(Observer screengrab/Sharon Boehlefeld)
Destination: As we begin the year of St. Joseph, we find few basilicas are named to honor St. Joseph, but one is the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, Ky.
Masses are being offered at 4 p.m. Saturday; 7, 9 and 11 a.m. Sunday; and 11 a.m. Monday through Friday. Check with the web site before you go to be sure things haven’t changed.
Why to go: The church cornerstone was laid in July 1816, according to the parish website. St. Joseph was the first cathedral west of the Allegheny Mountains and is listed by the U.S. Library of Congress as a national landmark.
St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral campus is adjacent to Spalding Hall and Flaget Hall of what was originally St. Joseph College, which are all on the National Historic Register. Pastors served as president of the college.
Paintings and other gifts from Europe donated by Pope Leo XII, Francis I — King of the Two Sicilies — and King Louis Phillippe of France, decorate the building and speak to the French beginnings of the diocese.
The cathedral was consecrated in 1819, though the interior was not fully completed until 1823. When the Episcopal See was moved 40 miles away to the fast growing city of Louisville in 1841, St. Joseph’s changed from a Cathedral parish to a parish church with the title “Proto-Cathedral.”
In 1995, Bardstown was named a Titular See by the Vatican for its contributions to Catholic Church heritage in America. Once again, Bardstown has a bishop, though in an honorary capacity.
In 2001 Pope John Paul II declared St. Joseph a minor Basilica.
St. Joseph has nearly 5,000 parishioners.
Accessibility: Much of the grounds appear to be accessible to the handicapped.
(Grand) Kid friendly: All ages are welcome.
Info: Address — Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral, 310 W. Stephen Foster Ave., Bardstown, KY 40004
Phone — 502-348-3126
Website — https://stjosephbasilica.org/
— Sharon Boehlefeld compiled this story
Send Destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org