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Archdiocese of Louisville Announces 2008 Bicentennial Celebration Plans

In 2008 the Archdiocese of Louisville celebrates 200 years as a Roman Catholic diocese. It shares the honor of being among the earliest dioceses in the United States with the Archdiocese of New York, the Archdiocese of Boston and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which also were founded in 1808. Only the Archdiocese of Baltimore (1789) and the Archdiocese of New Orleans (1793) were established earlier. The Diocese of Bardstown was founded on April 8, 1808, moved to Louisville in 1841 and elevated to an Archdiocese in 1937. It was the first inland diocese founded in the United States.

The Diocese of Bardstown included the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. In addition, Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget, the first bishop of the diocese, was given pastoral responsibility for a huge territory to the north and west of Kentucky. Today, 44 dioceses in ten states have descended from the Diocese of Bardstown.

The theme for the bicentennial celebration is “Serving God’s People: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.” Bicentennial events will begin in March 2007 and will continue throughout 2008. At this time, the following programs and events have been developed:

Formation/Education:

• The bicentennial celebration will begin with a leadership institute for parish leaders on March 24, 2007. Entitled “Leadership and Ministry in a Changing Church,” this conference will feature a keynote presentation by Father J-Glenn Murray, S.J., and conversations about critical issues facing the church, including multicultural ministry, worship, evangelization and parish structures. Parish council, finance council, school board and other parish committee members, as well as parish staff, have been invited.
• Parish formation: Materials are being developed for four parish or regionally based formation events. These three-hour, bicentennial, intergenerational events will focus on the themes of beginning, remembering, celebrating and missioning. Parishes are encouraged to use them quarterly in the fall of 2007, spring of 2008, summer of 2008 and fall of 2008, but they are adaptable and can be incorporated into already existing parish formation programs.
• Grade-specific activities and lesson plans are being written for use in Catholic elementary schools and parish catechetical programs. The curriculum will include religious and historical topics and will be ready for use in the 2007-2008 school year.

History:

• "Faith and Mission: Parish Histories in Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the Archdiocese of Louisville, 1808-2008," a history of the parishes of the Archdiocese of Louisville, will be available in late 2007 or early 2008.
• A print resource with a self-guided tour of historical and religious sites in the Archdiocese will be published and available from the Archdiocese and on the Internet beginning in late 2007.
• The Extension Society is contacting parishes to invite them to participate in a bicentennial calendar for 2008. The calendar artwork will focus on the bicentennial.
• Two historical documentaries will be updated and available for sale: The Kentucky Holy Lands and the History of African American Catholics.

Worship/Communications:

• An archdiocesan liturgy and community celebration will take place in the spring or early summer of 2008.
• A series of radio spots will be developed and will be aired beginning early in 2008.
• A bicentennial prayer and prayer card will be available beginning in the fall of 2007.
• The production and distribution of matching liturgical vestments for all archdiocesan priests will be completed by the spring of 2008.
• The Record will run a series of articles and special sections beginning in the fall of 2007.

Other programs and events will be announced as plans are finalized.

Today the Archdiocese of Louisville is the metropolitan see for the Dioceses of Covington, Lexington and Owensboro in Kentucky central Kentucky covering 8,124 square miles and serving 200,000 Roman Catholics.

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