Did you know that the spread of the Catholic Church West in the U.S. was due in large part to Catholic bourbon makers? Did you know that one of the first Catholic diocese started in the U.S. was in Bardstown, Kentucky? 

Join us on a pilgrimage to the "Kentucky Holy Land" and the Bourbon Trail! We’ll visit historic religious sites and learn about the courageous Catholics of the 18th and 19th centuries brought the Faith (and bourbon) to Kentucky, established Churches and monasteries, and built a strong Catholic community in this region which still exists today. 

In addition to the religious sites, we’ll have tours and tastings at several world-class bourbon distilleries. Along the way, Deacon Jim Conrey will explain the very Catholic history of bourbon. We’ll celebrate Mass together daily and Fr. Christopher DiTomo will lead us in prayer and devotions as we make our pilgrimage to the Kentucky Holy Land and the Bourbon trail!

Board our comfortable 56-passenger bus enroute to the Kentucky Holy Land and the Bourbon Trail! On the way Fr. DiTomo will lead us in prayer, and  Deacon Jim will explain the very Catholic history of the bourbon.  

We'll make a stop at The Garage Food Hall in Indianapolis for lunch on your own. With numerous vendors, there's sure to be something for everyone. After lunch, we'll board the bus enroute to Louisville, KY.

Dating back to 1853, our first stop in Kentucky Holy Land is the home to 2 Roman Martyrs! St. Martin of Tours church is known not only for its beautiful ornate Stations of the Cross, perpetual Eucharistic Adoration chapel, Tridentine Mass, traditional stained-glass windows, sacred music, inspiring paintings and statues, but this church has also been entrusted with the care of two Roman martyrs: St. Magnus, Centurion and Martyr, 207 A.D and St. Bonosa, Virgin and Martyr, 207 A. D.  We’ll have a tour of this amazing church, celebrate Holy Mass, and pray a very special holy hour alongside St. Magnus and Bonosa.

Then we'll board our bus again enroute to Bardstown. Named “The Most Beautiful Town in America” by Rand McNally and officially known as the Bourbon Capital of the World, Bardstown has scores of wonderful restaurants, shops, and things to do in its historic downtown. This will be our home base for the pilgrimage. 

After a day of travel, check into your beautiful and comfortable room before we head to a local steakhouse for a delicious welcome dinner. 

The center of Kentucky’s Holy Land is the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral. In 1808, the Diocese of Bardstown became America’s first inland diocese. Benedict Joseph Flaget, a French-born priest who served as bishop of the diocese, took on the challenge of building a cathedral in the middle of the Kentucky frontier. It was completed and consecrated in 1819. Pope Leo XII, King Louis Phillippe of France, and others donated fine paintings and other gifts, which can still be seen there today.

Though the Episcopal See was moved to Louisville in 1841, St. Joseph’s is considered as a religious and cultural landmark. The U.S. Library of Congress lists St. Joseph’s as a national landmark. In 2001, The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, under Pope St. John Paul II conferred the title and dignity of Minor Basilica to St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral.

We’ll have a tour of this historic basilica, celebrate Holy Mass, and have time for private prayer.

After a holy morning, we'll head to Maker's Mark for our first tour and tasting on the Bourbon Trail! 

Following lunch at a local winery/cafe, we'll head to Holy Cross Church. Known as the birthplace of Catholicism in Kentucky, it was established in 1785 when “a league” of sixty Catholic families was formed in Maryland. Each pledged to migrate to Kentucky and agreed to settle in the same area for mutual support, to increase their chances of having a priest, and to establish a church.

In 1787 Mass was held in private homes. Under Father William DeRohan, the first chapel was built at Holy Cross. A grotto today marks where this structure, the first west of the Alleghenies for Catholic worship, was built.

Father Stephen Badin, the “Apostle of Kentucky” and the first priest ordained in the United States, came to Kentucky in 1793 and cared for the entire state from Holy Cross. 

After time for prayer, we'll head to Heaven Hill Experience for a group bourbon tasting. Then we'll end our day with dinner at a delicious local restaurant.

After a leisurely breakfast, we'll head to Covington, KY and our first stop of the day, the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption. This breathtaking Cathedral is one of the oldest inland cathedrals in the United States and the Mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville. The Cathedral has stood at its current location since 1830 and is instantly recognizable as a Covington landmark. 

