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Tennessee Register Spection Section 1January 26, 2018

“God has lifted up the lowly”

—Luke 1:52

Welcome toOur NewShepherd

2 Tennessee Register Special Section January 26, 2018

archlou.org

With pride and love,Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D.,

and the clergy, religious,

and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of Louisville

send congratulations and

prayerful best wishes toMost Reverend J. Mark Spalding,

son of the Archdiocese of Louisville, on his ordination and installation as the twelfth Bishop of Nashville.

Ad multos annos!

“God has lifted up the lowly.”

Luke 1:52


FROM BISHOP RICHARD F. STIKA,CARDINAL JUSTIN RIGALI,

AND THE FAITHFUL OF THE DIOCESE OF KNOXVILLE

Blessings

ON YOUR INSTALLATION AS BISHOP OF

THE DIOCESE OF NASHVILLE

Most ReverendJ. Mark Spalding

CONGRATULATIONS

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Together, we are about to embark on a new journey, for me personally and for the people of the Diocese of Nashville. I come to you humbled by the many blessings I have received in my life and by the faith shown in me by our Holy Father, Pope Francis. And I also come to you excited about the opportunity to link arms in our common mission of sharing the joy and hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the people of Middle Tennessee.

I am a proud son of the “Kentucky Holy Land” where the Catholic faith was planted in the soil of the frontier more than 200 years ago and which has produced many laborers who have brought in a bountiful harvest for the Church. It was there that I was nurtured in the faith, first and foremost by my parents and my extended family, and also by the many faithful Catholics in my life who taught me and modeled for me the love of Jesus Christ.

I am also deeply aware of, and greatly appreciative of, the Diocese of Nashville’s own wonder-ful history, filled with the many faithful souls who have helped build the Body of Christ in Ten-nessee. Even more exciting are the many opportunities I see among you to build upon the suc-cesses of Bishop David Choby and my other predecessors here.

I am eager to begin working with the priests, deacons, consecrated religious, seminarians, and lay faithful of the Diocese of Nashville to inspire a zeal for the Gospel, serve those in need, pro-mote vocations, provide lifelong formation through strong Catholic schools and parish formation programs, call forth the gifts of our youth and youth adults, provide a place of welcome for persons of every race, culture, and language, and support families in their vocation as schools of love. I look forward to visiting every corner of the diocese, getting to know you, and working with you to ensure that each one of us, our minis-tries, and our parishes prosper in the work of the Lord.

Our work begins with prayer. I pledge that all of you will be in my prayers constantly, and I beg that you pray for me so that I will al-ways walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd.

Sincerely in Christ,

The Most Reverend J. Mark SpaldingBishop of the Diocese of Nashville

A message from The Most Reverend J. Mark Spalding, J.C.L.

Cover and above photos by Rick Musacchio

Sincerely in Christ,

The Most Reverend J. Mark SpaldingBishop of the Diocese of Nashville


Her Excellency Valencia Yvonne Camp, LGCHS, Lieutenant Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem

Middle Atlantic Lieutenancy with the Knights and Ladies of the Diocese of Nashville

extend a warm welcome to

His Excellency The Most Reverend J. Mark SpaldingTwelfth Bishop of the Diocese of Nashville


Theresa LaurenceAndy Telli

Bishops and priests who know Bishop J. Mark Spalding best offer high praise for their brother priest

and say that he has always provided sup-port for their vocation. Additionally, those who have worked closely with him note both his administrative skills and pastoral nature.

Supporting priestsForemost, said Archbishop Charles

Thompson of Indianapolis, “He exudes the joy of priesthood. He exudes love for priestly life.”

Archbishop Thompson first met Bishop Spalding in 1983 when the two were young seminarians for the Archdiocese of Louisville. “We’re from the same neck of the woods,” Archbishop Thompson said. Both men have family roots in the “Ken-tucky Holy Land” region, raised in “salt of the earth type families,” Archbishop Thompson said. “There’s a strong rural Catholic ethos about our families.”

Both men studied at St. Meinrad Semi-nary and went on to earn their canon law degrees. Together, the two started a priest support group that has been active for more than 25 years.

The group has been “a good experience of priestly brotherhood,” said Father Pep-per Elliott, pastor of St. Dominic Church in Springfield, Kentucky. He also met Bishop Spalding at St. Meinrad Seminary,

and has been part of the priest support group for decades.

When the newly-ordained priests first

started meeting, they would get together about once a month and stay overnight at the Sisters of Loretto Motherhouse in

Marion County, Kentucky, eating dinner together, praying, talking. “For about three hours we’d talk about things going on in our lives and seeking advice. We were always looking for each other’s in-sights,” said Father Elliott.

“It’s easy to get isolated from your brother priests, especially if you’re out in areas away from the big city,” said Father Elliott, who serves in a rural area, not far from where Bishop Spalding grew up.

“It’s easy to get off in your own little world. Just to keep up friendships in the presbyterate, that’s been the most valu-able thing for me,” Father Elliott said of his involvement with the regular priest meet-ups.

“When problems arise, you don’t have to bear the burdens alone. Your brother priests are there for you.”

Even as the original members of the priests’ support group take on new as-signments, in Kentucky and beyond, “we plan to keep up our friendship,” Fa-ther Elliott said.

Father Shayne Duvall, Administrator of St. Raphael Parish in Louisville, first met Bishop Spalding when he received his first summer assignment as a seminarian at Immaculate Conception Church in La Grange. “I couldn’t ask for a better pastor and parish to be with,” said Father Du-vall, who quickly found a trusted mentor in Bishop Spalding. “He always opened his house to seminarians,” said Father Duvall, who was ordained in 2015. “He’s a

Bishops, colleagues say Bishop Spalding ‘exudes the joy of priesthood’

Photo courtesy of The Record/Archdiocese of LouisvilleArchbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis, left, and Bishop J. Mark Spalding have been close friends since their days at St. Meinrad College Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad, Indiana. Bishop Spalding served as associate pastor of St. Augustine Church in Lebanon, Kentucky, when Archbishop Thompson was pastor there, and the two helped start a priest support group that has been meeting for more than 25 years.

Continued on next page


Bishops, colleagues say Bishop Spalding ‘exudes the joy of priesthood’

man of fraternity and … of hospitality.”Despite the men’s divided loyalties – Fa-

ther Duvall is a graduate of the University of Louisville and “a huge Louisville fan, and he’s a huge Kentucky fan,”– the two men became good friends. Bishop Spald-ing vested Father Duvall at his priestly ordination, and they keep in touch.

One of the biggest lessons Father Du-vall learned from Bishop Spalding was the importance of the ministry of pres-ence. “He did what a pastor is supposed to do – be with the people,” Father Du-vall said.

When the two would go to people’s homes for dinner, “he was part of the family … there was always laughter,” Father Duvall said.

“I’m going to miss him terribly. To lose such a passionate, fraternal and support-ive priest leaves some big shoes to fill.”

‘Empowering people’Bishop William Medley of Owensboro,

Kentucky, got to know Bishop Spalding when the two served together at the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, Kentucky, in the early 1990s, Bishop Medley as pastor and Bishop Spalding as associate pastor.

Bishop Medley remembered the young priest as “very confident, very bright, hu-morous … an immensely talented young man.”

He describes Bishop Spalding as open

minded. “He certainly has a vision of empowering people to live out their Gos-pel call. … His notion of evangelism and missionary discipleship,” Bishop Medley said, is “a Pope Francis-style of bishop.”

“He fits the mold of a bishop in the manner of Jesus Christ. I think that’s what Pope Francis would want,” said Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, who has worked closely with Bishop Spald-ing since being named archbishop of Louisville in 2007. “He is a superb pastor. He’s someone who cares for his people, a

great shepherd who takes an interest in his people.”

From regularly visiting his parish’s school children in their classrooms, to personally visiting sick parishioners in their homes, Bishop Spalding tries to be out among the people. “The Church needs holy bishops, bishops who are humble, and bishops who go out and are active. He’s good in all those areas,” Arch-bishop Kurtz said.

Dr. Brian Reynolds, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Louisville, who was also

a parishioner of Bishop Spalding at Lou-isville’s Holy Trinity Church, describes him as “a very engaged pastor. He knows people. He’s aware of what goes on in the parish.”

Bishop Spalding wants to be present for people in times of need, Reynolds said. “He makes his private cell phone number available if people need him in an emer-gency.”

Reynolds has gotten to know Bishop Spalding over the years working together for the archdiocese, but also just as

Continued from page 5

Photo courtesy of The Record/Archdiocese of LouisvilleArchbishop Joseph Kurtz and the priests of the Archdiocese of Louisville bid farewell to their friend and brother priest Bishop J. Mark Spalding during a Mass of Thanksgiving at the Cathedral of the Assumption on Thursday, Jan. 11. Bishop Spalding was ordained as a priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville in 1991 and has served as its vicar general since 2011.

