Father Charles Nerinckx -- Apostle of Kentucky

Not every saint has a statue, and not every hero wore a sword. Some just had a Bible, a battered horse, and more grit than most men could muster.

A Start in the Old World

Charles Nerinckx was born on October 2, 1761, in the small Flemish village of Herfelingen, Belgium. The eldest of fourteen children, he studied theology at Leuven, was ordained at 24, and revitalized a dying parish.

Persecution and Escape

In 1797, the French Revolutionary army rolled into Belgium. Nerinckx refused to take the loyalty oath. For nearly seven years, he lived on the run, celebrating Mass in whispered Latin before dawn.

A New Mission in a New Land

In 1804, Father Nerinckx boarded a ship to America. The voyage took 90 stormy days. He joined Father Stephen Badin at St. Stephen’s Farm near Holy Cross.

Riding the Wilderness for Souls

On horseback, he rode hundreds of miles every month through the wilderness. He carried a portable altar and sacramental oils in his saddlebag. He rode through blizzards, floods, and summer heat. He helped establish at least fourteen churches.

One favorite story tells of a time he came to a flooded creek while trying to reach a dying man. He stacked saddles on his horse, climbed on top, and rode across the swollen stream.

The Sisters of Loretto

In 1812, he gathered three young women — Mary Rhodes, Ann Havern, and Christina Stuart — and started what would become the Sisters of Loretto. They lived in a little log cabin they called “Little Loretto.” The town that grew up around their home would eventually be called Nerinx.

Final Mission and Last Days

In the summer of 1824, he followed the Sisters to Missouri. On August 12, 1824, Father Charles Nerinckx died at age 63. In 1833, his remains were brought back and reburied at the Loretto Motherhouse.