The Cathedral is famous for what is said to be the world's largest handmade church stained glass window, at 67 ft × 24 ft. Located in the north transept of the Cathedral, the upper portion depicts the Coronation of Mary after her Assumption. The lower portion is a depiction of the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 AD that proclaimed Mary the 'Theotokos' (God-Bearer or Mother of God). The window was installed in 1911. 

The St. Paul Relics Chapel is one of the largest holdings in the United States. This relic collection is comprised of over 350 relics. 

We’ll tour this beautiful cathedral, celebrate Holy Mass, and spend time in prayer before departing enroute to the Ark Encounter!

Situated in beautiful Grant County in Williamstown, Kentucky, the Ark Encounter let's you experience Bible history like never before with the life-size Noah’s Ark! Built according to the dimensions given in the Bible, it spans 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high, this modern engineering marvel amazes visitors young and old.

After an unforgettable experience, we'll head to Buffalo Trace Distillery for a tour and group tasting! 

No trip to Kentucky would be complete without the KFC... but we'll settle for his wife. We'll enjoy a classic Kentucky dinner at Claudia Sanders Restaurant, wife of the late Colonel Sanders. 

Return to the hotel with full stomachs and rest up before another full day tomorrow.

After breakfast at the hotel, we'll start our day with Holy Mass at St. Thomas Church in Bardstown. Dating back to 1812, this church has a rich history related to the spread of the faith westward in the U.S. 

In 1634, a group of Catholic immigrants arrived in the present-day state of Maryland after fleeing England due to religious persecution. They settled, farmed, and chartered religious organizations until 1785. They then formed a group known as the "League of Sixty" and left Maryland to settle other lands. They left in three groups, the last being led by Edward Howard in 1787 and settling in Bardstown, Kentucky. There, in 1794, Edward's son Thomas Howard and his wife Ann set up a plantation. Thomas built a one-room log house on the property in 1795. Later, the house was divided into three rooms and a second story was added. The farm was willed to the Catholic Church when Thomas died in 1810. 

Pope Pius VII created the Diocese of Bardstown in 1808 along with the dioceses of Boston, Philadelphia, and New York. All four dioceses were created out of territory of the original diocese of Baltimore. The French Sulpician priest Benedict Joseph Flaget was appointed the first bishop of Bardstown, arriving in Kentucky in June 1811. When he arrived in Bardstown, Bishop Flaget chose the Howard farm as the site for the beginnings of Catholicism in Bardstown.
 

Construction of St. Thomas Church began in 1812 and was completed in 1816. Bishop Flaget chose St. Thomas for the title of the church in honor of Thomas Howard's patron saint. When first built, it served as the seminary chapel and as a parish church for the local Catholics. St. Thomas Church served as the "Diocesan Center” until St. Joseph Cathedral was completed in 1819.

Following a tour of Bishop Flaget's log house, we'll head to Trappist, KY to visit the Abbey of Gethsemani. 

One of America’s oldest Trappist monasteries, monks have lived devout lives of faith and worked at this beautiful site since it was established in 1848 – tending the land and producing goods such as bourbon fudge and fruitcake, which can be purchased in the Abbey store. The Abbey is situated on about 1,500 acres with beautiful walking paths. This is also the final resting place of noted theologian and writer Thomas Merton, who lived here from 1941 until his death in 1969. 

We’ll tour the Abbey with one of the Brothers, join in the monk’s prayers, and have time to walk the grounds and visit the gift shop. 

After a prayerful morning we'll visit the most well-known distillery on the Bourbon Trail, Jim Beam. They say Beam made bourbon. We'll find out why on our tour of this iconic distillery and we'll enjoy lunch at their distillery cafe.

We'll have some time to rest at the hotel before heading to our last group dinner at a favorite local restaurant!

After breakfast at the hotel, we'll head to our last stop on the pilgrimage, St. Rose Priory.   

With its octagonal tower and beautiful stained-glass windows, St. Rose Proto-Priory and Church has served Springfield, KY for 200 years. Established in 1806, the proto-priory remains the oldest Dominican religious house in the country. Its Tudor-Gothic church, built the same year, is the oldest standing structure west of the Alleghenies still in use as a church. 

Here we’ll celebrate our last Mass together before departing for our trip home. We'll enjoy a final lunch together at a great Indy restaurant before returning home as friends!