Rt. Reverend William M. Fitzgerald O. Praem., Staff Members and Parishioners of the

Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Congratulate and Welcome

Bishop J. Mark Spalding

on the day of His ordination as the 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee.

Ad Multos Annos!

1227 7th Avenue NorthNashville, Tennessee 37208

615-256-2729www.assumptionchurchnashville.org

MASS TIMES

SUNDAY: 8:30a.m. Latin11:00a.m. Novus Ordo

4:30p.m. Syro-Malabar Rite in MalayalamMONDAY: 12p.m. Latin

TUESDAY – FRIDAY: 6:00p.m. Novus OrdoSATURDAY: 9:00a.m. Latin

Bishop TN Register Ad FINAL_Layout 1 1/22/18 3:08 PM Page 1


friends. “It’s fun to be out with him in the community,” Reynolds said, and in res-taurants or at sporting events, people are always calling out, ‘Father Mark, Father Mark.’”

Reynolds foresees Bishop Spalding being “very parish focused. He’ll want to be present in all the parishes and schools. … He loves being a priest, being available to the people.”

‘Gifted administrator’Those who have worked closely with

Bishop Spalding also praise his manage-rial and financial skills. “He’s a gifted ad-ministrator,” said Archbishop Thompson. Basically, “he does everything well.”

Bishop Spalding followed Archbishop Thompson as vicar general of the Archdio-cese of Louisville. In that role, “that person is supposed to be the alter ego of the bishop,” Archbishop Thompson said. The vicar general shares in the governance of the diocese, and often acts in the stead of the bishop when he is unavailable.

Archbishop Kurtz appointed Bishop Spalding as vicar general in 2011, when he was serving as vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “I could rely on him always giving very good and wise advice,” Archbishop Kurtz said.

Bishop Spalding served as vicar general until 2017 when he was named Bishop of Nashville. During that time, “an ex-traordinary amount of administration fell to him,” said Bishop Medley, since Archbishop Kurtz was dividing his time between Louisville and his duties as vice president, then president, of the USCCB. Bishop Medley describes Bishop Spald-ing’s leadership style as “very collabora-

tive” but with “the capacity to be deci-sive.”

As judicial vicar from 1998 to 2011, Bishop Spalding “was the one overseeing and providing leadership in our tribunal,” according to Archbishop Kurtz.

When he was serving as vicar general, “I saw first-hand how good he is in mov-ing forward important projects in the

Church,” said Archbishop Kurtz. “He brings people along, gives them freedom to act. He’s a good administrator, and he’s not a micromanager.”

“In the midst of all of that, he’s thor-oughly a follower of Jesus Christ. And someone who understands and supports the teachings of our Church and applies them in a very pastoral way,” Archbishop

Kurtz added. As chancellor of the archdiocese since

2002, Reynolds has worked with Bishop Spalding on a number of projects, and de-scribes him as financially savvy. “He not only has a natural feel for it, but he’s also a student of it,” Reynolds said. “He builds the confidence of donors and helps them see the value of supporting the Church.”

When Bishop Spalding was pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in La Grange from 1999-2011, he guided the parish through a capital campaign and new church building project; the par-ish completely paid off the multi-million dollar project in seven years before he received his next assignment as pastor at Holy Trinity.

During his time at Immaculate Concep-tion, Bishop Spalding also guided the par-ish through the closure of its elementary school due to low enrollment, and helped organize a new regional Catholic school. “Mark and I shared governance of St. Mary Academy … which was my first experience of working in close quarters with him,” said Father Terry Bradshaw, now pastor of the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral. “It’s amazing to me how easy it was to work with him.”

“He’s smart on numerous levels, canon-ically, financially, dealing with personali-ties and human interaction, organization-ally,” said Father Bradshaw.

“He has a lot of priests’ trust. He’s easy to talk to. ... He has a lot of the gifts you would hope for in a pastor and bishop.”

Bishop Spalding has a “high capacity for organizing, and will be very good in coordinating the work of the staff and

MOST REVEREND BISHOP J. MARK SPALDING

WBOU 100.5 FM

We Believe Show

WBOU 100.5 LP FM

Photo courtesy of The Record/Archdiocese of LouisvilleBishop J. Mark Spalding delivers a homily during Mass at Holy Trinity Church in Louisville where he served as pastor from 2011 until his appointment as the Bishop of Nashville. He is known to be an excellent homilist with an ability to tie the lessons of the Scripture readings to people’s everyday lives.

Continued on page 11

T H E P A R I S H I O N E R S

A N D S T U D E N T S O F

Welcome to Nashville

Most Reverend J. Mark Spalding.

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 T H E S S A L O N I A N S 1 : 2

Saint MatthewC A T H O L I C C H U R C H A N D S C H O O L

F R A N K L I N


he or o r o will le o ….in all the work o o r han o that o will e alto ether o l.

e terono

ra er l oo wi he to

i ho . ark al in on the o a ion o hi or ination.

th i ho o the io e e o a h ille

ro aint ohn ianne h r h an hool allatin enne ee

THE PARISH STAFF, PARISH COUNCIL AND THE ENTIRE HOLY NAME PARISH COMMUNITY

WISH TO CONGRATULATE

BISHOP J. MARK SPALDING

ON HIS EPISCOPAL ORDINATION AND INSTALLATION AS THE 12TH BISHOP OF THE

DIOCESE OF NASHVILLE.

MAY THE PEACE OF CHRIST BE WITH YOU AS YOU SHEPHERD THE FLOCK ENTRUSTED

TO YOUR CARE!

We are located in East Nashville. 521 Woodland Street, Nashville, TN 37206

Congratulationsfrom the Ocean State

BISHOP J. MARK SPALDINGTWELFTH BISHOP OF NASHVILLE

Ad multos Annos

OUR LADY OF MERCY CHURCHEAST GREENWICH, RHODE ISLAND

THE VERY REV. BERNARD A. HEALEY, PASTOR


3001 Belmont Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37212 ♦ www.ctk.org ♦ www.cksraiders.org

C o m m u n i t y • K n o w l e d g e • S e r v i c e

Christ the KingChurch and School

joins the Nashville community in joyfully welcoming

Bishop J. Mark Spalding,12th Bishop of the Diocese of Nashville

May the Holy Spiritstrengthen his ministry in our community

for years to come.

1937•

Lig

hting the Way•201780Years


Bishop’s shield includes religious, family, personal symbolsFrom staff reports

When a priest is selected to be ordained a bishop, he assumes several signs of his new office,

including a mitre, crosier, pectoral cross and a coat of arms.

At the center of a bishop’s coat of arms is a shield, one half of which is the shield of the diocese to which he has been ap-pointed and the other half, his personal shield.

Combining the bishop’s shield with the diocesan shield represents his gover-nance of the local church as well as the mystical “marriage” between the local bishop and his jurisdiction.

The Diocese of Nashville’s shield incor-porates the red, white and blue colors of the Tennessee flag.

On the top of the shield on a red back-ground is a white dove, which is the sym-bol of the Nash family from which Nash-ville derives its name. Around the head of the dove is a halo that provides an eccle-siastical touch and evokes the Holy Spirit, implying the doctrine of the Incarnation.

In the middle are three silver stars on a blue background, representing the three geographic regions of Tennessee: East, Middle and West. For most of its history, the Diocese of Nashville included the en-tire state. The stars also pay tribute to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The bottom of the diocesan shield is a white field.

The other half of the shield is Bishop J. Mark Spalding’s personal shield, which

includes symbols of his family, his home Archdiocese of Louisville, and his new Diocese of Nashville.

At the top of Bishop Spalding’s coat of arms is the Lion of St. Mark in gold on a blue background. The lion references his middle name, Mark, by which he is known.

In the middle is a blue fleur de lis on a gold background. The fleur de lis is a lily in heraldic shape and a symbol of St. Joseph, the patron of both the Diocese of Nashville and the Archdiocese of Louis-ville, where he was ordained and served as a priest before his appointment as the 12th Bishop of Nashville. Joseph is also Bishop Spalding’s first name.

At the bottom is a gold Jerusalem Cross on a blue background. The Jerusalem Cross appears on the Spalding family crest. The Spalding family was among the first Catholic settlers from Maryland to settle in central Kentucky in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, establishing a Catholic enclave on the American frontier.

Above the shield is a green pontifical hat, called a “gallero,” with its six tassels in three rows, on either side of the shield, denoting the hierarchical rank of bishop.

Behind the shield is a processional cross decorated with five red stones to represent the five Wounds of Christ.

Below the shield is Bishop Spalding’s motto, “God has lifted up the lowly,” taken from the Gospel of Luke 1:52. The motto is a line in the Canticle of Mary, the prayer she recites after greeting her cousin Elizabeth.

We are gladyou are here.

“Therefore welcome one

another as Christ has

welcomed you, for the glory

of God.”

