City: Louisville, KY

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (812) 357-6611

Address: 200 Hill Dr.

Description: The Benedictine tradition arrived in the Midwest in 1854 when the Swiss Abbey of Einsiedeln sent two monks to Indiana to found a monastery. Today, the Saint Meinrad Archabbey is a thriving community where some 100 monks live, work, and pray together. Visitors are always welcome at the Archabbey, and guests are encouraged to join the monks in prayer or Mass in the church, or tour the historic buildings and peaceful grounds. The highlight of the visit is the Archabbey Church, a majestic stone structure that counts as one of only two Archabbeys in the United States, and only seven in the world. About a mile away you can also visit the beautiful Monte Cassino Shrine, the site where a novena to Our Lady of Monte Cassino is credited for saving the village from a smallpox epidemic in 1871. If you have more time, consider attending a retreat given by one of the monks.