Basilica of Saint Joseph Proto-Cathedral

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Façade of Proto-Cathedral

Interior showing altar

The Basilica of Saint Joseph Proto-Cathedral is a Roman 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. During its years as a cathedral, its pastor was Benedict Joseph Flaget, the first and only Bishop of Bardstown.

The cornerstone was laid in July 16, 1816 with construction beginning thereafter. By 1819 it was sufficiently completed for Mass to be held. The interior was fully complete by 1823. Many of the paintings and interior decorations were donated by Pope Leo XII, King Louis-Philippe of France and others.

The proto-cathedral is the first Roman Catholic Cathedral west of the Allegheny Mountains. On January 9, 1974, the proto-cathedral was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On June 3, 1976 the listing was expanded to include the adjacent Spalding Hall and Flaget Hall, originally St. Joseph College.

Over time, the location of the cornerstone was unknown, until 1980 when it was uncovered during restoration of part of the building.

In 2001, Pope John Paul II elevated it to the honor of a minor basilica church and an umbraculum was installed at the altar.

[edit] Diocese of Bardstown

The Diocese of Bardstown was erected into an Episcopal See April 8, 1808 by the Holy See. This diocese was the first inland diocese in the United States. The primal see or proto-Diocese of the United States, the Diocese of Baltimore, was subdivided into the dioceses of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Bardstown (Baltimore becoming the Archdiocese of Baltimore).

The See of the diocese of Bardstown was moved to Louisville in 1841, and St. Joseph's was replaced as Cathedral by St. Louis Church (now the Cathedral of the Assumption) on Fifth Street in Downtown Louisville. St. Joseph's therefore became the "proto" or first cathedral. The Diocese of Louisville was elevated to Archdiocese in 1939.

In 1995 the Holy See honored the proto-cathedral by naming retired Bishop Charles G. Maloney, the Titular Bishop of Bardstown. Maloney died on April 30, 2006.[1] He was succeeded by Bishop Daniel E. Thomas on June 8, 2006.