- Romans 15:7

Saint Ann Catholic Community joyfully

welcomes Bishop J. Mark

Spalding to Nashville.

building a spirit of cooperation and collaboration among the parishes,” Archbishop Kurtz said. “He’s very good in attending to the needs of the priests and that’s going to be very important. He’s a good administra-tor who can account for growth,” he added.

“The Bishop of Nashville needs to be, in my judgment, a high energy person,” said Archbishop Kurtz, who has observed the Diocese of Nash-ville first as the Bishop of Knoxville and then as the Metropolitan of the province that includes the dioceses of Kentucky and Tennessee. “Bishop Spalding is very fitting to be the shep-herd in Nashville.”

Bishop ‘exudes joy of priesthood’Continued from page 7


34 White Bridge PikeNashville, TN 37205

615.353.6181

May God bless youand watch over you

as you embarkon your new journey

as Bishop“The Spirit

of the Lord Godis upon me,

because the Lordhas anointed me.”

— Isaiah 61:1

Congratulations and Best Wishes Bishop J. Mark Spalding

The parish community at St. Luke Catholic Church in Smyrna welcomes you to the Diocese of Nashville. We offer our prayers and wish you many blessings as you embark on this journey as our

new Bishop. May God bless you abundantly.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105

4210 HARDING PIKE | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, 37205 | STCEC I L I A . EDU


Saint Rose of Lima School in MurfreesboroWelcomes Bishop Mark Spalding


www.CrossCatholic.orgDelivering Food, Shelter and Hope to the Poorest of the Poor

BishopJ. Mark Spalding Congratulations and prayerful best wishes on your ordination and installation.

May the Diocese of Nashville grow in faith and love with your spiritual guidance.

Family’s faith encouraged Bishop Spalding’s vocationTheresa Laurence

Like many people who know Bishop J. Mark Spalding well, his sister Sandra Goatley wasn’t too sur-

prised to hear the news that he had been named a bishop. “I always knew he was going to do big things with the Church,” she said. “It’s just his calling.”

Ever since young Sandra, Mark, and their brother Brad were growing up on the family farm in Washington County, Kentucky, the twin values of faith and family were deeply instilled in them.

Their parents, Lawrence, and his late wife Mary Aileen Spalding, gave the children a strong foundation, Goatley said. She still remembers how intent her mother was that the children be-haved well when they attended Mass at Holy Trinity Church in Fredericktown, and she made sure they never skipped.

“Our faith was always an important part of growing up. We never missed a holy day of obligation or Sunday Mass. And, we always went as a family,” Goatley, a parishioner of St. Dominic Church in Springfield, Kentucky, told The Record, newspaper of the Archdio-cese of Louisville.

The Bishop’s family are descendants of the Spaldings on his father’s side and the Thompsons on his mother’s, some of the earliest Catholic settlers in central Kentucky. They lived in area known as “the Kentucky Holy Land,”

Bishop J. Mark Spalding grew up in rural Kentucky, raised in a strong Catholic family that included his parents, sister, brother, and many extended family members. Here, he is pictured with his immediate family at his brother Brad’s wedding in 2001. Pictured, from left, are his sister Sandra Goatley, his mother, Aileen, who died in 2002, his brother Brad, his father Lawrence, and Bishop Spalding. Continued on next page


one of the few rural areas of Kentucky that remains strongly Catholic, where the towns have names such as Holy Cross, Loretto and Calvary.

“It’s a Catholic enclave culturally,” Bishop Spalding said. “Everybody went to church. That was the way you lived your life. Besides the farm calendar and the school calendar … the parish calen-dar determined your life.”

Growing up, Bishop Spalding and his two younger siblings attended public schools near their home, where Ursu-line Sisters served on the faculty. From there, he went on to attend Bethlehem High School, a Catholic high school in Bardstown.

In between school work and church activities, the Spalding family worked the farm, where they raised cattle and grew tobacco. Lawrence Spalding worked at the General Electric plant in Louisville, and farmed as a second job. “He would get up at 4:30 in the morn-ing, get home about 4:30 in the evening and he did farm work ’til it got dark,” Bishop Spalding recalled.

Lawrence, now retired, still lives on the same family plot, although he now leases out the land; he remains a faithful parish-ioner at Holy Trinity in Fredericktown.

According to Goatley, she and her older brother hated the farm work at the time, but no matter, “it was a family event,” she said, cutting and hanging

tobacco, tending the family garden, and caring for the cattle.

In addition to their parents, Lawrence and Aileen, there were many strong and faithful role models in the Spalding and Thompson families, Goatley said. “Mark looked at his aunts and uncles who had a vocation and he saw they were happy,” she said.

Sister Rosanne Spalding, an Ursuline

Sister of Mount St. Joseph, who is Bishop Spald-ing’s aunt, agreed that her extended family’s lives were centered around their faith. Members of her family “went to church every time the doors were open.” Even if they had guests, they would make sure not to miss a church

function or a Mass. In addition to Sister Rosanne, Bishop Spald-

ing has another aunt, Sister Laurita

Spalding, who is also an Ursuline Sister of Mount St. Joseph. He also has sev-eral priests in the family, including a great uncle, Fa-ther James Thompson, and a sec-ond cousin, the late Fa-ther Harold Spalding. “God will

guide you where he wants

you to go,” Sister Rosanne said of

her family’s history of religious vocations. “As much as any

priest gave me a good example and encourage-

ment, my own aunts and uncles encouraged my vocation,” said Bishop Spalding. “All of them shared a certain joy and commitment about their voca-tion that was intriguing to me and made

Continued from previous page

Family’s faith encouraged Bishop Spalding’s vocation

Bishop J. Mark Spalding poses with two of his aunts, Ursuline Sisters Rosanne Spalding

and Laurita Spalding. Young Mark Spalding is pictured with his mother, at right, the late Aileen

Spalding. The Spalding children credit their parents’ strong faith with keeping them closely

involved with the Church andencouraging vocations.

Sister of Mount St. Joseph, who is Bishop Spald-ing’s aunt, agreed that her extended family’s

function or a Mass. In addition to Sister Rosanne, Bishop Spald

ing has another aunt, Sister Laurita

Spalding, who is also an Ursuline Sister of Mount

where he wants you to go,” Sister

Rosanne said of her family’s history

of religious vocations. “As much as any

priest gave me a good example and encourage

Spalding. The Spalding children credit their parents’ strong faith with keeping them closely

involved with the Church andencouraging vocations.


With hopeful and grateful hearts, the faculty, staff and students of St. Bernard Academy welcomes Bishop J. Mark Spalding to Nashville. May he always be Inspired by Mercy.

St. Bernard Academy151 Years Inspired by Mercy

SBA Welcome Bishop Ad.indd 1 1/18/18 2:45 PM

me look at it as an option for life.” In his family, a call to the priesthood was taken seriously and supported, said Bishop Spalding.

Ordained a priest in 1991, Bishop Spalding has served in a number of par-ishes in Kentucky, and starting Friday, Feb. 2, he will take on a much bigger role as Bishop of Nashville. “Yes, he’s getting a new title, but he knows where he came from,” said Goatley, who

teaches second grade at Bardstown Pri-mary School.

Throughout his years as a priest, Bishop Spalding has maintained close ties with his family; he has baptized all of his nieces and nephews and been present at first communions and confirmations. He has also presided at the weddings of numerous family members and friends. “All the relationships, family and friends throughout my life … it strengthens me

to know the support I have to be a good priest, pastor and bishop,” he said.

Goatley is confident that her brother will make a good bishop. “The way he will listen to anybody who comes to him, rich or poor, the young to the el-ders … he’s very present,” she said.

“He’s humble, and he’s smart,” said his aunt, Sister Rosanne, a former teacher who now serves as pastoral associate of Precious Blood Church

in Owensboro, Kentucky. “He’s very down to earth, there’s no put-on with him.” While he takes his responsibility as a priest very seriously, “he’s got a sense of humor,” she said.

Sister Rosanne will be among about 100 extended family members who are expected to travel to Nashville for Bishop Spalding’s installation. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” she said.

A bilingual and multicultural community of priestly formation with the goal of enabling Christ-centered men

to grow and develop as collaborative and culturally sensitive pastoral leaders committed to the Gospel.

assumptionseminary.org

Assumption men serving Nashville: Rev. Gervan Menezes, Rev. Anthony Mutuku, Rev. Paul Nguyen, 2014;

Rev. Emmanuel Dirichukwu, 2015; Rev. Rodolfo Rivera, 2016; Seminarians - Hung Pham, Edwuin Cardona and Oscar Romero.

In memory of Rev. William Carmona, 2014.

Congratulations MOST REV. J. MARK SPALDING BISHOP OF NASHVILLE

J. MARK SPALDING BISHOP OF NASHVILLE

ASSUMPTION SEMINARY SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

A bilingual and multicultural community of priestly formation with the goal of enabling Christ-centered men

to grow and develop as collaborative and culturally sensitive pastoral leaders committed to the Gospel.

assumptionseminary.org

Assumption men serving Nashville: Rev. Gervan Menezes, Rev. Anthony Mutuku, Rev. Paul Nguyen, 2014;

Rev. Emmanuel Dirichukwu, 2015; Rev. Rodolfo Rivera, 2016; Seminarians - Hung Pham, Edwuin Cardona and Oscar Romero.

