5 Most Beautiful and Awe-Inspiring Cathedrals and Churches in Kentucky

The Bluegrass State is more than baseball bats, bourbon, and betting on horses—an extraordinary diversity of churches in Kentucky can draw in visitors.

Some churches halt the visitor in their tracks with the sheer magnificence and artistry of the churchhouse’s creation. Other visitors are fascinated deeply by the rich history of these houses of worship.

And all these churches are indeed inspiring, not just for the architecture. They’re inspiring because of the beauty and poignance of every shout of joy in song, every desperate prayer, every couple committing to a life together, and all the divinity, devotion, and dedication that goes with that.

1. Cane Meeting House

Let’s talk about a historical Paris cathedral.

Well, not that one: this one is in Paris, KY. It was probably the first house of worship built in Kentucky—then a county of Virginia – around 1791.

Cane Meeting House is an interesting architectural church because it is a churchhouse within a churchhouse.

After several renovations over the centuries and the inevitable wear and tear that comes with old wooden buildings in a four-season climate (that actually can get very cold), something had to be done to preserve the blue ash timber house of worship. To keep the 18th-century colonial-era church as is, the trustees decided to build a church around the church with enough room to allow a large foyer on all sides!

The original structure has rough-hewn square timbers inter-stacked at the corners and old wooden-slat gables. It resembles the humble countryside buildings of England from that same era.

Key figures and events in the church’s history are now commemorated in a few stained glass windows on the external structure.

Ties to the Second Great Awakening at Churches in Kentucky

Within ten years, this church was the site of an immense interdenominational spiritual revival. In 1801, tens of thousands of people flocked to this Holy Spirit hotspot.

Barton Stone, the minister for this churchhouse, delivered passionate preaching. The site became a part of the 18th century’s Second Great Awakening. Visitors flooded out of the building onto the surrounding countryside, making this, perhaps, one of the earliest tent revivals.

Communion to Go?

Looking closer at the church’s structure today, one can see small portals in the original, enclosed wooden structure. These small windows aren’t windows—the original building actually had no glass—they’re small, first-floor, one-level Dutch doors. Could these be for delivering communion to people outside a packed house?

Cane Ridge Meeting House has a state historical marker.

2. St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica

The state has baseball bats, bourbon, bluegrass, and betting on horseraces—Kentucky also has some amazing basilicas. A basilica is an Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholic church considered regionally, internationally or otherwise important. Or, they have particular historical significance. The given church may also have certain ecclesiastical privileges or priorities.

Northwest of Nashville, this church has an interesting superlative: a window. Though new techniques in glasswork and metallurgy have made ornamental windows easier, St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Kentucky has what probably was the largest church stained-glass window in the world. At 67 feet by 24 feet, it’s a staggering 1600+ square footage!

The window’s top half illustrates the Virgin Mary and the bottom half depicts the Council of Ephesus. This church also has 81 other windows, including many of ornate stained-glassed. (And some neo-gothic gargoyles for good measure.)

With its large, spoked oculus decoration in the facade, an ornamental balcony, and three peaked-arch doorways, this church has a similar appearance to France’s Notre Dame Cathedral. Its French Gothic flavor is evident throughout.

From fine-filigree chisel work saturating the interior and exterior to the Duveneck murals to two different gardens, seeing this church could be a full-day event.

St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica is the diocese’s principal church, encompassing roughly the eastern half of Kentucky. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

3. Georgetown Baptist Church

Even for the Bible Belt, this Baptist church in Georgetown, KY, stands out. Bulging out of a sloped, grassy street corner, the exterior of the building is a deep, rich, brick-red construction of, well, red bricks.

But it also has a delightful salt-and-cinnamon motif with this brick red. Brilliant white trim, keystone, and lattice work stand out in photos. That is to say, there is what could be called a Georgian influence on this Georgetown house of worship!

For a Protestant church in the Bible Belt, there is a lot of ornamentation and many neo-classical features, from its belfry to intricately-laced clerestory windows. It has all the things we learned about in art history class: pendentives, a narthex, and much more.

The colossal pipe organ behind the altar is a slightly more modern element at Georgetown Baptist church. Other things in the church that fall under the art history class terminology are some decorative stained-glass transoms.

The church history states that their Sunday School was started in 1810!

4. Third Baptist In Owensboro

In 2021, this Baptist Church celebrated its 125th anniversary as a congregation. But just fourteen years earlier, the flock here felt less celebratory. In 2007, a tornado plowed through the building, plunging part of the church tower/steeple through the sanctuary roof. Eventually, the church was rebuilt two years later with a new memorial window.

The church has a neoclassical design integrated with a late 19th-century red-brick flavor. There are arched doorways, a classic four-level church tower, and a decorative altar clerestory.

In addition to having a long history, the church has a long building. The various photos of it show a block-long structure. It houses an equally colossal vaulted organ that could easily hold its own against the Georgetown Baptist church’s organ.

In the early 1900s, this church was a fixture in the community and in all things civic in the city of Owensboro. Though the architecture is not quite as ornate as other churches in the Bluegrass State, the church’s history in various American Baptist denominations, revivals, and seminaries makes this a historic site for any visitor.

5. Monte Casino Little Chapel, Is At Least the Smallest of Churches in Kentucky

Thomas More University in Crestview Hills, KY, made the Wall Street Journal’s top 400 schools list just this year. And it’s also on another list: this one.

Downsizing: Kentucky May Have Had the World’s Smallest Church

But, something at this college is on a third list: a one-time smallest church in the world. In 1922, it was listed in Ripley’s Believe or Not as the world’s smallest church. (and who knew Ripley’s had been around that long?)

Despite being quite small, it still has a three-layer church tower with a spire. The single entryway has a stained-glass transom above the door.

Today, the smallest church in the world, according to Guinness, is in Benalmadena, Spain. The Church of Santa Isabel de Hungria is 21 square feet (1.96 meters). A long-shot challenger is Christ Chapel in Savannah, GA which is 190 square feet. Monte Cassino Chapel on the campus of Thomas More University in Kentucky is 54 square feet (six by nine feet inside).

However, in the rankings for smallest church in America, there was one built in the middle of a pond—perhaps there were A LOT of baptisms to be done—in Oneida, New York. The 30-square-footer was created in 1989.

Days of Wine and Benedictine Monks

This smallest church is an architectural masterpiece. Hand-craftsmanship went into the wall stones and roof stones, hewing them into dimension to fit in place. The field where Benedictine Monks gathered these stones was a large vineyard purchased by a neighboring Pennsylvania diocese running out of wine.

Living by the vineyard, the monks built this mini-church around 1878. Selling both commercial and sacramental wine, the vineyard housing this church folded up with Prohibition during the 1920s.

A Different Kind of Pilgrimage: the Church Moves Instead of the Pilgrim

This teeny churchhouse sat through decades of suburban growth around it. Kids would frolic in the time-and-weather-worn chapel not far from their ranch-style-ramblers and two-story homes.

In addition to the mini-belfry, tower, and spire, there are lattice-work inlaid windows. All this made it a very tricky thing to move the church several miles along a highway to Thomas More University. That, and the building—despite being quite small—weighed 50 tons or 100,000 pounds.

The tower was removed at one point, judging by photographs of the move. Despite that, powerlines had to be manually lifted to relocate the church to its new location.

If you love novelty and a good wine story, this is the church to get both.