Charles Nerinckx
Charles Nerinckx (2 October 1761, Herfelingen – 12 August 1824) was a Catholic missionary priest who migrated from what is now Belgium to work in Kentucky. He founded fourteen churches and the Sisters of Loretto. Nerinckx became known as "the Apostle of Kentucky."
Early life and education
The son of Dr. Sebastian and Petronilla Langendries Nerinckx, Charles Nerinckx was born 2 October 1761 in Herfelingen, Flemish Brabant, the eldest of fourteen children. Nerinckx was educated at the University of Leuven and, upon completion of his theological training at the Major Seminary, Mechelen, was ordained a priest in 1785.[1]
He became vicar at the cathedral of Mechelen, where he was noted for his zeal among the working classes. In 1794 he obtained the pastoral charge of Everberg-Meerbeek (today part of the municipality of Kortenberg). When the army of the French Republic invaded Belgium in 1797, it persecuted Catholic priests in a move to decrease the power of the Church, as it had in France. An order for Nerinckx's arrest was issued, and the priest went into hiding for the next four years. He fled in disguise to the city of Dendermonde and hid in the chapel of St. Blase, where he served as chaplain to the nuns at the hospital.[2]
With his name listed as a fugitive from justice, returning to his parish was impossible and Nerinckx decided to emigrate to America. He wrote to Bishop John Carroll offering his services for the American mission. His letter was accompanied by a recommendation from Adelheid Amalie Gallitzin, mother of Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, who was already serving as a missionary in the Alleghenies. Receiving a favorable reply, he set out; the voyage from Amsterdam to Baltimore took three months.
America
Nerinckx immigrated to the United States in 1804. After spending some months at Georgetown College, he was assigned by Bishop John Carroll to assist Stephen Badin, the only priest in Kentucky. In July 1805, he joined Badin at St. Stephen's Farm, thirteen miles (21 km) from Bardstown and three miles from Holy Cross Church, the first Catholic church built in the state of Kentucky.[3][4] He remained there for seven years and was then given charge of the settlements east of St. Stephen's. The district given to his charge was over two hundred miles in length and covered nearly half the state. Often he was known to ride twenty-five or thirty miles (40 or 48 km) fasting in order to be able to say Mass.
Nerinckx organized new congregations and oversaw the building of churches. Friends and supporters in Belgium sent him church goods, seeds, and plants. Word of Nerinckx's efforts reached the Holy See and in 1808, the Pope sought to appoint him Bishop of New Orleans, but Nerinckx refused the honor.[1] Soon after the arrival of Bishop Flaget in Bardstown, in June, 1811, a conference of the five secular and four Dominican priests serving in Kentucky was held for the purpose of distributing diocese territory into missionary districts. Nerinckx was assigned practically half the state, with residence at St. Charles in a little one room log cabin,.
With a focus on Catholic education, Nerinckx founded the Loretto Sisters as a teaching order in 1812. It was formally designated the Friends of Mary at the Foot of the Cross.[5] Nerinckx was known to have bought at least one African American from the sisters.[6] During a trip to Europe to obtain supplies, he persuaded Pierre-Jean De Smet to join the American mission.
Nerinckx died at Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, on 12 August 1824.[1]
Legacy and honors
Nerinx Hall, a private secondary school for girls, was founded by the Sisters of Loretto in 1924 in Webster Groves, Missouri, and named in honor of Nerinckx.
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
Charles Nerinckx — Missionary priest in Kentucky, founder of the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross, born in Herffelingen, Belgium, 2 Oct., 1761, died at Ste. Genevieve, Mo., 12 August, 1824. He was the eldest of the fourteen children of Dr. Sebastian Nerinckx and Petronilla Langendries. He studied at Enghien and Gheel, made his philosophy at Louvain, and entered the theological seminary of Mechlin in 1781. Ordained in 1785, he became vicar at the cathedral of Mechlin, where he was noted for his zeal among the working classes. In 1794 he obtained the pastoral charge of Everberg-Meerbeke, where the devotion to the spiritual interest of his people developed that deep love for children which later characterized his missionary labours in America. During his incumbency he wrote several theological treatises the manuscripts of which are still preserved in the parish archives. The French Directoire resented his activity and ordered his arrest, but he eluded the gens d'armes (1797) and for four years was in hiding at the Hospital of Dendermonde, where he continued his ministry amid continual dangers. He came to America in 1804, Bishop Carroll assigning him to Kentucky in 1805. The district given to his charge was over two hundred miles in length and covered nearly half the State. He lived in the saddle; every year of his apostolate was marked by the organization of a new congregation or the building of a church. Of all the missionaries who worked in that field none deserves so well the title of "Apostle of Kentucky". His direction of souls was so efficient and enlightened that to this very day the grandchildren of his penitents are still prominently known for the earnestness of their faith and the solidity of their virtue. His well-deserved fame reached Baltimore and Bishop Carroll induced the Holy See to appoint him Bishop of New Orleans, but Father Nerinckx refused the honour. The Catholic education of children was his most cherished work and to secure its permanency he founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Loretto in 1812. He crossed the ocean twice to secure help and labourers for the missions; he thus became instrumental in bringing from Belgium the first Jesuits who settled in the West, notably Father De Smet and Bishop Van de Velde. He brought to America a number of paintings which are to this day the most valuable art treasures of the Diocese of Louisville. Persecution was not wanting to him, and for the sake of peace he went to Missouri in 1824, intending to consecrate the last years of his life to the Indians, but death overtook him at Ste. Genevieve. His mortal remains were brought back to Loretto. The Sisters erected a marble statue of their founder at the motherhouse in 1910.
References
- Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Back to citation occurrence 1.2 Maes, Camillus. "Charles Nerinckx." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 20 Sept. 2015
- Back to citation Schauinger, J. Herman: Cathedrals in the Wilderness, page 32. Milwaukee, WI: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1952
- Back to citation Webb, Benedict Joseph (1884). The centenary of Catholicity in Kentucky. Louisville: C.A. Rogers. p. 33.
- Back to citation Kleber, John E; Kentucky Bicentennial Commission, eds. (1992). The Kentucky encyclopedia. Lexington, Ky: University Press of Kentucky. p. 609. ISBN 978-0-8131-1772-0.
- Back to citation Herbermann at 235.
- Back to citation "Federal Census Evidence for Loretto Slaveholding, 1820-1860". Loretto Community. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
Further reading
- Herbermann, Charles G., LL.D. Life of Rev. Charles Nerinckx: Book Review in Historical Records and Studies: Volume 9, by United States Catholic Historical Society. New York: United States Catholic Historical Society (1916) at pp. 227–236. (A review of Howlett's book which gives roughly detailed outline of Nerinckx's life)
- Howlett, W.J. Life of Rev. Charles Nerinckx, Pioneer Missionary of Kentucky and Founder of the Sisters of Loretto. (8 vo.) (1915) also known as Life of Rev. Charles Nerinckx: pioneer missionary of Kentucky and founder of the Sisters at the Foot of the Cross 447pp. Mission Press S.V.D. (1915)
- Maes, Camillus Paul. The life of Rev. Charles Nerinckx: with a chapter on early Catholic missions of Kentucky; copious notes on the progress of Catholicity in the United States of America, from 1800–1825; an account of the establishment of the Society of Jesus in Missouri; and an historical sketch of the Sisterhood of Loretto in Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, Etc. (full title) 635pp. Cincinnati: R. Clarke & Co. (1880).