In memory of Rev. William Carmona, 2014.

Congratulations MOST REV. J. MARK SPALDING BISHOP OF NASHVILLE

ASSUMPTION SEMINARY SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

Bishop J. Mark Spalding, in left photo, holds his niece Carly Spalding in the hospital shortly after her birth in 2003. Also pictured with them are nephew Hunter Goatley and niece Olivia Goatley. Bishop Spalding has baptized all his nieces and nephews. The Spalding family, “true blue Kentucky fans,” love the University of Kentucky sports. In right photo, Bishop Spalding attends a UK football game with his brother Brad, father Lawrence, and nephew Colton Spalding.


Christ has filled new bishop’s life with ‘faith, hope and love’Andy Telli

In its new bishop, the people of the Diocese of Nashville are welcoming a man who loves his priesthood.

“The primary task of a priest is to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ,” said Bishop J. Mark Spalding, who will be ordained and installed as the 12th Bishop of Nashville on Friday, Feb. 2. “The experience of Jesus has filled my life with faith, hope and love. …

“He continues to change me for the better,” Bishop Spalding said. “He makes my life a pur-poseful, mission-filled life. …

“When you’re living a life with a certain meaning and fulfillment, thank God for that,” Bishop Spalding said. “God has given you a lot of blessings, the blessing of family, the bless-ing of faith, the blessing of friendships, the blessing of good schooling and education, the blessing of a call. … My life has meaning and values and it’s aimed toward others.”

“The priesthood places me in the profound moments of life and death, and I don’t want to be anywhere else but there, from births and baptisms to critical moments of death and dying,” Bishop Spalding said. “In those moments of darkness, we bring a message of light and hope.”

His experience of Christ as a priest is one he wants to share with others.

“You are God’s representative spreading his word, which is Jesus Christ … a word

they need to hear,” Bishop Spald-

ing said. “I

have found in my life people tell me over and over again, ‘We’re so thankful because you made a difference for us.’”

Answering the callBishop Spalding grew up in Washington

County, Kentucky, in the heart of the area of the state known among its Catholics as the Kentucky Holy Land. Like many from the area, Bishop Spalding is a descendant of one of the original Catholic settlers from Maryland, and he grew up in an atmosphere where church and the Catholic faith were central to life.

His family were active parishioners at Holy Trinity Church in Fredericktown, Kentucky, and he could look to the priests and nuns in his extended family as examples of the joy and importance of a religious vocation.

“Even as a kid, I had an inkling about a call to the priesthood,” Bishop Spalding said. “But in high school, I thought I have to get these questions answered. You go to the seminary to find out ‘is this is a life for me.’ For me it was.”

After graduating from Bethlehem High School, the Catholic high school in Bard-stown, Kentucky, Bishop Spalding attended St. Meinrad College Seminary in St. Meinrad, Indiana.

Archbishop Thomas Kelly of Louisville

Photo by Rick MusacchioBishop J. Mark Spalding talks during an interview with the Tennessee Register at the

Cathedral of the Incarnation rectory on Tuesday, Jan.16.

1965 1983 19911987-1992

Joseph Mark Spalding is born on Jan. 13, 1965, at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Lebanon, Kentucky, the eldest child of Aileen and Lawrence Spalding of Washington County, Kentucky. Above, Bishop Spalding as an infant visits his aunt, Sister Rosanne Spalding at the Ursuline Sisters of Mount St. Joseph convent with his aunts and uncles, from left, Sarah and Johnny Riedel, Alice Lee Spalding Miller and Eddie Spalding. Below, the bishop-to-be (front row, far left) poses with some of his cousins.

Graduates from Bethlehem High School in Bardstown, Kentucky where he performed in school plays. Enters St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad, Indiana, in the fall, graduating in 1987.

Attends the American College of Louvain in Belgium and the Catholic University of Louvain, where he earned a Licentiate of Canon Law. He met St. John Paul II in 1987 during a visit to Rome.

Ordained by Archbishop Thomas Kelly of Louisville on Aug. 3, 1991, at the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown.


wanted Bishop Spalding to take on a new challenge. “He wanted some other experiences for me.” So the archbishop sent Bishop Spalding over-seas to study theology at the Ameri-can College of Louvain in Belgium and then canon law at the Catholic Univer-sity of Louvain.

Studying at Louvain gave him a wider perspective on the Church, Bishop Spalding said. “If you go study overseas, you’ll appreciate the United States even more,” he said. “The com-forts of home are what you miss.”

Bishiop-elect Spalding was ordained on Aug. 3, 1991, at the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown. “It was 98 degrees. … There was no air conditioning in the cathedral at that time. Archbishop Kelly did it in one hour and 25 minutes,” Bishop Spalding said.

“The neatest point of that ceremony was during the prostration, laying down on that terrazzo floor and the coolness of it. The litany of the saints was going over me, it was so comforting. I had to tell myself, ‘Don’t doze off.’”

He also recalls that the church “was filled with people and love and joy that day.”

‘You learn by doing’After completing his studies in

canon law, Bishop Spalding returned to the Archdiocese of Louisville, where he has had a variety of assign-ments in the last 26 years. He served as an associate pastor at several par-

ishes before receiving his first assign-ment as a pastor in 1999 at Immacu-late Conception Church in La Grange, Kentucky.

“All the way through I never had just a parish assignment,” Bishop Spalding said. From the beginning, he served with the archdiocesan Tribunal, and was named Judicial Vicar and director of the Tribunal in 1998.

He’s also served on the archdioce-san Priest Council for almost 20 years and since 2003 has been a member of the College of Consultors. Bishop Spalding also has served on a number of committees, boards and commis-sions.

In 2011, Louisville Archbishop Jo-seph Kurtz named him pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Louisville and Vicar General for the archdiocese.

As Vicar General, “you’re the num-ber one representative of the bishop himself,” Bishop Spalding said. Part of the job is implementing the will of the archbishop in the governance of the archdiocese, he added.

“It was a great learning experience,” Bishop Spalding said. “I represented him in so many different things, ad-ministratively and pastorally. … In so many ways it’s been an apprenticeship to being bishop of Nashville.”

Bishop Spalding said he reads about leadership constantly, making a study of it, something Archbishop Kurtz encouraged. He learned from watch-ing Archbishop Kurtz as well. “He was a good leader and a good motivator

and I watched that constantly,” Bishop Spalding said. “He wasn’t afraid to be a leader in the room.”

“Leadership is about maturity,” Bishop Spalding added. “Leaders don’t wait for others to address is-sues.” Instead, they contribute to find-ing the solution, he said.

Bishop Spalding has always tried to include others in finding solutions, he said. “I believe in consultative bodies,” he said. “By truly listening to people they figure out you trust them and empower them.”

Bishop Spalding knows he has more to learn about being a bishop. “You learn by doing, and being bishop will be the same way,” he said.

He also has a lot to learn about the Diocese of Nashville. “I just want to get out and about for a while. Meet the people. I want to get out east, west, north and south. I want to get out to those parishes. I want them to see me,” Bishop Spalding said.

Chief among his priorities as bishop of Nashville will be working for the success of the diocese’s priests and parishes, Bishop Spalding said. “We want our pastors and our parishes to prosper. That’s the job of every agency of the diocese.”

For Bishop Spalding, prayer is an im-portant part of his leadership. “You’re not getting a perfect bishop. You’re getting one that’s prayerful and asking for your forgiveness. When you lose your way, God sent his son to help you find your way.”

‘I do love sports’Away from the office, Bishop Spald-

ing is a sports fan, and has had a life-long love of the University of Ken-tucky Wildcats. “I was raised in Big Blue country and I’ve always been a big fan,” he said.

Now that he is in Nashville, he has started following the city’s two major league teams, the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators, and Vander-bilt University. “My brother attended Vandy. I can cheer for Vandy, with one or two exceptions a year,” Bishop Spalding said.

“I would love to see the Titans and Predators,” he said. “I do love sports.”

The 53-year-old Bishop also is a run-ner and hiker. “I like to run about 25 minutes every day. I get in about three miles. I do a lot on the treadmill,” he said. “Sweat helps me be a better me.”

He enjoys snow skiing, though it hasn’t done it in a while, and likes vacationing on the beach and the mountains. “Growing up on a farm helped me appreciate nature,” Bishop Spalding said. “It helps open me up to a reflection on the divine.”

Bishop Spalding has a reputation as an excellent homilist. “I was told by a Dominican priest once, look at your people, remind yourself that you love them, and say what God has put into your heart,” Bishop Spalding said. “I’ve never forgotten that.

