Catherine’s Louisville

Louisville Catherine’s

“And now we’re going to walk, again, in the footsteps of Catherine as she would’ve picked up orphans from the wharf and then walk exactly through the streets this way.”

Presentation Academy students gather around a statue of Mother Catherine Spalding in Louisville. They were excited to be part of the inaugural walking tour for schools focused on Mother Catherine.

On a crisp October morning, Michelle Grgurich, SCN, led a group of Presentation Academy students and faculty members through downtown Louisville, retracing steps taken by Mother Catherine Spalding over two centuries ago.

“Our next stop will be at her statue right in front of the Cathedral.”

Mother Catherine’s Louisville is a walking tour highlighting the sites of Mother Catherine’s missions and residences in Louisville, Kentucky. Based on her book, “Pioneer Spirit,” the late Mary Ellen Doyle, SCN, created this walking tour in order to inspire those interested in Mother Catherine’s life. Sister Mary Ellen felt that actually walking in her footsteps would provide a unique and memorable learning experience. Many times, Sister Mary Ellen led these walks. She also created a guidebook for the tour and recorded a video. These resources can be accessed online with the hopes of sharing the stories from Mother Catherine’s missions and residences to even more groups.

Students and faculty were thrilled to be part of the inaugural tour for schools. Mother Catherine founded Presentation Academy in 1831. She and three other SCNs opened this first Catholic school in Louisville in the basement of St. Louis Church (now the undercroft of the Cathedral). The school was referred to by two names, Fifth Street School and later Presentation Academy.

During the tour, participants are encouraged to imagine what it must have been like for Mother Catherine and the Sisters as they lived in a small six-room house behind the Church. Here, they cared for orphans during the 1832 cholera epidemic. They stand on the ground of the first St. Vincent Orphanage and venture to the southeast corner of Jefferson and Wenzel, the second site for the orphanage. They hear of the opening of St. Vincent Infirmary, the first private hospital in Louisville and its move to the spot which is now the site of the Palace Theater.

For the students from Presentation Academy, one highlight of the tour was visiting the undercroft of the Cathedral, the exact location where Presentation was founded. Principal Becca Noonan pointed out that as seniors, the students will return to the spot where it all began to prepare for their baccalaureate ceremony. The walk was well-received as faculty and students engaged throughout the journey. The sophomores even aced the pop quiz at the end! Participants were divided into three groups and led by SCNs Susan Gatz, Chris Kunze, and Michelle Grgurich. The hope is to turn the guidebook into an app easiily accessible from smartphones. For now, interested persons can find a copy of the guidebook or view a set of videos at scnfamily.org.

This inspiring walk is both an education in the history of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and Louisville. Mother Catherine plays a role in the rich and interesting past of the city. The Courier-Journal in 2003 named her the one woman among 16 “most influential people in Louisville and Jefferson County history.”

Michelle Grgurich, SCN, leads students on a walking tour in Louisville, Kentucky to sites that are part of the history of Mother Catherine Spalding and the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. Students are pictured on the Louisville waterfront where Mother Catherine rescued orphans from ships and took them to the convent for care.