Holy Ground

This summer, Sisters celebrated the 200th anniversary at Nazareth

Nazareth, Kentucky, is home to the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. It is a sacred ground to many and boasts a beautiful campus with a rolling landscape. It is where you will find the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.

The Beginning

In 1822, the Sisters moved to Nazareth and built a new school. Within a decade, the school known as Nazareth Academy could accommodate 100 boarders at its new location over three miles north of Bardstown, the site of the present Motherhouse.

Mother Catherine Spalding

On June 11, 1822, over 200 years ago, Mother Catherine led the entire community of Sisters and boarders, more than 30 in all, in procession to the new Nazareth. It would be some time before Catherine would recognize the move as a “special blessing of Providence.”

In a prayer service over the summer, Amina Bejos, SCN, stated, “We give thanks for the foresight and courage of our early Sisters. We thank God and them for the beauty, grace, and comfort of this holy ground we call home. As we remember their trust in providence and willingness to risk, we pray that we, too, might have the visionary agility to move along the path where God’s light shines.”

St. Thomas

However, Nazareth was not their first home. The Congregation began in St. Thomas, Kentucky.

In 1812, in the newly-formed diocese of Bardstown, Kentucky, Bishop Benedict Flaget was overwhelmed by the responsibility of providing religious education for the children of Catholic families who had migrated to Kentucky from Maryland after the Revolutionary War. In response to this need, Bishop John Baptist David called for young women willing to devote their lives to the service of the Church. From among a group of six women that responded to the call, Catherine Spalding, originally from Maryland, was elected the first superior of the Congregation.

In 1814, the Sisters opened a one-room school at St. Thomas Farm, near Bardstown. One of the cabins used for the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Bishop Flaget’s log house in which the Sisters initially stayed until their own cabin became available, is still standing at St. Thomas.

When the Sisters and all who lived with them at St. Thomas came to Nazareth, on June 11, 1822, they used the study of the minister who had owned this farm for their chapel. The Annunciation grotto marks this site.

Over 100 Sisters and Associates gathered at St. Thomas on Saturday, June 9, 2012, to celebrate the founding of the Congregation. Sisters and Associates traveled by bus from Nazareth to St. Thomas, where they were greeted by friends wearing sunbonnets and bib aprons.

The Church

The spires of St. Vincent de Paul Church greet visitors upon entering the campus, and beautiful old buildings dot the landscape, many of which are listed on the National Historic Register.

St. Vincent de Paul church

With an eye toward the future in 1850, Mother Catherine undertook the most demanding building project of her life with the construction of a new church and academy. She hired William Keely, architect of the Cathedrals in Louisville and Chicago, to design the new church.

She saw the new church as . . . “an edifice to the honor of God, not indeed as rich as the one built by Solomon, but as fine as his poor daughters of Nazareth could build to his honor for future generations.”

The church was consecrated on July 19, 1854, and has served us well with several changes over the years.

The Campus Today

The 245-acre historic campus has hundreds of stately trees and several ponds. The Nazareth Cemetery is the burial place of many Catholic pioneers, including Bishop John Baptist David and Mother Catherine Spalding.

At one time, Nazareth was a working farm. Henry Smith, who served Nazareth Campus for nearly 20 years, recalls the work days of milking cows and hauling hogs, the beekeeping, and caring for the 40-acre apple orchard. He remembers when SCN Center and Russell Hall were built. Smith, who was born only minutes away from campus, still enjoys visiting campus and seeing its evolution.

Though there is no longer an academy or college, the spiritual and prayerful setting is still home to the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, administrative offices, Heritage Hall museum, Nazareth Villages, and Nazareth Retreat Center, which offers workshops, retreats, and spiritual direction.

The pioneer spirit began long ago in a log house in St. Thomas. It continues today, rooted in Nazareth, Kentucky. That spirit now even travels far across the Indian Ocean, to the Himalayan mountains, over the Caribbean Sea, to the Kalahari Desert and coastal forests of eastern Africa, where you will nd the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth as they continue to follow the vision of their foundress and the love of God, with creativity and perseverance.