October 22, 2020 (Bardstown, KY): The Archdiocese of Louisville and the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral will dedicate a new memorial interpretive marker honoring the life of Daniel Rudd, a visionary of Catholic evangelization. Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D., Archbishop of Louisville, and the Reverend Terry L. Bradshaw, Pastor of the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral, will begin the November 1 celebration at the 11:00 AM Mass at the Basilica, 310 W. Stephen Foster Ave. The marker dedication and blessing will follow at approx. 12:30 PM at St. Joseph Cemetery, on the corner of N. Third St. and E. John Rowan Blvd.
“You and I will agree that we are desperately in need of heroes in our culture, and so I raise up the life, work, and spirit of Daniel A. Rudd, born a slave, who lived consistently as a committed Catholic adult, seeking ways to work for justice,” said Archbishop Kurtz in a September 10 column in The Record.
Born in Bardstown in 1854, Daniel Arthur Rudd was the eleventh of twelve children to enslaved parents, Robert and Elizabeth Rudd. Three generations of Rudd’s family cared for St. Joseph Church which was near his birthplace, the Haydon plantation, Anatok. Rudd was baptized in 1854 at St. Joseph Church and later received his First Communion there in 1863. Rudd and his family experienced a high level of respect and equality within the Catholic faith during his early years.
Rudd established in 1886 the first black owned and operated newspaper, the American Catholic Tribune and organized in 1889 the first Colored Catholic Congress, known today as the National Black Catholic Congress. Rudd later co-authored From Slavery to Wealth: The Life of Scott Bond: The Rewards of Honesty, Industry, Economy, and Perseverance. Rudd was held in high regard with the American Catholic Church hierarchy and was asked by the Bishop of Little Rock to represent the diocese at the 1926 Eucharistic Congress in Chicago, but he could not attend.
Rudd suffered a stroke in 1932 and moved back to his hometown of Bardstown, KY, where he died on December 3, 1933. He is buried at St. Joseph Cemetery.
A new memorial interpretive marker honoring the life of Rudd will be unveiled at St. Joseph Cemetery at 12:30 PM following the 11:00 AM Mass. Parking is available at St. Joseph Cemetery and First Christian Church, 175 E. John Rowan Blvd.
About the Archdiocese of Louisville
Founded as the first inland diocese in the United States in 1808, the Archdiocese of Louisville consists of 24 counties in Central Kentucky with 110 parishes serving more than 185,000 Catholics. For more information visit us at: www.archlou.org.
About the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral
With the first bricks laid in 1816, St. Joseph is the first Cathedral west of the Allegheny Mountains and the oldest standing Cathedral in the United States. Today, worship is at the heart of the parish community where the mission is Catholic – universal. For more information visit us at: www.stjosephbasilica.org.
For information, call: Cecelia Price at 502/585-3291 (office) or 502/417-7187 (cell).