“Bottom line, I’m a believer. You can’t hold it in, you’ve got to share it.”

1993 1998 2004 2011 2015 2017 2018

Attends the American College of Louvain in Belgium and the Catholic University of Louvain, where he earned a Licentiate of Canon Law. He met St. John Paul II in 1987 during a visit to Rome.

Ordained by Archbishop Thomas Kelly of Louisville on Aug. 3, 1991, at the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown.

From 1992 to 1999 serves as associate pastor at the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, St. Augustine Church in Lebanon, St. Margaret Mary Church in Louisville.

Named as judicial vicar and director

of the Metropolitan Tribunal for the Archdiocese of

Louisville. He served in that role

until 2011. Participated in the dedication of a new church for Immaculate Conception Parish in La Grange, Kentucky. He served as pastor there from 1999 until 2011, leading a capital campaign to build a new church.

Named Alumnus of Year by his alma mater, Bethelem High School, in 2015. He is pictured with his father, Lawrence, at the ceremony.

Named Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Louisville and pastor of Holy Trinity

Church, succeeding in both roles Archbishop Charles

Thompson of Indianapolis, who at the time was appointed Bishop of Evansville, Indiana.

In 2016, he takes on the added responsibility of pastor

of Holy Name Church in Lousivlle.

Ordained a bishop and installed as the Bishop of Nashville on Feb. 2, 2018.

Ordained a bishop and

Appointed by Pope Francis as the 12th Bishop of Nashville on Nov. 21, 2017.


Former parishioners laud Bishop Spalding’s pastoral leadershipTheresa LaurenceAndy Telli

Bishop J. Mark Spalding’s former parishioners describe him as a “people’s pastor,” an “extraordi-

nary homilist,” and an “awesome boss.” The high praise for Bishop Spalding, who will be ordained and installed as the Diocese of Nashville’s 12th bishop on Friday, Feb. 2, is near unanimous, with friends and former parishioners not-ing both his sharp leadership skills and friendly, down-to-earth personality.

Kelly Collard, who got to know Bishop Spalding during their time at St. Marga-ret Mary Church in Louisville, said that after she told him her husband was a really good cook, “Father Mark kind of invited himself to dinner, and he never left.”

Even though Bishop Spalding comes from a large, close-knit extended family, the Collards became yet another fam-ily for him. “For my kids, Father Mark is like an uncle to them,” said Collard. They often went out to dinner together after the Sunday evening Mass at Holy Trinity Church, where the Collard fam-ily are parishioners, and where Bishop Spalding served as pastor for six-and-a-half years. “He could be himself with us,” she said.

A number of former parishioners shared similar stories of encounter with Bishop Spalding. Christina Wein-stein, a Holy Trinity parishioner and

mother of one of the babies baptized by Bishop Spalding during his final Mass at the church, said she and her family appreciate his welcoming spirit. The Weinsteins have an interfaith marriage, and Bishop Spalding “has been welcom-ing of my husband’s faith. He embodies that Jesus means love and welcoming everyone.”

Bishop Spalding baptized five children during his final Mass at Holy Trinity on Jan. 13, taking a moment to hold each one and sing, “You have put on Christ, in him you have been baptized. Alleluia! Al-leluia!” During that moment, the parents and godparents stood to the side with sweet smiles, touched by the gesture.

“This is one thing about this place I’m

sorely going to miss,” Bishop Spalding told the congregation.

He noted that parents pass on the “precious gift of faith” to their children to give their lives a deeper meaning. “Teach your children not only to hear but to listen … listening to God speak-ing to you. … Do what he tells you.”

At the end of Mass, Bishop Spalding told his parishioners, “You’ve had pas-tors before me and you have had pas-tors that have served you well, but they won’t love you more.”

Long-time Holy Trinity parishioner Dan Kelley, like many others, noted Bishop Spalding’s talent for delivering a meaningful homily. “When he finishes his homily you can hear a pin drop be-cause everyone is paying rapt attention to everything he has to say.” He applies Christ’s teachings to people’s every day lives, Kelley said.

Several former parishioners noted one of Bishop Spalding’s favorite phrases: “To whom much is given, much is re-quired.”

“He believes we need to share our blessings,” said Kelley, president of the St. Vincent de Paul Council at Holy Trinity. Bishop Spalding has a way of convincing people to give of their time, talent and treasure to the Church, he said. Because of his enthusiastic pres-ence and business savvy, “the parish is in fantastic shape,” Kelley said.

When Bishop Spalding served as pas-

Photo by Rick MusacchioBishop J. Mark Spalding loves to spend time with his parishioners and built strong relationships with those he served as pastor. Here, he talks with Holy Trinity parishioners Richie and Lori Sullivan, their son Tommy, and friend Sarah Spalding (no relation to the bishop). Bishop Spalding celebrated his final Mass at Holy Trinity in Louisville, where he had served as pastor for the last six-and-a-half years, on Saturday, Jan. 13.

Continued on page 22

I GIVE THANKS TO MY Goo AT EVERY REMEMBRANCE OF YOU, PRAYING ALWAYS WITH JOY ... CONFIDENT OF THIS, THE ONE WHO BEGAN A GOOD WORK IN YOU WILL CONTINUE TO COMPLETE IT

u NTIL :rHE DAY OF CHRIST JESUS. PHILIPPIANS 1:3-6

ARCHBISHOP WILTON D. GREGORY

AND THE FAITHFUL OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF ATLANTA

OFFER OUR PRAYERFUL GOOD WISHES

TO BISHOP

]. MaRk SpaLoznq ON THE HAPP Y OCCASION OF YOUR

ORDINATION F OR THE DIOCESE OF NASHVILLE


On behalf of the seminarians, staff and faculty of the Pontifical College Josephinum

Reverend Monsignor Christopher J. Schreck, Rector/Presidentoffers heartfelt congratulations and prayerful good wishes to

HIS EXCELLENCY, THE MOST REVEREND J. MARK SPALDING

on the joyful occasion of his ordination and installation asTwelfth Bishop of Nashville

Ad multos annos! Shepherd the Church of God, which He has acquired at the price of his own blood.

7625 North High Street • Columbus, Ohio 43235 • www.pcj.edu


CongratulationsBishop J. Mark Spalding

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, MSpS; Auxiliary Bishop Michael Boulette;

and the faithful of the Archdiocese of San Antonio congratulate Bishop J. Mark Spalding

on his appointment by Pope Francis as the 12th bishop

of the Diocese of Nashville.

Our prayers and best wishes are with you as you begin your episcopal ministry in Tennessee.


Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Zephaniah 3:14

The People of St. Philip Catholic Church welcome our new bishop,

The Most Reverend J. Mark Spalding.

May God bless and guide you as our shepherd.

WELCOME ANDCONGRATULATIONS

BishopJ. Mark SpaldingON THE OCCASION

OF YOUR INSTALLATION

Fr. Luckas Arulappa and the parishioners of

Sacred Heart ParishLoretto, TN

WelcomeBishop J. Mark Spalding

From St. Joseph Church, St. Joseph, TN


The Very Rev. James A. Wehner, Rector/President, the faculty, staff, and seminarians of

Notre Dame Seminary congratulate and welcome

Bishop J. Mark Spalding The Diocese of Nashville’s New Leader of Faith

Notre Dame Seminary | 2901 S. Carrollton Ave. | New Orleans, LA 70118 | www.nds.edu

tor of Immaculate Conception Church in La Grange, Kentucky, for 12 years, he shepherded the parish through two major transitions, building a new church and closing the parish school.

“To be a good pastor, you need some-one who’s pastoral, but also someone with good managerial skills, and he has that,” said Bill Hoelscher, a long-time Immaculate Conception parishioner who served as parish business manager during the new church construction project in the early 2000s.

Bishop Spalding’s “magnetic” person-ality helped him connect with people and lead a successful capital campaign to build the new church, Hoelscher said. “People rallied and paid up.” In fact, the parish paid off the entire cost of the new church construction, about $4.5 million, the last weekend Father Spald-ing was at the parish, before moving on to his new assignment at Holy Trinity in 2011.

“I believe every priest should build one church in their life – and no more,” Bishop Spalding told the Tennessee Reg-ister. “It takes a lot of sustained effort of three to five years.”

Immaculate Conception’s old church, which had a capacity of about 230 people, was replaced with a new church in 2004 that could accommodate 1,100. Before the new church was dedicated, the biggest weekend Masses were cel-ebrated in the gym.

“It was a great leaning experience,” Bishop Spalding said. “I learned some hard lessons in life” during that time, he said.

“I know that I can’t do it alone. I’m not at my best when I go it alone. When I can bring others with me on a project it’s amazing what good can be done,” he said.

“When you’re asking people for money, blood, sweat, tears and time, you better have a surety of mission.”

Looking at the demographics for the

Diocese of Nashville, Bishop Spald-ing said, “I know there are going to be times I’m going to tell a pastor, it’s time to build.” As he knows from experience, that will require a strong partnership between himself, the pastor, and the people of that parish. “When you know you’re not alone, it’s amazing what you can do together.”

