If you’ve ever driven down the quiet backroads of Marion County, you may have passed through a place called St. Mary without even realizing the weight of history beneath your wheels. Just off Highway 327, surrounded by fields and timeworn fences, sits St. Charles Catholic Church—a place whose story reaches back to the very beginning of Catholicism west of the Allegheny Mountains.
Most locals know St. Charles as a peaceful country parish. Some might know it for its lovely Gothic Revival church building. But what many don’t realize is that this little church helped anchor Catholicism in Kentucky—and by extension, in much of the interior United States.

The Early Years (1786–1806)

In 1786, before Kentucky was even a state, Mass was first offered in this region—most likely in the log cabin of early settler Henry Hagan. With no formal church and no assigned priest, the Catholic community relied on the occasional visit from traveling clergy.
That changed in 1793 with the arrival of Father Stephen Theodore Badin, the first Catholic priest ordained in the United States. Father Badin traveled by horseback, bringing sacraments to settlers from the Ohio River down through central Kentucky. He eventually settled for a time in the area and began planting the seeds for permanent churches.
One of his most significant partners in this work arrived from Europe in 1805—Father Charles Nerinckx, a Belgian missionary who quickly became one of the foundational figures in Kentucky Catholic history.

Founding of the Church (1806)

In 1806, Father Nerinckx oversaw the construction of a proper church building at the Hardin’s Creek Settlement. He dedicated it to his patron saint, St. Charles Borromeo, and the parish has carried that name ever since.
This first church was built with log walls and a dirt floor—but its spirit was strong. It became a center not just of worship, but of community life. And it didn’t take long for St. Charles to grow into something even more influential.

The Sisters of Loretto and the Birth of Catholic Education

In 1812, Father Nerinckx helped found a new religious order for women, which took its first vows right here at St. Charles. These women became known as the Sisters of Loretto, and their mission was simple but powerful: to educate.
From that beginning, St. Charles became the launching point for what would become one of the most important teaching orders in Catholic America. By 1816, the Sisters had founded Calvary Academy, a school that served the area for nearly a century. The Loretto Sisters’ influence would extend across the U.S. and even into foreign missions, but it all started on this humble patch of Kentucky ground.

St. Mary’s College and Father William Byrne

The educational mission of St. Charles didn’t stop with the Sisters. In 1821, Father William Byrne—another towering figure in early Kentucky Catholicism—founded St. Mary’s College, just a short walk from the church. For generations, this college was one of the region’s primary centers for Catholic higher education.

The Buildings That Stood (and Still Stand)

Like most pioneer churches, the buildings of St. Charles evolved over time. The original log church of 1806 gave way in 1832 to a more durable brick structure, built under the guidance of Father David A. Deparcq. That second church served the parish for over 70 years—until the current sanctuary was completed in 1905.
This new church, still standing today, was dedicated in a grand ceremony that drew people from all over the county. With its elegant steeple, arched windows, and solid foundation, the 1905 church remains one of the architectural gems of the region. It is an enduring sign of the deep faith and sacrifice of the local families who built it.

Cemetery and Sacred Ground

Behind the church lies the St. Charles Church Cemetery, final resting place for many of the area’s earliest Catholic settlers. Walking through it today is like stepping into a sacred family album—names like Spalding, Abell, Wathen, and Mattingly mark the graves, echoing the families who helped shape Kentucky’s Catholic legacy.
Some of the markers are so old that their inscriptions have faded with time, but the devotion behind them remains. This is holy ground in every sense of the word.

The Legacy Continues

Today, St. Charles is still an active parish, part of the Archdiocese of Louisville. While much has changed in the world around it, the mission of the church has stayed the same for over 230 years: to be a spiritual home for all who enter.
Whether you visit for Mass, a quiet moment of prayer, or just to admire the history soaked into its walls, St. Charles has something to offer. It is a place where the roots of Catholicism in Kentucky still live and breathe.