St. Rose Priory, a house of the
Dominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, was the location of the first Catholic educational institution west of the
Allegheny MountainsThe Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
.
The land for the priory was purchased by (then) Father
Edward Dominic FenwickBishop Edward Dominic Fenwick, O.P. was born on the Patuxent river, Maryland to Colonel Ignatius Fenwick and Sarah Taney...
, O.P. (later Bishop) in July 1806 with money received from an inheritance. He bought an existing farm west of
Springfield, KentuckySpringfield is a city in and county seat of Washington County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,634 at the 2000 census. It was established in 1793 and probably named for springs in the area.-Geography:...
. Construction began shortly thereafter, including a church, priory, and college. The college was begun in 1808 but the building was not finished until 1812. It was named Saint Thomas College, after St. Thomas Aquinas. Its most famous student was
Jefferson DavisJefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
, the future president of the Confederacy during the Civil War.
The church was named for
St. RoseRose of Lima, , the first Catholic saint of the Americas, was born in Lima, Peru.-Biography:Saint Rose of Lima was born in the city of that name, the daughter of Gaspar Flores, a harquebusier from San German, Puerto Rico, and his wife, Maria de Oliva, who was a native of Lima. She was part of a...
. Though not designated a cathedral, the church served in the role of a cathedral until the
Basilica of Saint Joseph Proto-CathedralThe Basilica of Saint Joseph Proto-Cathedral is a Catholic parish church at 310 West Stephen Foster Avenue in Bardstown, Kentucky. It is the former cathedral mother church of the former Roman Catholic Diocese of Bardstown...
could be built in nearby
Bardstown, KentuckyAs of the census of 2010, there were 11,700 people, 4,712 households, and 2,949 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,113 housing units at an average density of...
. The church is in a stone
TudorThe Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
-
GothicGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style architecture and includes an octagonal tower. The Bardstown diocese was the first diocese west of the Allegheny mountains, with its first and only bishop,
Benedict Joseph FlagetBenedict Joseph Flaget was a U.S. bishop. He served as the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bardstown between 1808 and 1839, then as bishop of the Diocese of Louisville between 1839 and 1850 when the See was transferred to Louisville in 1839.-Education and Call to Ministry:At...
as spiritual leader of that diocese. Though not the first Catholic church building in Kentucky (this honor belonged to St. Ann in nearby Springfield, a log cabin church) the church was the first
brick church in Kentucky. It is sometimes referred to as a "proto-priory".
A convent was added about 1822, an order of the
DominicansThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
. Later this convent moved to another location in
Washington County, KentuckyWashington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 10,916. Its county seat is Springfield. The county is named for George Washington. Washington County was the first county formed in the Commonwealth of Kentucky when it reached statehood...
and founded
Saint Catharine CollegeSaint Catharine College is a small Roman Catholic liberal arts college located near Springfield, Kentucky. Originally a women's academy and junior college, the College became coeducational in 1951. The college, accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and...
.
Although Saint Thomas Aquinas College closed in 1828, the priory continued, including an education role as a seminary, novitiate, elementary and higher educational levels.
The present church of St. Rose was erected in 1854. Part of the original brick church of 1809 was preserved and is now the Eucharistic Chapel. The brick was covered with a cement mixture to blend with the limestone of the newer church.
The original St. Rose church remains, though much of the old priory buildings (including the college and old novitiate) were torn down in 1978. The grounds also include one of the original cemeteries in Washington County, Kentucky. Some graves date to the early 19th century.
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