While Bishop Spalding was pastor of Immaculate Conception, “the par-ish grew dramatically,” Hoelscher

said. “Louisville moved east” toward La Grange during that time. As pastor, Bishop Spalding also made a concerted effort to accommodate the Spanish-speaking Catholics, many of whom worked on the nearby tobacco farms. He made an effort to learn Spanish, “and he reached out to them,” said Hoelscher.

The explosive population growth at the parish, however, did not translate to growth in the school. “We couldn’t keep it open because we didn’t have critical mass,” never getting over 100 students to enroll, said Hoelscher. This was in large part because Oldham County, Kentucky, where Immaculate Conception is located, has a reputation as one of best school districts in the state. “It’s a shame, but we had to do it,” Hoelscher said.

After the Class of 2007 graduated from Immaculate Conception, the school was closed and the diocese decided to re-gionalize the parish school with the par-ish school from Mother of Good Counsel Church to form Saint Mary Academy.

When he wasn’t busy making major decisions about the future of his church and school, Bishop Spalding just wanted to be with his parishioners during their typical activities. “He was a supporter of Knights of Columbus,” Hoelscher said. “During the Lent fish frys, he made the hush puppies himself.”

“He goes to every football game of the parish school. He’s very present with the kids, visits every classroom on Fri-days,” said Holy Trinity parishioner and

Former parishioners laud Bishop Spalding’s pastoral leadershipContinued from page 18

Kelly and Todd Collard and their children Haley and Travis became close friends with Bishop J. Mark Spalding and often hosted him for dinner or went out to dinner together after the Sunday evening Mass at Holy Trinity Church in Louisville, where they are parishioners and where Bishop Spalding was pastor.


friend Kelly Collard, whose husband Todd teaches at the school. “He is such a great pastor.”

In addition to serving as pastor of Holy Trinity, Bishop Spalding also served as pastor of Holy Name Church in Louisville since 2016. Located on the edge of world-famous Churchill Downs, and near the University of Louisville campus, the parish has seen its demo-

graphics shift greatly over the years, according to long-time parishioner Tom Head. The parish now serves a majority of Spanish-speakers, as well as reaching out to university students and visitors.

Head, 90, who grew up in the parish and attended the school there that operated until 1992, said he was impressed with what Bishop Spalding did for the parish, even though he was not in residence

there, and they have no full-time staff there. “It’s a lovely church and he helped us do some things we really couldn’t af-ford to do,” like refurbishing the pews and floors of the 105-year-old church.

“I don’t think you could come up with a better pastor,” said Head.

Many people who spoke about their admiration for Bishop Spalding said they were not surprised to hear that

he was named a bishop. “As soon as he came on board people were saying he won’t be here long because he’s so charismatic. He’ll be a bishop some-day,” said Holy Trinity parishioner Dan Kelley. “He’ll be outstanding (as bishop). He impresses you in his ability to lead in a gentle way.”

“Nashville’s lucky to have him,” said lscher.

4210 HARDING PIKE | NASHVILLE, TN 37205 | 615.292.5134 | OVERBROOK.EDU


Photo by Rick MusacchioBishop J. Mark Spalding loves to spend time with his parishioners and built strong relationships with those he served as pastor. At left, he greets a parishioner at Holy Trinity Church, where he served as pastor for six-and-a-half years. During his final Mass at Holy Trinity on Saturday, Jan. 13, Bishop Spalding baptized five children, and sang to each one of them. He said celebrating that sacrament with his parishioners was something he would “sorely miss.”


Bishop J. Mark Spalding,Congratulations � your appointment as � 12th Bishop of Nashville.

May God continue � bless and guide �as � lead your growing flock � His green pastures.

Your faithful firends at Our Lady of � Lake Parish, Hendersonville

The Catholic Schools Officeand Catholic Schools

WelcomeBishop

J. Mark Spalding

The Catholic Charismatic Renewaloffers praise and thanks to God

for sending us a shepherdin this time of need.

Welcome, Bishop Spalding!


HOLY ROSARY ACADEMY AND CHURCHextends congratulations to

Bishop Mark Spaldingon his Episcopal ordination and installationas the 12th Bishop of Nashville.May God continue to bless yourministry as you remain in theprayers of our entire community.

Bishop Spalding,

Irish Blessings and Prayers from St. Patrick School!

welcomesB s o

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Congratulations, Bishop Spalding!Congratulations to Bishop J. Mark Spalding onyour episcopal ordinationand appointment to the Diocese of Nashville.Archabbot Kurt Stasiak, OSB,

Fr. Denis Robinson, OSB, and the monks, students and faculty of

Saint Meinrad Archabbey, Seminary & School of Theology.

Saint Meinrad Archabbey, Seminary & School of Theology

200 Hill Drive • St. Meinrad, IN 47577www.saintmeinrad.edu

Bishop Spalding latest connection between Nashville, LouisvilleAndy Telli

When Pope Francis appointed Father J. Mark Spalding of the Archdiocese of Louisville as

the 12th Bishop of Nashville, he forged another link in the chain that connects the two dioceses and the two cities.

That connection began with the founding of both dioceses.

During the late 18th century, Ken-tucky and Tennessee were still consid-ered the frontier and Catholics were few and far between. One exception was the area in central Kentucky near Bardstown, which became home to thousands of Catholic families who had crossed the Allegheny Mountains from Maryland.

Traveling with them were a small band of priests who, from their base in Kentucky, traveled from Canada to New Orleans nurturing small pockets of Catholics, helping them to hold onto their faith. One of those priests was the legendary Father Stephen Badin, a na-tive of France who fled his homeland to escape the persecution of the Catholic Church after the French Revolution and became the first priest ordained in the United States.

Among his far-flung travels, Father Badin spent time in Tennessee, includ-ing in Nashville, in the early 1780s. But the relative dearth of Catholics in Ten-nessee at that time made it tough going for Father Badin and his fellow priests.

The efforts to establish a Catholic presence in Tennessee in those years were “pretty much scattered and disorganized,” said Msgr. Owen Cam-pion, a native of Nashville and the author of a history of the Diocese of Nash-ville.

But the Catholic scene around Bard-stown, around 45 miles south of Louisville, was thriv-ing with the establishment of churches, a Dominican priory, seminaries, colleges and congrega-tions of religious sisters. That growth led to the founding of the Diocese of Bardstown in 1808, covering the current states of Wisconsin, Michi-gan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee.

In 1821, Bishop Benedict Flaget, the first Bishop of Bardstown, sent Father

Robert Abell, a native of Kentucky, to Nashville to establish the city’s first parish: Holy Rosary Church built on

what is now Capitol Hill. But Father Abell was recalled to

Bardstown in 1829.In 1837, the Diocese of Nashville was

founded, carved out of the Diocese of Bardstown and covering the entire state of Tennessee. Father Richard Pius Miles, a Dominican priest from the Bard-stown area,

was named its first bishop.

He traveled by horseback from

Bardstown to

Nashville to take the reins of his new diocese, which had few priests and few resources.

Bishop Miles set about organizing a di-ocese and started recruiting priests from around the country and overseas. Many came from Kentucky, and like him, were Dominicans, Msgr. Campion said.

He also called on the communities of religious women in the Bardstown area for help. “In 1841 he went to Kentucky and approached Mother Catherine Spalding of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and invited them to come to Tennessee,” Msgr. Campion said. “They didn’t come until 1851.”

When they did come, they came in force, Msgr. Campion said, opening a school for girls in Nashville, a hospital and a home for orphans. The sisters endeared themselves to the people of Nashville with their service during deadly outbreaks of cholera and small pox, Msgr. Campion said.

But after a dispute with Bishop Miles, the sisters left Nashville in 1858 for Kansas, where they established a new congregation, the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, which is still active today.

There were changes in Kentucky as well. Because of the growth of the city of Louisville, located on the Ohio River, the episcopal residence was moved from Bardstown to Louisville and the diocese was renamed in 1841.

The years right before the Civil War saw another link between the two cit-

Bishop Richard Pius Miles, the first bishop of

the Diocese of Nashville, came to Middle Tennessee in 1837 from the Bardstown, Kentucky, area, traveling on horseback. The Diocese of Nashville and Archdiocese of Louisville have shared strong Catholic and commercial connections for two centuries.

and disorganized,” said Msgr. Owen Cam-pion, a native of Nashville and the author of a history of the Diocese

ing with the establishment of churches, a Dominican priory, seminaries, colleges and congrega-colleges and congrega-colleges and congrega

what is now Capitol Hill. But Father Abell was recalled to

Bardstown in 1829.In 1837, the Diocese of Nashville was

founded, carved out of the Diocese of Bardstown and covering

was named its first bishop.

