Summer pilgrimage includes visit to Saint Meinrad Archabbey, Bardstown
Completed in 1819, the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, Ky., was the first cathedral built in the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains. (File photo by Sean Gallagher) Click for a larger version.
By Mary Ann Garber
Back by request, the Archdiocesan Summer Pilgrimage will revisit several historic monasteries and a cathedral during a bus tour through scenic southern Indiana and northern Kentucky in early August.
Archdiocesan pilgrims enjoyed these pilgrimage destinations in 1999 so Carolyn Noone, associate director of special events, arranged a similar three-day itinerary that includes a popular musical in Bardstown, Ky., and relaxing luncheon cruise on the Ohio River.
Msgr. Frederick Easton, adjunct judicial vicar of the archdiocesan Metropolitan Tribunal, will serve as spiritual director for the Aug. 6-8 pilgrimage to Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad and Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, Ind., in the Evansville Diocese, then on to the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Ky., and the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, Ky.
(Learn more or register online here)
The pilgrimage begins with Mass celebrated by Msgr. Easton at 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 6 at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis then the bus departs from the Archbishop O’Meara Catholic Center. Lunch at the Huber Orchard and Winery in Starlight precedes a tour and wine tasting.
Next, the pilgrims will visit the historic monastery of the Sisters of St. Benedict in Ferdinand, Ind.
The pilgrimage continues to Saint Meinrad Archabbey for Vespers, supper, a tour and Compline (night prayers). The pilgrims will spend the night at the Archabbey Guest House.
On Aug. 7, the pilgrims will join the Benedictine monks for Mass at 7:30 a.m. at the Archabbey Church of our Lady of Einsiedeln then enjoy breakfast on “The Hill” before traveling to Kentucky.
They will stop for lunch at a restaurant in Louisville then visit the Abbey of Gethsemani, which was founded by Trappist monks more than 160 years ago.
After checking into a Bardstown hotel, the pilgrims will enjoy supper at the Old Talbott Tavern then attend The Stephen Foster Story, a popular musical, at the outdoor amphitheater in My Old Kentucky Home State Park.
The final day of the pilgrimage begins with breakfast at the hotel followed by Mass at 9 a.m. at the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown then a tour of the first cathedral constructed west of the Appalachian Mountains.
In 1808, Pope Pius VII created the new Diocese of Bardstown from the Diocese of Baltimore, the only Catholic diocese in the country. The basilica was built in 1819.
To conclude the pilgrimage, the group will return to Louisville and board The Spirit of Jefferson riverboat at noon for a luncheon cruise on the Ohio River then return by bus to Indianapolis.
“It was an extremely popular pilgrimage, and people have asked to do it again,” Noone said. “Pope Benedict XVI has designated The Year of Faith for the international Church beginning on Oct. 11, and this pilgrimage is a way to prepare for that observance.”
She said the first pilgrimage stop—where ancestors of Ted Huber’s family planted fruit orchards and have farmed the fields for more than 100 years—also features a petting zoo, restaurant, market and gift shop.
Saint Meinrad is “a very holy and beautiful place,” Noone said. “I understand that the new guest house is very nice.”
The Abbey of Gethsemani, nestled among rolling hills in Kentucky, has welcomed guests since 1848 and is the burial site of Father Thomas Merton, a well-known Trappist monk and author, she said. “The monks have a shop where we can purchase some of the famous fudge and fruitcakes that they make there to help sustain the monastery.”
In Bardstown, the pilgrims will enjoy a musical featuring more than 50 of Stephen Foster’s compositions from the mid-19th century, Noone said. During the tour of the basilica, the pilgrims will also see historic paintings given to the Diocese of Bardstown by Pope Leo XII and King Francis I of Sicily.
Msgr. Easton said he always enjoys visiting Saint Meinrad, where he completed some of his early formation for the priesthood at its former minor seminary.
“The guest house is excellent,” he said. “… From the front door toward the east, you see the Archabbey Church and the monastery.”
He is also happy to return to the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani.
“I’ve been there a number of times [for] retreats,” Msgr. Easton said. “I like the quiet. I like praying the Office [the Liturgy of the Hours] with the monks and walking on the grounds. There are also some nice walks in the woods across the road. … I find that to be a very good experience. And I like going to Bardstown and the old cathedral, where there is a lot of the American Church’s history and sort of the pre-history for the Diocese of Vincennes [later the Archdiocese of Indianapolis].”
He is also looking forward to the Ohio River cruise and lunch on the riverboat during the final afternoon of the pilgrimage.
“River cruises are quite nice,” Msgr. Easton said. “I think it will be a lot of fun.”
Pilgrimages to holy places are part of the longstanding tradition of the Church, he said. “This pilgrimage will encompass what is called ‘the Kentucky Holy Land.’ ”
(The pilgrimage costs $389 per person for a double occupancy room and $469 per person for a single occupancy room. The price includes deluxe motor coach transportation, all meals, overnight accommodations, admission tickets and other fees. For more information or reservations, call Carolyn Noone at 317-236-1428 or 800-382-9836, ext. 1428, or log on to www.archindy.org/pilgrimage to register online.) †
