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

Bardstown, Kentucky Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 11,700 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a l ...

. It is the original

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

of the present

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville The Archdiocese of Louisville is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that consists of twenty-four counties in the central American state of Kentucky, covering . As of 2018, the archdiocese contains appr ...

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

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

was

Benedict Joseph Flaget Benedict Joseph Flaget (November 7, 1763 – February 11, 1850) was a French-born Catholic bishop in the United States. He served as the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bardstown between 1808 and 1839. When the see was transferred to Loui ...

, the first bishop of Bardstown.

Construction

The cornerstone was laid on July 16, 1816, with construction beginning thereafter, with the use of slave labor. 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 ( it, Leone 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 ...

, King

Louis-Philippe of France Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

and others. The gift from the King of France included paintings by Murillo,

Van Dyke Van Dyke, VanDyke or Vandyke is an Americanized or anglicized form of the Dutch language, Dutch-language toponymic surname ''Van Dijk'', ''Van Dijke'', ''Van Dijck'', or ''Van Dyck (surname), Van Dyck''. Meaning living near the dike. Van Dyke, Van ...

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 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 family name refers ...

* ''The Winged St. Mark'',

Van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

* ''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), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

. 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 United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. 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 Martin ...

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 ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

elevated it to the honor of a

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

and an

umbraculum The umbraculum ( it, ombrellone, "big umbrella", in basilicas also conopaeum) is a historic piece of the papal regalia and insignia, once used on a daily basis to provide shade for the pope (Galbreath, 27). Also known as the pavilion, in modern ...

was installed at the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

. 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 Tribune ...

. 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 Fredrick 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 ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

. This diocese was the first inland diocese in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. 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 ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of Mar ...

). The

See See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

of the diocese of Bardstown was moved to

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

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 that consists of twenty-four counties in the central American state of Kentucky, covering . As of 2018, the archdiocese contains app ...

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 Buildings and structures in Bardstown, Kentucky