Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral — the oldest house of worship in Louisville — has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places, a partnership between Partners for Sacred Places and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The money—according to the Very Rev. Matt Bradley—will be used for critical structural repairs to the Cathedral’s more than 200-year-old edifice on South Second Street in downtown Louisville.
Christ Church was first constructed in 1822 as a place of worship and a communal gathering spot for Louisville residents in a time where more people were moving to the river city.
Bradley stated in an email that—at its core—the repairs would provide the community with the resources they need.
“At the most fundamental level, these repairs mean that a sacred space of worship, service, and connection that has been a part of the city’s fabric for generations will be restored and reinvigorated. The deeper meaning for our congregation and other organizations – like UP for Women and Children – which rely on our building, is that resources which might otherwise have been diverted to building repairs can be directed to growing in the ways we serve our neighborhood.”
The present building, which was finished in 1824 and has undergone multiple expansions, is still located at the intersection of Second and Liberty streets. In 1894, the church was made a cathedral, and it became the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky.
“Having just celebrated our bicentennial, we as a parish congregation have also been coming to terms with the joys and challenges of a 200-year-old physical plant,” said the Very Rev. Matthew Bradley, Dean of the Cathedral. “What is particularly exciting about the partnership with the National Fund for Sacred Places is that they understand what an historic parish like ours means to its community and congregation.”
Christ Church Cathedral is the first congregation in Kentucky to be recognized as one of just 30 congregations throughout the country to receive a grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places in 2025. When a parishioner presented the grant opportunity, the Cathedral was getting ready to start a capital campaign, and the church’s governing council unanimously agreed to pursue it.
Bradley stated that nothing could more accurately convey the significance of this grant than the overused phrase “once-in-a-lifetime.”
“This support ensures the Cathedral remains a vital part of the downtown community and allows us to continue our mission of worship, outreach, and service… Their (The National Fund for Sacred Places) grant will close the gap for a project which would otherwise have been out of our reach.”
This article appears in Oct. 1-31, 2025.