He traveled by horseback from

Bardstown to

Bishop Richard Pius Miles, the first bishop of


ies, this one commercial. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was chartered in 1850. “It took nine years for the line to be completed between Louisville and Nashville,” Msgr. Campion said. Dur-ing the Civil War, the L&N prospered carrying supplies and troops for the Union Army between the two cities, both controlled by the Union.

Eventually, the L&N became one of the major rail lines in the South, ex-tending to St. Louis, Memphis, Atlanta, Birmingham and Montgomery, Ala-bama, and New Orleans.

The railroads, which were often built with Irish Catholic immigrant labor, helped fuel the growth of the Church, Msgr. Campion said. New parishes in both Kentucky and Tennessee sprang up along the line to serve the Catholic workers, Msgr. Campion said.

In 1924, a new connection between the dioceses was created when Bishop John Floersh, a native of Nashville who grew up in Assumption Parish in the German-town neighborhood, was installed as the Bishop of Louisville. When Louisville became an archdiocese in 1937, he be-came its first Archbishop.

In all, he led the Catholic flock of Lou-isville for 43 years, overseeing an era of tremendous growth, increasing the number of parishes, schools and other institutions, including the founding of Bellarmine University and Catholic Charities.

During the same time, Nashville had its own long-tenured bishop, William Adrian, who served from 1936 to 1969.

Like his predecessor, Bishop Miles, Bishop Adrian turned to the Bardstown area for help in Tennessee. With a

post-World War II spurt in growth in Memphis, Bishop Adrian asked

Mother General Bertrand Crimmins of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth for help, and she sent sisters to teach in the schools there.

“At one time there were probably 50 Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in Mem-phis,” Msgr. Campion said.

Bishop Adrian also asked Mother General Bertrand, a native of Chatta-nooga, for the sisters’ help in founding a hospital in that city, and again she agreed. Memorial Hospital is still serv-ing Chattanooga, Msgr. Campion noted.

Mother General Bertrand “was a great figure in the growth of the Church in Tennessee at that time,” Msgr. Campion said. “I don’t know what would have happened if she hadn’t come along.”

When Louisville became an Arch-diocese, its archbishop became the metropolitan for the province that includes all the dioceses of Kentucky and Tennessee. One of the responsibili-ties of the Archbishop of Louisville has been consecrating the bishops of Nash-ville. Archbishop Floersh consecrated Bishop Joseph Durick, Archbishop Thomas J. McDonough consecrated Bishop James Niedergeses, and Arch-bishop Thomas Kelly consecrated both Bishop Edward Kmiec and Bishop David Choby.

On Friday, Feb. 2, the chain con-necting Louisville and Nashville will be lengthened once again when Archbishop Joseph Kurtz conse-crates Bishop Spalding, a priest of his archdiocese, as the next bishop of Nashville.

“Like a shepherd

he feeds his flock;

in his armshe gathers the lambs, carrying

them in his bosom.”

Isaiah 40:11

Congratulations to theMost Reverend

J. Mark Spaldingon his Ordination &

Installation as the 12th Bishop of Nashville.

THE DIOCESE OF LEXINGTON, KY

CONGRATULATIONSMost Rev. J. Mark Spalding

on the occasion of your

ORDINATION ANDINSTALLATION

as the 12thBishop of Nashville

fromBishop Joseph M. Siegel

and the Peopleof the

Diocese of Evansville

The CatholicChurch inSouthwestern Indiana

Spalding Nville bishop.qxp_Layout 1 1/17/18 16:10 Page 1

Tennessee Register file photoArchbishop John A. Floersh is one of the most prominent connections between the Diocese of Nashville and the Archdiocese of Louisville. Archbishop Floersh grew up in Assumption Parish in Nashville and later became the first Archbishop of Louisville. He returned to his home parish in 1959 to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding. At the Centennial Celebration Mass, he was assisted by Father Morris Stritch, left, and Father Patrick Heenan, right.


Kentucky Holy Land has been a font of growth for American Church

WE LOVE YOU, BISHOP spalding!OUR LOSS

IS NASHVILLE’S GAIN! Your Holy Trinity (Louisville) family

Andy Telli

In the 1780s Catholics from Mary-land, whose families earlier had fled religious persecution and discrimi-

nation in England for the New World, made their way to the Kentucky coun-ties of Nelson, Washington and Marion, just south of Louisville.

The Catholic faith of those early set-tlers quickly took root and flourished. The area became home to Catholic col-leges and seminaries, religious orders new and old, scores of parishes, a dio-cese that included a huge chunk of the American frontier from Canada to Ten-nessee, and legions of legendary priests and bishops.

The area’s strong Catholic culture and its impact on the Church throughout the United States, earned Nelson, Washington and Marion counties the name the Ken-tucky Holy Land. It was the home of Nash-ville’s first bishop, Richard Pius Miles, and now it’s latest, J. Mark Spalding.

“It’s a Catholic enclave culturally,” said Bishop Spalding, who grew up in Washington County. “Everybody went to church. That was the way you lived your life.”

“That Catholic identity, because of the Catholic population, still remains strong,” said Father Dale Cieslik, archi-vist for the Archdiocese of Louisville and the pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church in Mount Washington, Kentucky, just south of Louisville.

The Holy Land is one of the rare rural

areas of the South that has a large Catholic population. In Marion County more than half of the population is Catholic, and in Nelson and Washington counties the numbers are in the 30 percent to 40 percent range.

In Nelson County, with a population of about 43,400, there are nine Catholic churches. The largest is the Ba-silica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in the county seat of Bardstown. It was the first Cathedral west of the Allegheny Mountains. Today, it has about 1,800 registered families and is one of the largest parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville.

And Catholics play a prominent role in the life of the county. “Our mayor is Catholic. The County Judge-Executive is Catholic,” said Father Terry Bradshaw, the pastor of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral. Bishop Spalding’s brother, Brad, is the Nelson County Engineer and a parishio-ner at St. Joseph.

“They’re committed to the folks, with good Catholic principles,” Father Brad-shaw said of the Catholic civic leaders. “There is a great commitment to giving back.”

His parish is not only large, but it is active, with 46 ministries, Father Brad-shaw said. Included are ministries that go beyond the boundaries of the parish

to serve the community at large. “One of the things I’m very amazed

about, and proud too, is our St. Vincent de Paul Mission Store,” said Father Bradshaw. “It’s different than any other parish I’ve been in. It provides a food pantry to the community, meals to the elderly, a Room In The Inn program. It’s supported ecumenically, which is char-acteristic of this area too. … The history here is a much more cooperative spirit among the faiths.”

That cooperative spirit at one time could be seen in the public schools

throughout the Kentucky Holy Land, where religious sisters were often on the faculty.

Father Bradshaw was raised in neighboring Marion County, which is also home to the Sisters of Loretto, the first native order of nuns in the United States. “They taught me in grade school,” he said. “In public high school we had five Ursuline nuns from Owens-boro on the faculty. The vice principal was a nun. You have to have quite an ac-ceptance of Catholicism to have that.”

Though there has long been a Catho-

Illustration from Association of Religion Data Archives and “Centenary of Catholicity in Kentucky” by Benedict J. Webb

This log cabin at St. Thomas Church in Bardstown, Kentucky, served as the home of Bishop Benedict Flaget, inset, the first Bishop of Bardstown. The cabin also was the home of St. Thomas Seminary – the first seminary west of the Alleghenies – and the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.


Holy Family Catholic Church, Brentwood, rejoices asMost Reverend J. Mark Spalding

becomes our 12th Bishop of Nashville.Our prayers and best wishes are with you.

lic presence in all the counties of central Kentucky, it’s not nearly as strong as it is in Nelson, Washington and Marion counties.

“That’s one of the factors of what makes the Kentucky Holy Land,” said Father Cieslik, who was raised in Louis-ville but whose family roots are in Mar-ion County. “When you get two inches beyond the border of Marion County, boom, it gets so Baptist.”

Maryland rootsThe roots of the Catholic culture of

the Kentucky Holy Land stretch back to Maryland and eventually England.

“Until Henry the Eighth, Catholi-cism was the religion of the English kingdom,” noted Father Cieslik. But eventually Catholics were targeted and discriminated against.

English Catholics had limited rights to participate in government, limited property rights, and they couldn’t start or operate educational institutions, said Father Bradshaw.

Lord Baltimore founded the colony of Maryland in the 1630s to provide a new home for English Catholics in the New World. “That’s where religious freedom was established,” Father Bradshaw said.

But even in Catholic Maryland, Catholics began to feel the pressure of discrimination. Again, they looked for a new home where they could practice their faith freely.

According to Benjamin Webb’s book “Centenary of Catholicity in Kentucky,” published in 1884, 60 Catholic families, most of them living in St. Mary’s County, pledged to emigrate to Kentucky.

“Their purpose was to settle together, as well for mutual protection against the Indians, as with the view of securing to themselves, with the least possible delay, the advantages of a pastorate and a church.”

Over the next 10 years, the Maryland Catholics established six settlements throughout what was then Nelson County. And the migration continued.

