Holy Land of Kentucky

I went with Elijah on his confirmation field trip yesterday.  We visited the "Holy Land of Kentucky."  Did you know that Bardstown, Kentucky is one of the very oldest dioceses in the U.S.?  It was a great field trip, and we visited 3 places.  First up was the motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.

They have a beautiful church.  

The grounds have many small statues, as well as gardens and a rock labyrinth.  I wished we had more time to walk around.

This is one of the two side altars in the church.  They were elaborately carved from Carrera marble.

We also visited the Abbey of Gethsemene, where we joined the monks for 12:15 prayers.  Joined is a rather loose term.  They are cloistered, but we were in the general public area during their prayers.  Then we toured the gift shop and watched a video on their daily life.  Suffice to say, Elijah does not feel called to this vocation, but he was more than happy to buy some of their fudge.

Lastly, we went to St. Thomas church.  That was a fascinating place. 

This is the first Catholic church built in Kentucky.  I think it was finished in 1812.  

Here is Elijah posing with the baptismal fount.  It was handcarved out of walnut by a seminarian in the early 1800s.

The altar.  The baptismal font is to the left (out of photo).  This church has been in continual use since it was built over 200 years ago.

Next, we went to the log house next door.  It is set up as a little museum.  This little room shows how the seminarians had an adoration chapel:

Elijah on the stairs.

The lady explained that until 1803, the U.S. only had one diocese, Baltimore (CA, FL, etc weren't part of the U.S. yet).  The diocese of New Orleans was added with the Louisiana Purchase.  Then, in 1808, the Pope carved out some new dioceses for the U.S.: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Bardstown.  The Bardstown area had a large number of Catholics who had moved from Maryland in the 1790s.  

The log cabin (which is next to the church)