Archives

The Christmas season has the power to bring out the best in all of us. Giving, gathering, and sharing, this time of year we become more Christlike than any other. It is almost paradoxical that our heightened joy during Christmas exists alongside the sadness that we can feel when we reflect on the state of the world during these cold, early nights. That sadness perhaps comes from the most Christlike parts of us.

During November, the Church celebrates those holy souls who have gone on to attain their heavenly reward. Keeping with this theme, I usually feature a relic from the archives for the November article. However, the archives is currently working on a very special project and the first fruits of this venture fit perfectly into this month’s celebration.

October is devoted to the Most Holy Rosary. Few devotions have received the amount of powerful praise from popes and saints alike.

Before becoming an autonomous community, the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph were a part of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville. Less than 40 short years after arriving to Mount Saint Joseph, the MSJ Ursulines made the courageous move to break away from the larger Ursuline community of Louisville and become a separate community.

Each year, The Western Kentucky Catholic (WKC) takes a small two-month hiatus in June and July. I have been told this is the result of Mel Howard’s, the publication’s founding editor, preferred schedule to focus on his farm over the summertime. This schedule makes me feel as though the paper starts a new season following the break. There are several new additions to the archives that should make this next 10 months of articles quite interesting.  

On May 3, 1946, Bishop Francis Ridgley Cotton – the first bishop of the Diocese of Owensboro – received an unexpected letter. The author of the letter was Mother Mary Agnes of the Mother of God, a Passionist nun located in Scranton, Pa.

A woman once called the archives looking for genealogical information.

Most of us have heard stories of how much more demanding the Church was in our grandparents’ time. How much different was it though, really?

It’s February and the stores are no doubt filled with chocolates, roses and more heart decorations than a cardiologist convention. St. Valentine’s Day is just another day that Catholics can stand back and truly appreciate how deeply rooted and influential our beloved faith is on Western culture. Catholic or not, it is a feast day that nobody wants to be left out of.

The year is 1996. 13,859 postcards depart from the Diocese of Owensboro and make their way to the elected representatives of Kentucky. The message of the postcards is clear: the Catholics of western Kentucky choose life.