Saint Martin of Tours - Louisville, Kentucky
Posted by: 
Saureus
N 38° 14.730 W 085° 44.357
16S E 610319 N 4233805
This beautiful church with the tall green steeple is sits on the eastern edge of downtown Louisville. It is the only church in the metro Louisville area that is open to visitors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Waymark Code: WM787Y
Location: Kentucky, United States
Date Posted: 09/17/2009
Views: 5
From the church web site (
visit link) ---
St. Martin of Tours is a church rich with history and tells the story of a community blessed by God through good times and bad. From the grounds of a small brickyard, our church was constructed in 1853 and named for the patron of the Bishop, Martin John Spalding. The parish’s first pastor was a Franciscan priest and a native of Bavaria. He concentrated on organizing the parish and building a parish school. He recruited the Ursuline sisters from Germany to open their first school here in 1858. Within just six years the
parish had outgrown its facility, and the building was enlarged to its current size and in the shape of a cross.
In 1861, soon after the church was enlarged, the great organ arrived from Germany. Around the end of the 1800’s, there were several
more important architectural additions to the church, including the stained glass windows and Stations of the Cross, all made in Germany. In 1901 the church acquired the full skeletal relics
of two early Christian martyrs, Magnus and Bonosa. They are housed in glass reliquaries under the two side altars.
The church is the home of several important works of art, including beautiful stained glass windows, paintings and statues. The centerpiece of the music program is the Great Organ, crafted by Farrand and Votey of Detroit in 1894 and fully renovated in 1991. For more on the artwork and stained glass at St. Martins, visit (
visit link) then click on "Art & Architecture".
In 1996 the church introduced the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. The church doors are always open to the public. Security personnel, cameras, and monitors provide for the safety of visitors and the church.