“A third of the Catholic families from Maryland emigrated within 15 years to Kentucky, about 3,000 families,” Father Bradshaw said.

The names of the settlers were dis-tinctly English: Hayden, Lee, Cissell, Payne, Brewer Johnson, Clark, Elliott, Bowles, Hutchins, Stevens, Wathen, Mudd, Mattingly and Thompson. Among them was Philip Miles, the fa-ther of Nashville’s first bishop, Richard Pius Miles, who emigrated to Kentucky with his family when he was 5 years old.

Also making the trek from Maryland to the Kentucky frontier were John Spalding and Joseph Spalding, and members of the extended Spalding fam-ily have come from the Kentucky Holy Land to make a mark on the Church in America.

“Of all those Catholic names of Ken-tucky’s Holy Land, none is more promi-nent than Spalding,” said Bishop Wil-liam Medley of Owensboro, Kentucky, and a native of Marion County.

Mother Catherine Spalding founded the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in 1812. and their motherhouse is still located in Nazareth, Kentucky, just outside Bardstown. Their ministry has included education, health care and

social work and the order is now active in Belize, Nepal, India and Botswana, besides the United States.

Bishop Spalding, will be the third Spalding from the Kentucky Holy Land to be named a bishop. Martin Spalding, a close friend of Bishop Miles, served as Bishop of Louisville and later the Arch-bishop of Baltimore. He helped found the American College in Louvain, Bel-gium, where Bishop Spalding studied as a seminarian more than a century later.

Bishop John Lancaster Spalding was the Bishop of Peoria, Illinois, and helped found the Catholic University of Amer-ica in Washington, D.C.

Many of today’s Catholics in Ken-tucky’s Holy Land are descendants of the original settlers. “I think there’s a good number of people who would know their roots are in the Maryland Catholic emigration,” said Father Brad-shaw, whose mother was related to Bishop Martin Spalding.

At St. Dominic Church in Springfield, the parish has a ledger book from 1883 that lists the families who had paid their pew rent, according to Father Pepper El-liott, pastor of St. Dominic. “They’re all de-scended from Maryland settlers. They’re still the core of the parish here,” he said.

The Catholics of the Kentucky Holy Land maintain a connection to the place, even when they move away, said Father Elliott. ““In every parish I’ve been in there were people from St. Rose there,” Father Elliott said of St. Rose Church in Springfield, Kentucky. “You can get the boy out of St. Rose but you can’t get St. Rose out of the boy.”

“There are a lot of people who stay

here. You don’t have as much exodus,” Father Bradshaw said. “There’s a lot of commitment to family. … It’s pretty nice.”

Catholic institutionsAccompanying the Catholic settlers

from Maryland were numerous priests, and when they arrived they set about the task of establishing Catholic institu-tions, such as schools and seminaries, that had been denied them elsewhere.

Father Edward Fenwick was a young Dominican priest who established the Dominican St. Rose Priory in 1809 in Springfield, Kentucky, which still ex-ists. The priory served as a seminary, and among its first students was Bishop Miles. Father Fenwick also established St. Thomas Aquin College in Spring-field, the first Catholic educational insti-tute west of the Alleghenies, and one of its earliest students was Jefferson Davis who went on to became president of the Confederacy.

The Dominican presence can still be felt in Washington County. There are five parishes in the county, all of which were founded by the Dominicans, said Father Elliott, including his parish and Bishop Spalding’s home parish, Holy Trinity Church in Fredericktown.

The Holy Land is also home to several congregations of religious sisters who continue to serve the Church. Besides the Sisters of Loretto and the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, the Dominican Sisters of St. Catharine, Kentucky, were established in 1822 and for many years operated St. Catharine College. In 2009, they merged with seven other Domini-

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can congregations to form the Domini-can Sisters of Peace.

The Abbey of Gethsemani in Nelson County, founded in 1848, is home to America’s oldest and largest order of Trappist monks, and is a popular re-treat site.

A mother dioceseThe growth of the Catholic Church

and its many institutions in the Ken-tucky Holy Land was so great that a new diocese was created in 1808 with its episcopal see in Bardstown. It was one of four new dioceses carved from the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which at the time covered the entire country. The others were Boston, New York and Philadelphia.

The Diocese of Bardstown covered a large swath of the American frontier, in-cluding the current states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Ken-tucky and Tennessee. It’s first bishop was the French-born Benedict Flaget; his log home still stands as a museum at St. Thomas Church in Bardstown.

As his diocese grew, it gave rise to new dioceses, including Cincinnati, Nashville and Chicago in 1837. And from them would come more dioceses. “We have a lot of daughters,” Father Cieslik said.

In 1841, the diocese was moved from Bardstown to the larger, growing city of Louisville.

One of Bishop Flaget’s lasting monu-ments is the St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral

in Bardstown. “There’s quite a bit of awareness of the historic nature of the parish,” Father Bradshaw said.

Construction of the cathedral began in 1816 and was completed in 1819. “It was said to be the second largest building in the United States after the Capitol, which is really quite remarkable in this frontier place,” Father Bradshaw said. But Bishop Flaget “had faith in the po-tential,” Father Bradshaw added. “It was a new day. The revolution had occurred and tyranny was thrown off. So there

was freedom and new opportunities.”The original cathedral still stands in all

its splendor. “In fact the walls don’t have any cracks in them. … Amazing,” Father Bradshaw said. The 32 to 35-inch thick walls are made of hand-made bricks. The limestone for the foundation was dug from the property.

It is a popular stop for tourists, Father Bradshaw said. “Most people will com-ment on how beautiful it is.

St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral was desig-nated a minor basilica in 2001. “I can’t

imagine anyone being named pastor and dismissing the importance of it as a basilica,” Father Bradshaw said. “It’s recognized because it nurtured the faith of the Church in a very particular way. … It’s held up to be a model and to be a continuing force for evangelization.”

Source of vocationsThe Kentucky Holy Land has long

been a fertile source of religious voca-tions to the priesthood and consecrated religious life.

The Diocese of Bardstown and Archdi-ocese of Louisville has produced 24 bish-ops, many with ties to the Holy Land, including the last three: Bishop Medley, installed as Bishop of Owensboro in 2010; Archbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis, installed as the Bishop of Evansville in 2011 and in Indianapolis in 2017; and Bishop Spalding.

The three “are really, really tight friends,” said Father Cieslik. All three trace their family histories to the Ken-tucky Holy Land and have served as priests in parishes there.

Bishop Spalding’s first assignment was as an associate pastor at St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral, and he later served as an associate pastor at St. Augustine Church in Lebanon in Marion County. Also, he is a graduate of Bethlehem High School in Bardstown, the only Catholic high school in the archdiocese outside the City of Louisville.

“The people are very excited” about his appointment as the Bishop of Nash-ville, Father Bradshaw said.

Kentucky Holy Land has been a font of growth for American ChurchContinued from previous page

The Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, Kentucky, was the first cathedral built west of the Allegheny Mountains. It is located in the heart of the area known as the Kentucky Holy Land, and with 1,800 families is one of the largest parishes of the Archdiocese of Louisville.


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You will be known. You will be loved.

A Proud Irish Welcome to Bishop J. Mark Spalding


Congratulations,

Most Reverend J. Mark Spalding, J.C.L.,

ON YOUR

EPISCOPAL ORDINATION AND INSTALLATION

AS 12TH BISHOP OF NASHVILLE.

GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU

AS A TRUE WITNESS TO CHRIST,THE GOOD SHEPHERD.

MAY HE ENDOW YOU WITH WISDOM

AND AN EVER-DEEPENING HOLINESS

AS YOU BEGIN YOUR SERVICE

TO THE FAITHFUL

OF THE DIOCESE OF NASHVILLE.

The Office of Stewardship and Development

And Staff of the

Bishop’s Annual Appeal for Ministries

The Seminarian Education Fund

The Board of Trustees of the Bishop Miles SocietyMr. and Mrs. Paul Kleine-Kracht – Co-ChairsMr. and Mrs. Joseph Imorde – Vice-Co-Chairs

Very Reverend David Perkin, V.G. – Vice-PresidentMs. Sandra Jordan – Secretary

Mr. William J. Whalen – TreasurerMr. and Mrs. Jeremy Bisceglia – Board Members

Mr. J. Chase Cole – Board MemberDr. and Mrs. H. N. Lovvorn – Board MembersMr. and Mrs. Dan Brodbeck – Board Members

Dr. and Mrs. Kent Kyger – Board MembersMr. and Mrs. James Phillips – Board MembersReverend Edward F. Steiner – Board Member

And the Bishop Miles Society Membership

Bis

hop’

s A

nnual Appeal for Ministries

D

iocese of Nashville

WE LOOK FORWARD

TO WORKING WITH YOU

TO BUILD

THE KINGDOM

OF GOD.

BishopMiles

Society

SEMINARIAN EDUCATION

FUND

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