 and named for Bishop Marti ...

and Flaget Hall, originally St. Joseph College. Over time, the location of the cornerstone was lost, until 1980 when it was uncovered during restoration of part of the building. On July 18, 2001,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

elevated it to the honor of a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

and an

umbraculum The umbraculum ( in Latin, "umbrella"; , "big umbrella",Vocabolario Treccani on line

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

. One of the most famous people from this church is

Daniel Rudd Daniel Arthur Rudd (August 7, 1854December 3, 1933) was a Black Catholic journalist and early Civil Rights leader. He is known for starting in 1885 what has been called "the first newspaper printed by and for Black Americans", the '' Ohio Tribun ...

. Daniel Rudd (August 7, 1854 – 1933) was a Catholic journalist and civil rights leader who lived his early years in Bardstown, Kentucky on Anatok Plantation, where he was born into slavery. Daniel Rudd was born on August 7, 1854, in Bardstown, Kentucky to slave parents Robert and Elizabeth Rudd. Rudd and all 11 of his siblings were baptized in the Catholic church. Rudd was very religious, and it is unknown at what point in his life he decided to make it his life's work. Daniel Rudd moved to Springfield, Ohio in 1881 and stayed there until 1886. His journalism career started at the Sunday News. While Rudd was working at the Sunday News, he was a printer, reporter, and editor who was interested in following a Frederick Douglass-like advocacy that was aimed at protecting the civil rights of African Americans. He believed that the press played a large role in black advancement. Rudd also thought that editors and journalists had the ability to persuade and educate Catholic, business and civic leaders. In 1885 Rudd began his first Catholic newspaper called the Ohio Tribune, he later changed the name to the American Catholic Tribune. This newspaper became the first black owned and operated national Catholic newspaper. After he founded his own newspapers, including the American Catholic Tribune in 1887, Rudd began believing that the newspaper was important in promoting the church as a transformational institution that was capable of bringing equality and social justice for African Americans. He was less concerned with the equality and social justice for other minorities such as Mexican Americans, Native Americans, and Chinese Americans. “Cardinal Gibbons, arch-bishop of Baltimore, Md., the most Reverend Archbishops of Cincinnati and Philadelphia, and the Right Reverend Bishops of Covington, Ky., Columbus, OH., Richmond, Va., Vincennes, Ind., and Wilmington, Del.” were all listed on the master head of the newspaper as bishops who endorsed the newspaper. After only a short year Daniel moved the company to Cincinnati, where he started featuring articles that spoke out on black issues such as segregation and discrimination. Rudd's mission and philosophy came through: “The Catholic Church alone can break the color line. Our people should help her to do it.”

Diocese of Bardstown

The Diocese of Bardstown was erected into an Episcopal See April 8, 1808 by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. This diocese was the first inland diocese in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The primal see or proto-Diocese of the United States, the Diocese of Baltimore, was subdivided into the dioceses of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Bardstown (Baltimore becoming the

Archdiocese of Baltimore The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore () is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in northern and western Maryland in the United States. It is the metropolitan see of the Ecclesiastical Province of Baltimore. The Archd ...

). The See of the diocese of Bardstown was moved to

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

in 1841, and St. Joseph's was replaced as Cathedral by St. Louis Church (now the Cathedral of the Assumption) on Fifth Street in Downtown Louisville. St. Joseph's therefore became the "proto" or first cathedral. The

Diocese of Louisville The Archdiocese of Louisville () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in central Kentucky in the United States. The cathedral church of the archdiocese is the Cathedral of the Assumption (Louisville ...

was elevated to Archdiocese in 1939. In 1995, the Holy See honored the proto-cathedral by naming retired Bishop Charles G. Maloney the Titular Bishop of Bardstown. Maloney died on April 30, 2006.http://www.archlou.org/archlou/-1999988020/-1999903459/-1998754990.htm He was succeeded by Bishop Daniel E. Thomas on June 8, 2006.

References

External links

Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral
{{coord, 37.810833, -85.472222, region:US-KY_type:landmark, display=title Joseph Proto-Cathedral, Basilica of St. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville National Register of Historic Places in Bardstown, Kentucky Joseph Proto-Cathedral, Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral, Basilica of St. Roman Catholic churches completed in 1823 Joseph Proto-Cathedral, Basilica of St. Greek Revival church buildings in Kentucky Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Churches in Nelson County, Kentucky 1823 establishments in Kentucky